AFL: Taylor Skelton makes her mark in debut season with Tamworth Swans

She'd had a bit of a runaround in the AFL 9s, but that was more of a social thing.

But the basketball star took to the game like a duck to water.

In her debut season, the Tamworth Swans ruckman was named in the AFL North West women's team of the year.

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The accolade came as a complete surprise to the 24-year old.

In fact she didn't even hear her name read out and had no idea about it until her fiancée Harrison Petit's mum called her to congratulate her. Even then she said she didn't know exactly what it meant.

"I was like okay, and then everyone was like it's a really good thing," Skelton said.

"It was really exciting and amazing, and I'm very thankful and grateful that people think that I played well enough to be up there."

The decision to step out of her comfort zone and make the jump to AFL was largely driven by a desire to do something different.

After focusing all her energies on basketball for the last 14 years and travelling wherever her talents took her the NSW rep felt "it was time for a change".

The local competition wasn't what it was, and while she initially contemplated playing for the Central Coast Crusaders in the Waratahs Women's 1 competition - she trialled and was successful in making the squad - the thought of playing with the Swans held more appeal.

"I've played basketball all my life, I thought I'd give it (AFL) a go," she said.

"Plus my friends were here and there's so much travel going to the central Coast all the time."

So along with good friend Bronte Chillingworth, whose brother Rhys had joined the Swans last season, Skelton swapped the basketball for the Sherrin.

One of the attractions was being able to unleash her physical side with basketball, by rule, a non-contact sport.

"I'm quite a physical player in any sport so when you're actually allowed to be physical and everyone wants you to do it... I enjoyed it so much," she said.

She also enjoyed the challenge of learning a sport from scratch. Having played basketball at a high level for so long, it was refreshing.

"I was a little nervous to start off with, I thought this is completely different to anything I've done," she said.

"But it was so much fun to try and get better at something I'd never done before."

The only negative was the season being cut short.

The Swans were only hours away from their semi-final against the Kangaroos when the season was suspended, and not another ball was kicked.

Skelton, who works as a teachers' aide at her former alma mater - Manilla Central School, said the abrupt ending was "disappointing" but has "put a bit of fuel in the fire".

"I think the team will come back bigger and stronger next year," she said.

She certainly plans to.

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