Taylor Smith

Growing up on the Gold Coast, Taylor Smith began her sporting career at the age of 10, finding a love for high jump and hurdles. Taylor's sporting career originally began in athletics, focussing on high jump and hurdles. Transitioning into heptathlon and competing at the national level. Toward the end of Year 12, Smith started playing AFL with the APS inter-school competition where she was spotted by a Queensland scout who organised a trial with the Gold Coast Suns Academy. In 2018, Smith joined the Bond University AFL club, and less than two year later was announced as a priority signing for the Gold Coast Suns. Smith made her professional AFLW debut in round six of the 2020 AFL Women’s season. After playing the one game for the Suns she was picked up in a trade by the Brisbane Lions, the ruck-forward posseses plenty of drive and determination to get the work done. Playing all 11 games for the Lions in the 2021 Premiership season, Smith continued her strong form into 2022 playing 11 games again and missing two due to injury. Taylor was recently awarded 'Most Relentless' Player at the Lions in 2022 for on and off-field efforts. Outside of sport, Taylor is currently studying a Bachelors of Education at Griffith University and hopes to complete her masters degree within the near future. Taylor either intends to follow her dream of becoming a full-time teacher, or continue her AFL pathway to become a full-time athlete.