Yet to play in the Sydney Swans guernsey, recruit Taylor Adams relishes the idea that he will soon play alongside the next breed of AFL superstars.
Just over two weeks from now, Adams will finally be given that opportunity as he aims to claim his first premiership after missing out on being selected in Collingwood's 2023 Grand Final team.
The 30-year-old joins the Swans after a ten-year stint with the Collingwood Magpies and two seasons with the GWS Giants beforehand, beginning in 2012.
Attempting to reclaim a full-time spot in the midfield, Adams is looking forward to the chance of playing with the next generation of superstars, such as 2023 All-Australian Errol Gulden.
"There's heaps. The talent is sort of unrivalled," Adams said when asked about who he is looking forward to playing with at the Bloods.
"You look at Chad Warner, Errol Gulden, Isaac Heeney, Tom Papley. I've played with Luke Parker before; he was my captain at Under-18s level, and I've got an enormous amount of respect for him.
"Obviously, being teamed back with Brodie, Tom McCartin (is another player), the names that you come across they seem like they're 25 or 26 years old, but I've read off guys that are between the ages of 20 and 25.
"We've got a lot of youth with an extreme amount of talent, so hopefully, I can help nurture those guys through to have really long and fulfilling careers."
While there's an array of players Adams looks forward to taking the field with, including former Collingwood teammate Brodie Grundy, Adams spoke specifically about young pair Errol Gulden and Chad Warner.
A graduate of the Swans Academy, the off-contract Gulden enjoyed a breakout 2023 season to earn All-Australian honours, his maiden best and fairest title, and be named NSW Young Athlete of the Year.
On the other hand, Warner is aiming to return to his 2022 form in which he showed his tremendous potential and hopefully earn his first All-Australian honours.
"Both those guys have got enormous careers ahead of them...you look at their resumes already. They've had some incredible games, and they perform pretty much week in, week out," the 2018 grand finalist added.
"I'm looking just to team up with them and hopefully share some of my learnings from 12 years in the industry.
"Hopefully, I can get the ball to them on the outside because those two guys are pretty hard to stop when they get time and space."
