Episode 5 - Taylor Regan: Navigating Football's Highs and Personal Lows

How does a professional footballer navigate the highs and lows of a demanding career while balancing personal life challenges? Join us for an illuminating conversation with retired footballer Taylor Regan as he shares his extraordinary journey from the Newcastle Jets Academy to the rigors of the A-League and the Malaysian Premier League. Taylor's candid recounting of his professional milestones, including 186 first-class appearances and offers a unique glimpse into the life of a dedicated footballer. Known for his defensive prowess, Taylor provides a captivating narrative filled with humor, insight, and resilience, making this episode a must-listen for football enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

What happens when you're unexpectedly thrust into a leadership role amidst team conflicts and personal turmoil? Taylor opens up about the tumultuous period in 2015 when he was made captain of the Newcastle Jets, navigating the complexities of professional sports with determination and grace. From dealing with backlash from teammates to the emotional impact of his mother-in-law's passing, His story sheds light on the pressures of maintaining performance in high-stakes environments. Hear about the personal and ethical dilemmas he faced, and how he emerged stronger, offering a raw and honest perspective that will resonate with anyone facing challenges in their own careers.

How do social media and external pressures influence the lives of professional athletes? Taylor delves into the impact of social media on footballers, sharing personal anecdotes and broader reflections on its role. We explore the struggles of career decisions, from navigating contract negotiations to adapting to life in Malaysia and the contrasting experiences of playing in Adelaide. As Taylor transitions from professional football, he reflects on balancing career with family life, running an academy, and mentoring young athletes. This compelling conversation is filled with personal stories, professional insights, and heartfelt moments that showcase the roller coaster journey of a footballer's career.

Check out our socials on Instagram and Facebook at LeaveALightOnPodcast, and connect with us there.

Share your stories with us and lets Leave a Light On

Transcript

Speaker 2 0:15

Hello and welcome to Leave a Light On Podcast, a show that looks to tackle the everyday struggles in our everyday lives. It's time to shed some light on it. Here's your hosts, Shane and Shev.

Speaker 3 0:30

Hey, hey, legends. Welcome to Leave a Light on Podcast. Another episode in the books, and alongside me is Shane. How are you feeling, buddy? How's your week been?

Speaker 4 0:38

All right, yo, how's it, shev, what's happening? Good, not much Super excited for today's episode.

Speaker 3 0:42

Man, yeah, this is going to be awesome.

Speaker 4 0:44

Yeah, it's going to be good, really excited. We've got a really special guest today, so that's going to be great, yeah, but yeah, give him a share.

Speaker 3 0:50

Let's introduce him. Let's get it on. Oh yeah, we're going to get straight into it.

Speaker 4 1:02

It's bloody. A yeah righto, okay Shiv, should I say. He is now retired out of the industry. He played 186 first-class appearances, 106 of those being in the A-League, so that should give you a hint of what sport this was, and then 80 of those in the Malaysian Premier League. Now I don't know about you. Malaysian Premier League sounds pretty cool.

Speaker 3 1:19

He'd be running around with a sludge shorties. Yeah, what would that be? Yeah? Tall white Australian man running around with pigeons yeah, That'd be funny.

Speaker 4 1:27

I mean, he'd definitely be a couple feet taller than them, eh, awesome, yeah, so 186 appearances in first-class football, of which he scored nine goals, and for the position he was in, to score nine goals is actually pretty good. Okay yeah, it's not like a striker whose bread and butter comes from scoring goals. His bread and butter actually came from stopping goals.

Speaker 3 1:47

Okay, well, I was talking to him before off air and I was saying I'm not a massive football guy.

Speaker 4 1:52

Yeah, yeah. Unfortunately, I think you will be after this. I hope so.

Speaker 3 1:56

I've already given him heaps about being a part of the clubs he's been yeah.

Speaker 4 2:00

Yeah, because you think you're so good. So, without further ado, let the games begin. Welcome, mr Taylor Regan.

Speaker 5 2:07

Thanks for having me guys. That's awesome. That's me, by the way, guys. I knew all that was going to be shared. I didn't know the part about the tall guy running around with my laptop.

Speaker 3 2:19

We wing it, taylor, we just wing it.

Speaker 4 2:21

Eh. It also doesn't mean much coming from one of the shortest human beings.

Speaker 5 2:25

Taylor, will you just wing it here? It also doesn't mean much coming from one of the shortest human beings.

Speaker 4 2:29

I'm pretty sure most of those he's referring to are taller than you, but anyway, that's awesome. So welcome Taylor, cool, love it. Thanks for having me, guys.

Speaker 3 2:36

It's nice to meet you. Yeah, we'll give you the. Yeah, that guy gets into it. See, I'll make it. He's out of fear.

Speaker 4 2:40

Yeah, he's so good, good car member. Yeah, taylor, obviously you always saw Cody Riggs. Those of you who know you quite well, I've known you for probably best on a year now, yep, which has been good. I've had a little bit to do with you and when we started this podcast a little while ago, you were probably one of the first people that I had on my mind to really get on you. You've got a really cool story, a really interesting background for me. I mean, probably one of the most genuine guys I know, um on the football field. So that's it's. It's a real honor to have you on, yeah, so thanks for coming on, and you're probably one of the only ones.

Speaker 4 3:11

That actually talks me off the field, based on the way I that's the thing I mean I don't know if you would know much about this ship, but when you're on a football field, I think all uh, all manners and and kind of politeness go out the window, especially myself, unfortunately. Well, let's also mention this You're coming with a bit of a knock from a game that you got into last night.

Speaker 4 3:37

My nose is across my face a little bit, so if you sound a little bit out of all sorts, it's just because you're just struggling with a bit of a nose injury there. Yeah, so, welcome to the podcast. Um, it's a real honor to have you on, like I've said, and we're really excited um. First of all, congratulations on a on an outstanding career. Um 186 appearances is is nothing to be frowned upon. That's huge.

Speaker 5 3:58

It's massive so it's not always easy in my position, because as a defender or center back, you don't you don't come off the bench, right yeah? So if you don't start, you don't play, generally speaking, whereas a striker or a front third sort of player, they might get 186 starts, but they'll also have 150 off the bench, so they double the stats. So it is a lot of games. Yeah.

Speaker 5 4:22

And I didn't debut until I was about 21 or so, so I was a bit older than your generic professional footballer in this day and age. And we'll say soccer because yeah. Chev I'm known to call, I'm about to have a ball. Might be the Sydney Swans. To Chev, I'm a Collingwood fan. Okay yeah, even worse, even worse.

Speaker 4 4:43

Yeah, well, like you said, obviously debuted at 21, but your football career started before that. You joined the Jets Academy for what was their first year as having their junior academy, and that was in 2008.

Speaker 5 4:57

Yeah, look, coming through the football system in Newcastle. You know it's a bit different now in this day and age. It's a lot more expensive now. Yeah, when I was coming through but it I grew up playing in your rep teams and and coming through back then before it was a newcastle jets it was called newcastle breakers, yeah, and then newcastle united. So I was a part of all those youth teams. I guess you could say from the age of sort of 11, 12, and then the a league stopped or the NSL back then stopped when I was about 15 and I went straight back to senior football. I actually debuted at Azuri where I am now at the age of 15.

Speaker 4 5:34

Yeah, that's a local league. Yeah, in Newcastle. Yeah, in Newcastle.

Speaker 5 5:38

And I debuted there as a very what I considered to be. I thought I was pretty grown up. You know, I'd have a pack with the wood stock and the condoms down the parties for years but.

Speaker 5 5:49

But the reality was I was walking into a change room with men, yeah, and it was a real eye-opener, um, but I think it sort of shaped who I am today yeah growing up with a little bit of a different, that old school sort of mentality, you know, um, not just on the field, but off the field too, like if you've got an issue, you don't whinge or you don't talk too much behind backs, you pretty don't mind a bit of confrontation and things like that, and I think that shaped my character, which probably held me in good stead. Yeah, forward in my career, absolutely yeah. And then, as you mentioned, 2008, the Jets won the grand final in the February. Yeah.

Speaker 5 6:23

And the following year the Youth League started and I was lucky enough to be named the captain of the Youth League squad and I was there for two years before getting my opportunity in 2010 to debut in the A-League.

Speaker 4 6:34

Awesome, yeah. So contracted in 2010 was when you first signed your first professional contract for the Jets, which would have been a monumental occasion for you, I'm sure. Super exciting when you've got to put pen to paper and realise this is now my career.

Speaker 5 6:48

Well, I think the Jets youth team at the time paid about $120 a week. Oh man, that's like not even enough for a schedule. That's terrible. Four or five times a week. So it's hard to hold a full-time job. A lot of the boys were sort of finishing school. They, the boys, were sort of, you know, finishing school. They were that sort of age, um, but I personally I was working at a building supplies company, saddington's, oh yeah broad meadow there, yeah I used to lift concrete into the back of tradies utes from 5 am in the morning till about two.

Speaker 5 7:18

I'd go home, have a nap and then off to youth team training. So when I got the option to sign my first professional contract, the work boots were out.

Speaker 4 7:26

You said see you later, Southington's.

Speaker 5 7:30

But again, it's character building right. You realise how much you want it. Yep, in this day and age we see a few people handed things on.

Speaker 3 7:38

Silver platters yeah.

Speaker 5 7:39

And I think you appreciate it more when you have to really work for it. Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 4 7:44

I think you appreciate it more when you have to really work for it. Yeah, absolutely, and like you say, 2008 and then going into 2010,. Two years of that kind of like you say slugging it out, yeah, at any stage during that did you kind of say?

Speaker 5 7:57

I don't know if I want to carry on doing this. No, probably because there was people around me that I knew that I could well, in my mind I thought I was better than that were getting opportunities, so I knew, if I persevered, that it was only a matter of time. Yeah, but it probably was my last sort of real opportunity. I remember Craig Deans was a youth team coach at the time and he was a big advocate of me and he was pushing me to the first team as much as possible. But the first team coach at the time was like oh, I don't know, I don't know. And yeah, I had to do pre-season with them, so threw all my eggs in the basket and yeah enough, I didn't have to throw the toys out of the basket. I'm sure you did every now and again.

Speaker 4 8:42

That's awesome. So 2010 Signed your first contract, debuted In October Of that 2010 season, yep, and played your first game Against Brisbane Raw yeah, which was Pretty special. I would have thought, obviously, won one draw On that game, yep, so didn't get the win, but All reports From what I've heard have seemed to have A pretty solid Cracker game. Yeah, for your first one. It was a. All reports from what I've heard have seemed to have a pretty solid cracker game. Yeah, your first one.

A Footballer's Leadership and Struggles

Speaker 5 9:07

It was a funny one. It was when Brisbane Raw were the top of the tree. They were the best team in the league and they were beating everyone and I got thrown in. Nikolaj Topol-Stanley got injured and I played beside a guy called Lubo Milicevic. Okay, lubo. If you want to get someone on a podcast, get Lubo on. Okay, lubo Milicevic. Okay, lubo. If you want to get someone on a podcast, get Lubo on Okay. He would be the most controversial personality in football in the last 15, 20 years. Yeah, but a proper legend, okay, just a great guy, and he's been through hell and back. Okay.

Speaker 5 9:37

And you can find his name all over social media. He's been through depression, he's lived a life, he's played abroad, but he's this 30 year old centre back played for the soccer roos top top, probably still to this day, one of the best defenders I've played with and um, I'll never forget the coach saying look taylor's debut just look after him.

Speaker 5 9:59

Look after him and he, he's like he'll be right. I remember turning around about 10 minutes. I'm like where the fuck is Luba? And he was just playing right wing. The coach was screaming at him, but he was just that person. He didn't care. I'm doing what I want. We drew 1-1, which was a good result for us and, yeah, I played quite well. So that kind of you fail that first test and maybe you don't get another chance.

Speaker 4 10:22

So yeah it was a big one and it was good and that at that stage, um obviously signing your first contract, was that only for one year that you?

Speaker 5 10:29

signed that contract. Yeah, it was a one-year contract. Um, I think I might have played about 10 or 12 games in that first season. After that I went on a little run of playing games and I think by about the fifth or sixth game I'd almost got a new two-year deal put in front of me, which was pretty rewarding because in that industry in football, in sport it's very subject to performance. It's very rare that you get your future sorted straight away. So that first one probably hurt me in the years to come, where it didn't get sorted so quick, yeah. But to have that security at home, living with mum and dad and everything you know, another one roof, it was good.

Speaker 4 11:12

Yeah, well, I definitely want to delve into that a little bit more. Like you say, just that pressure of job security in essence. But obviously you carried on playing at Jets for got on five years by the looks of it, six years almost and in 2015, were rewarded with the fact that you were made captain of that season.

Speaker 5 11:32

Yeah, by default. By default, yeah. Yeah, look, we had ups and downs through that period. Yeah, change of owners, money issues.

Speaker 4 11:41

It seems like it's still going that way.

Speaker 5 11:43

Looks like it might have been settled for now, so let's fingers crossed yeah, 2015, we we had a really good squad on paper. We had a coach come in from adelaide. Um, he was an english guy and we signed all these players and it was like we're going to be great and it just didn't click um for whatever reason no, I don't like to throw daggers at people, but for whatever reason, it didn't work.

Speaker 5 12:08

Um, and the playing group at the time decided to kind of revolt against the coach. Now, I wasn't privy. We lost seven million adelaide. Okay, I wasn't on the trip. Um, unfortunately my mother-in-law was in a coma, so I didn't travel with the squad. Instead, I stayed back. After we lost 7-0, the players had a meeting. We asked that they then approach the coach as a senior group of five, approach the coach to leave the club. We believe we're rock bottom. We have a good enough team to do it.

Speaker 5 12:42

You've not listened to what we think we need to do. The coach turned around and said worries, I'll speak to the owner and see. Owner said seven nil isn't just a reflection of the coach. Playing group has to take responsibility. You're staying, those five players can leave. Oh, wow, so they sacked the five players. So who was number six? Me? I got given the army.

Speaker 5 13:03

But yeah, and this is where this was probably the hardest period of my life, because I was a 24, 25-year-old boy in my hometown, naive to the fact that the whole world was outside of the bubble. You know, I was in Newcastle, I could go into a pub and everyone knew Taylor Egan. I thought I was great. Reality was I wasn't. But also I wasn't ready for what was around the corner, not so much the pressure of leading, because there was no pressure. We were on the bottom, we'd lost 7-0. There was no pressure but to go up. Our squad was kids Give the kids a go. Blah, blah, blah. But it was. Those five players are your teammates, they're your mates, you idolise them. They're senior figures, they've gone into bat for what the whole squad believed to be the right thing and they're falling on the sword, right.

Speaker 5 13:58

But what ensued? That was just difficult because my mother-in-law then passed away. I was given the armband, which meant I kind of had to be around training, I had to be in team meetings, I had to be in, so I wasn't necessarily there for her. But then on the flip side of that, I'm getting this backlash of pretty much just one, maybe two of those five boys saying how dare you take the armband? Yeah right, say you don't want it, decline it. And in my head I was like a part of that was true. Yeah.

Speaker 5 14:31

They stood up for us, but the reality was, contractually, we had no grounds to not play. Yeah. Someone had to be the captain. We had to play. Yeah. We couldn't. You know you couldn't walk off a job site and say tools down. You'll be in breach of our contract and, as a Newcastle boy, you want to play for your hometown. Yeah.

Speaker 5 14:54

So I was at a crossroads like what do I do? What do I do and that hurt me, pressure-wise, and those couple of individuals that did that and they know who they were, because I was still and still am a bit of a hothead. And when one of the wives sent a message to my wife, not knowing that the mother-in-law had passed away, taylor Egan jumps in the car and jumps the front fence and trying to get in the front door.

Speaker 4 15:19

Remind me never to ever miss you all. Don't upset him.

Speaker 5 15:23

It was just one of those times where it was a weird time. It was the thrill of being a leader, the downfall of knowing that your peers, or some of your peers, don't actually agree with it. It was just a weird time and it all came to a head because the reality was we actually didn't play too bad with that young squad. Yeah.

Speaker 5 15:46

But the coach in the end kind of knifed me somewhat and my contract ended at the end of that year. I had a three-year deal. Oh wow, I'd agreed to terms. I just hadn't signed it and it was coming, it's coming, it's coming, it's coming, and then last minute it didn't arrive, oh man. So I was now due to get married in five weeks. I had no contract, mother-in-law had just passed away and I did nothing. I didn't touch a ball for about six months. I boxed. Okay.

Speaker 5 16:20

I did a charity boxing fight. I just fought, I was as fit as I've ever been, but I hadn't touched a ball. And then Malaysia popped up and it was the best thing for me. In hindsight, that whole period probably shaped me to be heaps stronger and come through it. But yeah, in the end, you know, I took that armband and that's where it's come from right.

Speaker 5 16:44

I took that armband probably by default, but at the same time, you know, I took that armband and that's where it's come from right. I took that armband probably by default, but at the same time, you know, still a very proud moment to wear the armband as a leader of your hometown club, yeah.

Speaker 3 16:54

That would have been awesome.

Speaker 4 16:55

Yeah, I mean there was so much that I want to touch on in what you just said there, obviously one of them being the fact that you had all of the stuff going on in the background and still having to then come and portray this brave kind of face to not only your teammates but the coaching staff. And then when you run out in the field in front of all the fans and meanwhile you've got all these struggles going on in the background, like you say, with your mother-in-law being sick, how did you manage to deal with that side of things where you're now trying to put on this brave face for everyone but obviously have all this stuff that you know almost like a rising tide? That's just kind of.

Speaker 5 17:34

Yeah, I think I almost saw it as a distraction, though I almost felt like football was a way to get away from it. The mother-in-law was very ill. She'd been ill for the best part of three months, probably in hospital. So when I was at training or on the pitch as bad as that sounds everything else kind of disappeared. The emotion of that side of my life disappeared and allowed me to focus on that. But I'm also very lucky that the wife is such a strong character.

The Impact of Social Media

Speaker 5 18:04

Yeah, you know like she's pretty. I mean we nearly got married in the ICU unit at one point. Aside from that, yeah, she was very strong and very easy to help me through that period. But yeah, football's changed a lot since 2015, though. It wasn't like I didn't have Instagram. You know have all those social media platforms. I don't even feel like it definitely wasn't what it is now right. Yeah so there was no reading of negativity. Yeah.

Speaker 5 18:38

It was yeah, people's opinions weren't necessarily heard by everyone, so I think that helped as well. I think in this day and age, social media is the scariest tool we have. Also can be very, very, very helpful, but used in the right way.

Speaker 4 18:56

Well, I think Marcus Rashford actually was someone who was talking about this, the man United player, and he was talking about the fact that just because you're entitled to an opinion doesn't mean you always need to give it.

Speaker 5 19:08

Yeah absolutely.

Speaker 4 19:09

And he was referring to, obviously, the fact that man United were going through quite a bad slump in the Premier League and they were catching a lot of flack as players, yeah, and all the man United supporters were going like you guys aren't good enough. You're getting paid all this money. Like what are you doing? And he was just saying, like we're not here to play badly, we're not here to mess around and disappoint our fans. We're also going through this, and just because you have the right to have this opinion on social media doesn't mean that it should be something that you do, because all you're doing is adding more fuel to the fire, for sure.

Speaker 5 19:45

I hate social media for that aspect. I've had plenty of arguments with with media managers and um at clubs. I'm like why? Why do you need to have the comments button open on your instagram? Yeah, why don't you just have photos and post what, what content you want?

Speaker 5 20:02

yeah why do you give people an opportunity? Oh, it creates more interest and it's true, it does right and I get it. Get it, yeah. But the reality is I've seen kids come off games in A-League in Malaysia. They're in tears before they sit down in their locker and when you ask them why they're in tears, they know they made a mistake. They're worried about what they're about to read. Yeah.

Speaker 5 20:25

And that, for me, is the scariest part of it is that we are, as professional sports people, open to those opinions you can say don't read them, but everyone fucking reads them yeah everyone does and, yeah, that that is such a dangerous thing but, it's also dangerous because of the perceptions that people put out there. Yeah, like you see somebody's lifestyle and you might be going through a tough time and you're like, oh, look how good they got it. Yeah, bullshit yeah.

Speaker 5 20:54

They don't have it that good. Of course they have highs, but not many people, you know, post the lows. Yeah. You know I still use a filter. Yeah, I feel like it's all been happening, but you know like. So there's yeah. I think social media has a lot to answer for. Yeah, but yeah, it is a shame that people feel that speaking negatively or voicing an opinion about people like that, yeah, especially because you guys are always in the spotlight.

Speaker 3 21:24

Um, I know you said before about not having so, not so much not having social media, but it wasn't as big as what it is now. But you guys being in the spotlight and all that sort of stuff would make it so much harder because people don't see the bad side of like, they only see the bad side of things with you guys yeah, for sure, so I just yeah, so I know what you're saying that's it people.

Speaker 5 21:42

If people are doing it for attention, right yeah people will write a negative comment.

Speaker 5 21:46

Because if you write a negative comment, yep, someone that agrees with you will like the comment. If you write a positive comment and people agree with you, they won't. They don't like it, they won't like the comment. It's, it's a, it's a negative thing. I don't, I don't, I can't even explain it, but yep, like I even saw one of my friends, riley mcgree, just signed a new four-year deal with middlesbrough this morning and I was looking at the social media and it popped up like and I was like the fans must love him. Yeah, it was all positive and there was one negative comment and it had a few likes. But then I clicked on the guy's bio and it said positive vibes only, but he had written a negative comment about someone signing a contract and it was like yeah, doesn't add up.

Speaker 5 22:30

Yeah but again, like I remember another bit off topic, but a few of my mates, all my mates, to be honest, growing up they're all league players yeah they all play local footy.

Speaker 5 22:41

They've come through the night system bit rough. Um, I won't say names because but yeah, um, I remember sitting on the hill or stand on the hill having a beer we'd played on the friday night and we won and on the sund, or standing on the hill having a beer, We'd played on the Friday night and we won. And on the Sunday morning we had recovery. Saturday by or by Sunday was off. I was having a few beers on the hill watching South Newcastle Rugby League play against West and there was a guy I was standing with my brother and three other mates and there was a guy standing in front of us and my brother said that guy hammers you online.

Speaker 5 23:11

And I said what?

Speaker 5 23:11

And he goes, he fucking smashes you. Every game he blanks, like you're the reason why they lose. And I'm like, really. And he's like, yeah, and I was having a drink. I'm thinking, fuck, I don't say anything, just let it go. Anyway, we'd won, so we'd just played good, so. So I don't know if anything was written, whatever, but he's turned around at one point and recognised that it was me and he's like, oh, he's coming. He's like, hey, mate, hey, good game on Friday night. And in my head I'm like, oh, thanks, mate. And he introduced himself I don't even know what his name was and he's like who are you here watching? So I just ratted off me two best mates who were both well-known good league players, but more so physical golf, yeah, yeah. He was like, oh, oh, you're friends with them, are you? I was like, yeah, yeah. And then my brother chimes in.

Speaker 5 23:57

He goes oh, you're not writing anything negative this week and I was like, oh, you're that guy and then you know straight away yeah, no, no, no, no, no. I just say it for I just don't stir people up. But that is classic, right, yeah, sit behind your screen. What do they say? No, I just say it, for I just don't stir people up.

Speaker 4 24:16

Backpedal and backpedal. But that is classic, right yeah, sit behind your screen. What do they say?

Speaker 5 24:18

Keyboard warriors Keyboard warriors. But it was a long time. He went from six foot two to about four foot three real quick, real quick, oh man, oh, that's, I mean, yeah, that's.

Speaker 4 24:30

I love the way you put that, though it's easy to like a negative comment, but sometimes it's hard for people to jump on the bandwagon and just bring a bit of positivity. Yeah for sure, and it's easy when the team's winning huh, but it's really hard for fans to support them.

Speaker 3 24:46

Especially if everyone has a bad day. Everyone has a bad day and then you've got flack for it.

Speaker 5 24:53

No one goes out there with the intention To play bad. Exactly.

Speaker 4 24:59

Just one other thing I wanted to Ask you there. Obviously you spoke about At the end of that season you started fighting Boxing in specific.

Speaker 4 25:08

Was that Due to anything other than the fact that obviously you were keeping fit? Did you feel like it was an outlet for you to release maybe some anger that you had towards the fact that now this deal hadn't come out, the three-year deal that you were working on, and that now obviously knife you in the back and you didn't have anything? Do you reckon there was a bit of anger that you were holding onto there and you needed that release?

Speaker 5 25:30

Yeah, maybe I think I've always enjoyed boxing. Yeah, um, and my best mate that also shared a passion in boxing was joint, was at this gym fighting um and when I had nothing to do um, you know, do I go back to the npl once you're back? It's hard to go again. All I do. Contract came to go to brisbane. The money was shit. I would have earned more. Yeah, back to the NPL Once you're back.

Speaker 5 25:50

It's hard to go again. What do I do? Contract came to go to Brisbane. The money was shit I would have earned more Back to Saddington's, all those sorts of things and then I just started boxing with a mate for a bit of fitness and before I knew it I could do it okay. I wouldn't say I could fight.

Speaker 5 26:08

But, yeah, I was throwing punches every morning of the week, yeah, and it just became a healthy addiction, I guess. But of course, like there was days where I'm hitting the bag but thinking about football, so then hitting the bag, harder.

Speaker 4 26:24

Did you always know that you wanted to get back into it? Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 5 26:27

That whole period I was probably a little bit naive. I was on my honeymoon and offers were coming in and I had this perception in my head that if you go to. Asia you make a million dollars. So I was knocking back things that in hindsight I ended up accepting and contracting Malaysia for way less than what I'd already knocked back three or four months earlier. So hindsight's a wonderful thing, but that period again like married honeymoon, still allowing the wife to be around family it was an important period to be somewhat grounded, I think. Yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 5 27:02

And then I got a phone call, actually from a guy. He's from Coffs Harbour, Gary Phillips, former professional footballer, come coach, and he's like I'm going to Malaysia, I want you to come with me. I was like perfect. And he's like money's this? And I'm like oh, okay, and he's like. But there's one catch. I'm like here we go and he's like you have to trial, and I was like I've got to trial for that sort of money. Wow. Yeah, and there was two other players on the flight. Oh, wow.

Speaker 5 27:36

One in which was also at Newcastle with me, who was the same position, okay, and another one from Sydney FC, joel Chianese, who went on to win the A League with Perth and things like that, and we flew into Kuala Lumpur. Yeah.

Speaker 5 27:53

We got picked up by an official from the club and he says we go now, we see Coach Gary. We go to a hotel to see Coach Gary. We get there. There's myself, Sam Galloway, Joel Chianese and Andrew Naboo. Andrew Naboo has come from Melbourne Victory. He was just a young boy and the four of us are sitting there with the coach and the coach was like I want every club's allowed to have four foreigners and he's like I want you four, but he's got a whole trial. So we played a few friendlies and it turns out um.

Speaker 5 28:24

myself, joel and Andrew were signed, but they needed one more and we ended up ringing a guy another, another Australian guy and he came and joined us. So we had all four foreigners in the second division in Malaysia. And when I say it wasn't good money, it was still better than the A-League, because you saved everything. You got paid bonuses, accommodations included, cars included, flights were included and avocado on toast with published red scotch Smashed that money Making better money.

Speaker 5 28:55

But it was really interesting. We were in the second division, the club wanted to get promoted and we were equal. First Transfer window opened. Yeah.

Speaker 5 29:03

And we've got to change something. Politics comes in. The politicians that own the club want to change something and our coach is like do not do it, do not do it, do not do it. Sure enough, they get rid of Joel Chianese, who leaves us with three months payout. He signs at Perth Glory, plays there the next five seasons, which is a far better standard than the standard we were playing in the second division in Malaysia. Andrew Nabu he leaves us. This is an incredible story and one about determination, and he, he was so determined, he was so focused on it and he was younger than us, but he was really. He was so driven, it was almost like. Sometimes it was like it's too much like bro it's 40 degrees's 40 degrees outside.

Speaker 5 29:50

You're putting on a mask and running around our housing estate like with your shirt off in a Muslim country. Dude stop. What are? You doing, but he was so driven to succeed. So anyway, they've got rid of him. He's gone back to Newcastle Jets to trial. They signed him on a one-year deal worth $70,000. Gross. Yeah. Super included in that. After five months they gave him a new deal worth $80,000 and $90,000. Gross. Yeah.

Speaker 5 30:20

So he's been sacked by a second division Malaysian club. He's now in the A-League and he started winning it In that second season. The Jets have made the grand final. He's on $80,000. He finished that season. He's on $80,000. He finished that season. He went to the World Cup with Australia. He played at the World Cup, where you get $150,000 if you're in the squad, or it might even be more than that $200,000 to go to the World Cup.

Speaker 5 30:42

From there a Japanese club paid the Jets $500,000 roughly. He went there for $64,000 US net a month. Jeepers he went there for 64 000 us net a month jeepers. So he was sacked from a second division malaysian club and 18 months later he goes to a world cup yep and earns ridiculous yeah that's crazy, but just a perception right the perception of we need change, politicians getting involved in football where they shouldn't. You know he would have been in Hurt Locker, yeah.

Speaker 5 31:14

Like what am I going to do? I've got to go back in trial now. I wasn't good enough. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah. Then he's gone on to be. He's paid. Become what he is, he's now in. Melbourne City. He's been there for four years.

Speaker 4 31:29

He's fine.

Speaker 5 31:30

But it's crazy, made bank. Yeah well, it's made bank, unreal, but yeah. So that was my first trip to.

Speaker 4 31:36

Malaysia. That was your first trip to Malaysia and you must start the fact that you were also named captain of that side.

Speaker 5 31:42

Yeah.

Speaker 4 31:42

Yeah.

Speaker 5 31:42

Yeah, that was.

Speaker 3 31:43

Did you get paid extra, a little bit extra, for being captain? Absolutely not, I just had to shout the coffees every time.

Speaker 5 31:49

Because the coach was like mate, I made you captain on a free. Yeah, Start shouting yeah.

Speaker 4 31:55

So that was yeah. What 2016 season that you then signed for Ngeri Sembilan.

Speaker 5 32:01

Ngeri Sembilan, Sembilan yeah. Ngeri in Malaysian is state. Okay, it means state, and Sembilan is the number nine. Okay so there's 11 states and Negri is the ninth state, so we played for the state team, which meant you had a little bit of financial backing. But at the same time, it meant you were subject to politics.

Speaker 4 32:23

Yeah, sounds like it for sure, I think. I mean, I've been involved in the industry now as well, so I know exactly what you're talking about. I don't think there's a league in this world when politics doesn't infiltrate sport.

Speaker 5 32:35

I don't think there's a job in this world. You guys are in the mines. You can't tell me. Everyone that comes in the mines Must do the full job. Without knowing someone. Or he might have been a good league player.

Speaker 3 32:45

It happens everywhere Exactly 100% right, absolutely yeah.

Speaker 4 32:49

So 2016 season obviously over. Did you know where you were going next?

Speaker 5 32:56

Super successful season until that window. Yeah. I would have been there for the next three years. They were in love with me. Yeah, once they made the switches, taylor Reagan couldn't keep his mouth closed, and every time we'd lose a game, I reminded the politicians that they lost the game. Oh, wow.

Speaker 4 33:11

And my wife was pregnant, okay, Did she go over with you to Malaysia? Yes, okay.

Speaker 5 33:16

So all four of us that were there all had our partners with us. It was just a massive holiday, it was over. She was pregnant and we had a few things popping up. Yeah. Adelaide United came knocking. Yeah. And it made sense Wife pregnant, first child no really idea what we're doing. Albeit she's Kiwi and got 784 first cousins and kids, so she knows what she's doing. But we were very new to it so we were like, what should we do?

Speaker 5 33:49

And, sure enough, when Adelaide popped up, it was like this is perfect, this is a right move yeah, so I sent her home to have the baby, and I flew to Adelaide and I got the phone call within a week and a half of being there it's coming. So we had our first son born here in Newcastle, and then a week later he moved to Adelaide and we were there for the next two and a half years. Beauty.

Speaker 4 34:14

Great. From what you were telling me before we started, probably best time of your footballing career was at Adelaide United. Yeah, for sure, 2017 to 2019.

Speaker 5 34:26

A proper football club culture and feeling around it. We had success with the Australia Cup. We won that in 2018. We lost it in 2017. We finished third or fourth in the A League. Yeah, it was a good season two seasons, but it was a fun time. It was a great group of boys and plenty of stories that we can't talk about. We get in trouble, but yeah, it was a really good time, a really good time in my life and obviously I had a newborn son that was growing up in a beautiful city. Yeah.

Speaker 4 35:04

We loved it, yeah. So when from this like ultra low time in your career in 2015, obviously, when you were made captain of the Jets and things were just, like you say, on a bit of a bad wicket there with things that were happening in the background, and losing that deal then to the most probably greenest posture, like you say you've been into in 2017. It's quite a big change.

Speaker 5 35:27

Yeah, change is quick right. Yeah. I think that's the nature of the beast as well. That's the industry. You know the highs of winning and the lows of losing. Yeah, I've always said my whole career the high of winning isn't as high as the low of losing, though. Yeah, losing hurts way more than winning. Yeah, it's crazy, like I, it is crazy still to this day.

Speaker 4 35:49

I would agree with that statement wholeheartedly. Like I love winning.

Speaker 5 35:53

Yeah, when you win You're. So the elation and it's so good, but losing Losing hurts for A lot longer than winning Feels good. Yeah, I know, and I play, I don't know why.

Speaker 4 36:02

I don't know, Because when I play now and I come home after a loss, my missus is like she knows for the next, probably the rest of that day. I'm like not even one that she wants to talk to. She's like I'll leave you in your little cave because I know that you're just going to be in your own little space.

Speaker 5 36:19

It's a weird thing, isn't it? I don't know, if that's just.

Speaker 4 36:22

And don't you find that like when you lose, you'll go back and you'll watch and you'll be like I did that wrong and you'll analyze everything about your game, but when you win, you don't do that. No, I'm the opposite.

Speaker 5 36:30

You don't look If we win. I do not look, if we win. If we win I'm like I did that so good.

Speaker 4 36:40

Yeah, if I win, I'm like I go through all the video and I'll be like I did that wrong. I stuffed up here. I should have done this better.

Speaker 5 36:52

But when?

Speaker 4 36:52

I win, I don't even go. No, it's probably the opposite. I like watching the good stuff and I only look in the mirror after I've done a hookup. I think I need to take that approach from now on.

Speaker 3 36:57

So I know that's what I was just going to say. So, because obviously you just play week to week and all that and you were saying it hurts for so much longer, obviously you'd have to put that in the back of your mind and just be like push on, wouldn't you? Yeah, because you've obviously got to concentrate on the next week of football In a professional environment.

Speaker 5 37:12

It's a bit different, right.

Speaker 5 37:13

Because, in a professional environment. There's the scrutiny of social media, there's those things. But there's every single day. There's 25 of you in a squad that just lost. So you play on a Saturday night at 8 pm, at 8 am you're back with that losing group who are still in the same headspace as you. So you have to find a way to pick yourselves up. So it almost compounds it, it almost doubles you. You know, knowing that, fuck, I made that mistake or he was the one that made it. So it's a weird environment.

Speaker 5 37:45

Whereas winning you win at 8 pm, at 8 am. You're still awake, you're still winning.

Speaker 3 37:50

No, I'll never forget. It's funny you win at 8pm, at 8am you're still awake.

Speaker 4 37:52

Yeah, fair, still winning.

Speaker 5 37:52

Yeah, that's fun nah, I'll never forget the. It's funny. I went when I went to Adelaide. The coach at the time was a guy called Guillermo Amor. Yep, he played more than I don't know. Shane's a Wikipedia guy, but he played more than 350 400 games for Barcelona. Yeah, played more than 350, 400 games for Barcelona. Yeah, probably more than 50 games for Spain.

Speaker 5 38:14

Oh yeah, he was the first graduate to go from the Academy of Barcelona through to be like a captain of Barcelona, whatever. He was a legend, yeah, okay, and he was the coach and he was so laid back and relaxed. He, yeah, it was. When you look back now I'm like you know that was so incredible to have somebody of such his stature. Yep, and he was so like tranquilo, everything Tranquilo. Just little hands.

Speaker 5 38:42

He's got a problem? Yeah, we had the baby, and after five days my phone rings you know the gaffer's ringing me. I'm like, oh shit, I must be in trouble. I've got you know the gaffers I'm like oh shit, I must be in trouble. I'll get back. I'm like hey, coach, and he's like Taylor. He's like how is it going? I'm like it's good. He's like, hey, he's so good this moment for you. He goes it's okay, take three, four weeks, he's no problem is this a trick? Question I didn't know.

Speaker 3 39:08

I said like I remember that had a real sexy accent. Yeah, he was sexy.

Speaker 5 39:13

I remember we lost. We lost one game and he brought us in On the morning after. And he didn't mean to Come across this way. But we we turned around after and we just started laughing. He got us in and he's way over Barcelona Spain. He's a legend. We're in the A-League. The average salary is probably 180 yeah and he's like he goes he's okay he goes it's okay.

Speaker 5 39:39

Sometimes in this sport is we know I ride it's okay he said but my respect for you is is so, so much right, because your salary is is like this. And he's like literally looking around the room and like just his hands just wandering across our face, like your salary is is like this. And I'm thinking and we walked out and we're like how big are those balls? Like all right, mate, we get it like we're on 200k and you've earned 40 million.

Speaker 4 40:09

Yeah, but it was just. He's probably doing it for free because he's still living off the interest.

Speaker 5 40:13

Yeah, but it was.

Speaker 4 40:14

Yeah, it was pretty, that's awesome sounds like quite a legend and probably why, obviously, like you say, you had such a successful time. There was because, obviously, having that experience and the guidance and taking a bit of the pressure off um, like you said, even when you do lose a lot of times, coaches can either compound that by coming down hard on you and being like, yeah, this was a terrible performance, like we were shocked. But for him it was kind of the opposite to be like let's take the pressure off, we lose. It's part of the sport. Let's move on, pick ourselves and go for sure and I guess to large extent in australia.

Speaker 5 40:45

We're pretty lucky. There is no real ramifications for losing right yeah, it's not europe where, if you come at the bottom, you're in the next division down yeah cost your club 40 million dollars. Yeah, it's completely different here, so there's always a way to put things in perspective, um, but yeah, he was. He was a special human. It was a fun time yeah, awesome.

Speaker 4 41:06

Um then, obviously, from going there, you decided to go back to Malaysia.

Speaker 5 41:11

Yeah, like I said, the money in Malaysia wasn't great, but it was because it was so cheap. Yeah, adelaide, the money seemed like it was good, but the lifestyle and it's more expensive. It's way more expensive. So we got to a point where I was like I started to get some interest. I still had a contract for another year. Yeah.

Speaker 5 41:37

I started to get some interest. I still had a contract for another year. Yeah, I started to get some interest to go abroad. Um back to malaysia and not going to a small club this time, it was one of the biggest clubs. Um they came in.

Speaker 5 41:43

They made an offer and I was like holy shit, I gotta go. And they said we're gonna watch your game against wellington phoenix. And we won three. One, three nil over in wellington played really well. I was like, yes, yes, I sold the deal, I might even be able to get a bit Phoenix and we won 3-1, 3-0 over in. Wellington Played really well. I was- like yes. Yes. Sold the deal. I might even be able to get a bit more out of them.

Speaker 5 41:56

And they're like we're very impressed. The coach rang me Very impressed. The agent rang me hey, good game, man, they're loving you. Now they're going to get the board to watch you against Brisbane Raw. Oh no, 2-0. Playing well, I get a yellow card. No, worries, I got a yellow card. Yeah, stephen Moore Comes off the bench For Brisbane.

Speaker 5 42:16

First thing he says when he runs on the pitch, you say you see, our Spanish midfielder Gets a ball and he gives the ball away With a long pass. And this player has just come on and he laughed at him and he's like You're fucking shit. And I was like you, you're cheeky, but let it go. Anyway, I've made a foul. This kid who's just come on has run 60 meters and pushed me in the back and I was and I just couldn't. I couldn't get hold of him properly. Yeah, he was just in front of me but everyone was pulling me away, but I was like I was close enough to put both thumbs straight in his eye and I've just ripped his eyes out and got sent off I remember sitting in the shed and my phone.

Speaker 5 43:01

I pulled my phone out and the agent's ringing me and I'm like, oh no what have I done anyway deal's off.

Speaker 5 43:07

deal's gone, deal's gone. They pulled off the table. He's a hothead, he's a lunatic. So then, for the next three weeks, I'm kicking myself. I lost my spot, obviously. I was suspended and they got an Iranian, a Korean and someone else into trial. See, what happens in Asia is you can have four or five foreign spots. One must be with an Asian passport, and australia has an asian passport in football oh yeah so they trialed an iranian.

Speaker 5 43:35

He couldn't speak english and all malaysians can speak enough. Yeah, um, they trialed a korean. Same deal. They trialed a few others. So three weeks later the coach is rung me and he's like are you back in the team? And I was like I hadn't heard from him since before the game. I'm like, yeah, he goes. Man taylor, I've trialed everyone, I can't find one. I like yeah, I want you, but you can't do this again yeah, we played I can't remember who we played.

Speaker 5 44:07

And I played well, we won, and I went into the office the next day. I had in my contract that if I'd played more than 75% of games, my transfer clause was $300,000, which I couldn't do. That the package in Malaysia was a little bit less than that as a package. Cut the cake how you want, taylor. Here's your package.

Speaker 5 44:29

If I'd played less than 75, but more than 50, yeah the get out cause was 150 000 if I'd played less than 50. And so, thanks to my red card, I was at like 54, but I wasn't. If I didn't play the next game, yeah, I would be under 50. So I was like, well, it's up to you, but I can wait one more week. But so in the end, they let me go, I under 50. So I was like, well, it's up to you, but I can wait one more week. So in the end, they let me go. I paid $50,000 out of my own money to break the contract, knowing that I actually got that back in the signing bonus you know what I mean With the other club, and I was on a plane four or five days later, but it was just, yeah, it was crazy. What a roller coaster, oh it was, but it was fun, like it was all. It was all fun and it was yeah yeah, it was again.

Speaker 5 45:16

It was a great time in my life, but the financial stability that that next contract, which was only for one year, was going to give me, yeah, it was huge.

Speaker 4 45:25

So that's unbelievable, because do you think it helped the fact that you still had that extra year, that you weren't necessarily like with the Jets, where you came out and you had nothing and then you were like, okay, well, I've got to get something. And so you jumped to the first.

Speaker 5 45:38

Yeah, it's just a timing thing. The A-League doesn't line up with a lot of places in Asia, so I was leaving the A-League in January to go to Malaysia, which is what I did.

Speaker 5 45:52

But the A-League contracts finish in June, so it's the middle of the A-League season. So I came out of contract at the Jets in that rough period in June. But that's the middle of the season in a lot of Asian clubs. So unless the politics has played a part and they want to change players, there's not really a time to change too many, whereas in January, the middle of the A-League season, malaysian clubs are looking so it worked all right.

Speaker 4 46:17

Okay, yeah, nice, I mean that would have been, and that's obviously that second stint in Malaysia you were there at is it Selangor, selangor, selangor.

Speaker 5 46:28

So that was probably not the biggest, but Well it is. It's the man United of Of Malaysia. Of Malaysia. Okay, there's a new club called Johor, and they're the man City. So, they've won everything for the last 10 years now. Yeah, but they're so far advanced With facilities, with budgets, with all that. So yeah. But, Selangor is the big club in Asia, traditionally, so to join them was massive talking 70,000 people at games.

Speaker 3 46:58

It was just a different world it was incredible sell out every week, type of thing you couldn't sell it out because it was a 100,000 seat stadium but yeah it was incredible it was really good.

Speaker 4 47:10

I loved it that's awesome and ended up playing there for two years.

Speaker 5 47:14

Yep, Halfway through the first year got offered an extension. Yep. Signed that, and then that second year was when COVID hit. Yeah, okay. And I was a captain, and the first thing they did was try and cut salaries. So it was my responsibility as captain to stand up for the players and fight the management to get our salaries as close to what we could as possible. Okay. So I put people off, which I knew was going to happen. But to stay in a club for more than two years in Malaysia is fairly rare anyway. Yeah.

Speaker 5 47:48

But yeah, I wouldn't say I made enemies, but I had to fight for what the players wanted, because that was my role as captain and it probably hurt a little bit some relationships with people, but again I was able to fight and the locals were able to trust me and I think I left a real legacy with them because I learned to speak their language. Like um say well, they check up some more bahasa malay, I can speak everything malaysian I just said like so I learned as captain.

Speaker 5 48:18

Yep, if I'm going to really connect with these people yeah I need to try and take it upon myself to do everything I can, so I did that, yeah, and then, my coach Did you learn all the swear words first?

Speaker 3 48:30

They were the first thing I learned. Chalaka shit pookie pussy.

Speaker 5 48:37

But yeah, the coach that took me there, that was the one that went into bat for me when I had someone. He ended up leaving halfway through the year during COVID and went to a second division club and that's where I went after that. Okay, he took me and a heap of others to get him promoted and we did. Yeah. But we had financial difficulty and all that, so I'm still, to this day, owed a fair bit of money. Yeah.

Speaker 5 49:02

It's been through the court system. The club's actually folded for now. Okay, if they ever try and come back, the debt will reappear. Okay. There is a bit of a fund there where I can sort of chase the money if I desperately need it. But it gets a bit complicated and things like that. So we'll see. Until I'm on my knees, I'll… yeah.

Speaker 4 49:22

So that was what half of 2021 that you were at. What was Sarawak United Sarawak?

Speaker 5 49:29

United so 2019, first season in Selangor, 2020, second season in Selangor halfway through COVID. Early on COVID, hit season was shortened. End of that season signed a two-year contract with Sarawak. Okay. So the terms of the contract was this is your salary for two years, but if you get us promoted, this will be your salary the second year okay so the way it works in football is if you're ever more than two months behind on salaries, you can give them 15 days notice yeah terminate your contract.

Speaker 5 50:01

So all year we were two months behind, two months behind, two months behind, and I kept giving notices because I knew that the guy had the money, but he was asset rich, cash poor. Oh yeah, he just kept giving 15 days quick settle it and we were top. So he was never not going to settle it. Yeah, season finished, we got promoted. Everyone's celebrating. We're still two months behind. Mate, here's your 15 days. I'm going back to Australia for the off-season. Yeah.

Navigating High-Pressure Football Careers

Speaker 5 50:30

Out of sight, out of mind, 15 days game. My lawyers rang me and she was like what do you want? To do. And I'm like, what does this look like? And she's like, if you give them that letter now, you are officially a free agent and they will owe you every single cent through the court of law. And I was like give that letter now.

Speaker 5 50:51

Bang gave them the letter. They transferred me $80,000 about four hours later, but it was too late. It was already out of the days and, by the way, that's not too. 80,000 wasn't too much, that was a lot more than that.

Speaker 5 51:05

But yeah, so they trying to please stay, please stay, yeah. And yeah, I was like sorry it's gone and at the same time Arthur Pappas was the coach of the Jets and was like we'd love you to come in and we need a bit of a culture, we need some leaders in our change room. So I came in there and played 10 games out of the last maybe 15 or 16 of the A-League season and then I was done.

Speaker 4 51:30

I was an old man, officially full circle started at the Jets, ended at the Jets. Yep started at the.

Speaker 5 51:37

Zuri finished at the Zuri right yeah, real full circle. Yeah, it was good it was good.

Speaker 5 51:46

I mean again, some things in there just didn't smell right from the get-go yeah unfortunately the jets have but new owners, they'll be better for it, I think um, but yeah, it was good. It was good because we had our second child when we were in malaysia. Um, there's something in the water over there, so if you have anyone listening out there that might have the stress of trying to get their wife across the line, I'll tell you what you do in. Malaysia Go to Malaysia.

Speaker 5 52:15

So, yeah, we fell pregnant as soon as we went there with the second stint at Selangor. So, yeah, it was good because I got to come back here, um, and play in newcastle, I think one of my last games. I knew I was coming to the end. I took both the kids out on the pitch before it. So I've got a lifelong memory or a photo there of me standing on the pitch in my hometown jersey with my two boys on my hips. So that's pretty, pretty special. Yeah, um. But yeah again, we, we, I would have stayed in malaysia longer. My wife's niece, my niece, uh, passed away. She drowned in the lake. She was four years old, no life jacket, with somebody that wasn't a family member, and they tipped and she passed away. So my, my wife and kids jumped on the next flight. So I did the last five months in malaysia by myself, um they had to do the quarantine thing and all that.

Speaker 5 53:09

But she just wanted to get home, she wanted to be around, family coveted, taking its toll, and then this was the final straw yeah they were at home and I was there for five months and I was like, all right, right, I'm done this two-month, you know thing can happen, let's do it. So, yeah, when the opportunity come to be back full-time. I kind of went let's do it.

Speaker 3 53:32

Yeah, five months in Malaysia. Come on Five months in Malaysia by yourself. You would have played up, wouldn't you?

Speaker 5 53:39

During COVID. What are?

Speaker 3 53:40

you going to do Fair enough. I knew you might have played up.

Speaker 5 53:43

I needed a VPN to play up. That's fair enough. That's awesome, yeah, look it was the first two weeks no kids, no wife. That's who you want to be Sleeping. Oh, how good is this. I'm watching. Netflix all day. Go to training, yeah. And then there was me and a Brazilian boy, Sandro. What a player, but what a drinker man. We would train. We'd finish training, We'd go straight to the brew house. You'd get a book of pints, 10 pints for like maybe 20 Australian dollars.

Speaker 5 54:17

I would have been smashed. Well, it wasn't eight, we'd go halves. We'd have five pints each, but we'd have. This was honestly. This was four days a week, but it's so hot you're not putting on weight, yeah. And then we'd have two bowls of carbonara and some chicken wings and we'd sit at this joint four days a week, five days a week, and just do a laugh, and his wife was back in Brazil with his two daughters. My wife and the two boys were in Australia and we were just like what are we doing?

Speaker 4 54:46

That's awesome. What are we doing? That is awesome? Oh man, that's unbelievable, yeah, all right, so kind of where I want to just maybe just wrap this up with you, riggs, is just, you spent most of your life in a pretty high-pressured environment where it was perform or lose your job or potentially obviously get dropped and, yeah, sitting on the bench. So you're fighting um every week for, like you say, two spots in the team and if you're not, um, that pressure of kind of gets you. Yeah, what are some of the tools that you kind of used in order to help manage not only the pressure of that, but maybe even the disappointment of not always performing at your best?

Speaker 5 55:34

Yeah, I think the one thing I was always mindful was that I kind of felt like I could live two lives. I felt like family and friends were a massive escape for me, and because my friends and family weren't in that industry, they didn't understand it, but it also meant the conversations weren't about that. I feel like when life hits you hard with money issues or things like that and you're at work and you're working hard to make that money but you know that it probably only still only just makes ends meet.

Speaker 5 56:11

It doesn't give you the lifestyle you want. But then you go home and the wife might have been shopping or wants to go shopping and things like that. There's no escape from your issue, whereas in football my issues were football. My wife had no idea about football. She still doesn't know what you know. Um, and my mates, like I said, they were league boys yeah, I just wanted to drink and fight yeah, so they didn't have that pressure.

Speaker 5 56:36

So what? What it allowed me to do was switch off completely from that, whilst in football I still had those stresses, those tough times, but at home yeah that was completely different and I think I had that everywhere I went. I think I always had that, except for that period through covid where the family weren't there. It was football and football yeah but the performances and in my mind I was ready to come back.

Speaker 5 57:04

So I wasn't stressed about the next contract and that period in 2015 where the home life, because of what was happening with the mother-in-law yeah, was tough, that that side of my life was coming to training because of the, the individuals that felt upset with me. So that was probably the only period of my life where both sides of my life combined yeah, kind of clashed, you know they. There was no escape from it, but in terms of the rest of it, there was always. I could put it to the side, if that makes sense, I think, and I think that's pretty important. I I don't know what everyone goes through. I've never keep getting reminded, I've never had a real job, but I feel like that's still so important, right. Yeah.

Speaker 5 57:55

And it's not. And my escape wasn't go and drink, or you know.

Speaker 5 58:01

Yes, be social, but not turn to the bottle yeah, um or turn to drugs or anything like that but it was just completely switch off from what the pressures were yeah um, and I guess I feel like there would always be a way to do that in every situation yeah um, and I mean I don't speak for those that go through tough times, but that would be my biggest thing is to try and find something where you don't actually think about it, that that escape doesn't necessarily have to be fun or anything, but it just has to be completely. Just distracts you. It just distracts your mind.

Speaker 4 58:36

Yeah yeah that's awesome, yeah, I think that's the biggest tool yeah that's great, that's a great tool.

Speaker 4 58:41

I think, um, yeah, like you say, it's always good to have that separation between the problem, um, and your escape, so that, yeah, if you are faced with, like you say, something that you're really struggling with, the way that you can separate and say right, that's something that's at work or at football, like you say, or wherever it may be with family, and then my distraction is completely different and it's something where I know exactly how you feel, like when you say, you get onto a soccer field sometimes and everything else disappears, yep for sure.

Speaker 4 59:12

And you're focused on in that moment what's happening, the next tackle you've got to make, the next ball you've got to kick, and how that really does take the pressure of maybe things outside of that moment that you're feeling. So, yeah, it's a really really key thing. I think you've really put it well. That's great, yep. And then, to end off, what does life look like now after football? Obviously, you're retired from professional football. Yep. What does life look like for Taylor Egan now?

Speaker 5 59:41

Oh, it's busy. Yeah, I'm playing. Yeah, like you know, I'm playing against Shane in the local soccer. I've been doing that for two years now and I enjoy it.

Speaker 3 59:50

Is he any good?

Speaker 5 59:52

Me no.

Speaker 4 59:53

I'm terrible, he's all right, he tells me, he's awesome.

Speaker 3 59:56

No, he's good.

Speaker 5 59:59

He's a good keeper and they're a different breed in a way.

Speaker 3 1:00:05

Yeah, you left that part out.

Speaker 5 1:00:06

So I do that, and then, obviously, the boys are growing up, now seven and four, following in dad's footsteps. Yeah, big time. Seven-year-old in particular, is really good. He's playing under nines. Jdo at.

Speaker 5 1:00:18

Azuri and winning every game and really good. I own an academy with three other former professionals One goalkeeper, bencnamara, who traveled europe or lived in england for 14 years. Uh roy o'donovan, who's a big name here in newcastle yeah and also daniel mcbreen, who's a commentator for the a league yeah so the four of us own an academy um. I also work full at Hunter Sports. Eye. I coach the soccer program at the sports school. I go in the classroom and mentor some kids, make sure they stay on task and also look after a few.

Speaker 4 1:00:52

That might be a little a little hot headed like a young Mr Taylor Egan.

Speaker 6 1:00:57

yeah well I say you've got to have a hot head in sport like Johnny McEnroe and John Daly and stuff.

Speaker 3 1:01:03

You've got to have a hothead in sport. Well, that's it. Like Johnny McEnroe and John Daly and stuff.

Speaker 5 1:01:04

You've got to have those characters. I reckon Imagine if I said okay, ref.

Speaker 3 1:01:06

Yeah, that's exactly right how boring.

Speaker 5 1:01:08

How boring. Yeah, so that's Taylor Egan right now. Yeah, he has a fair bit of scope for my academy to become a big thing, and I just want to give back and build something that you know, if my son becomes a professional footballer, well brilliant, but if he doesn't and I've built this academy, that's a well-oiled machine maybe he can run the academy for me when I'm older. Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:01:33

Or maybe he can be involved, and I set that up. My wife's in the education department. She works at a primary school here in Newcastle. Mate, we're home. We're from dudley. Yeah, you don't leave our postcode once you're in. You're in, we're there we're set yeah, that's awesome.

Speaker 4 1:01:49

I love the fact that um, like you say, you've obviously had a lot of experience and played at the highest level that's offered here. Um I mean I forgot to mention um you were. You were an australian under 17 set up um when you were younger as well, before you signed with the Jets, so you were exposed to that national level as well. Obviously, unfortunate, injury didn't allow you to represent them, to get an actual cap for them. I mean, the fact that you were involved in that camp was still something that you need to…. I had long blonde hair believe it.

Speaker 5 1:02:20

Oh yeah, that was good luck, something that you need to long blonde hair. Believe it oh yeah that was good luck.

Speaker 4 1:02:26

So the fact that you've had this illustrious career that you you've had and now you're giving back, I think the nice, if I can say anything, is that, even if your son doesn't, like you say, follow in your footsteps, I think you have the scope to really inspire so many kids, yeah, and really, like you say, mentor them in the fact that you're involved in the Hunter Sports Program and you're mentoring kids there. Yeah, what a beautiful thing to kind of be like I now have the chance to give back.

Speaker 5 1:02:59

Yeah, for sure, and that's the best thing, right? It's scary, though when you work in a school system, you see the pressures that they're faced with. Not so much the pressures but the distractions the social media, the gaming. Like you know, there's kids that are funded at the school right. There's kids that are funded at the school, that come with autism, adhd, bipolar, medicated kids. For this, for that. They're not the issue. They're great kids, they're good kids, they're just sometimes misunderstood. Yeah.

Speaker 5 1:03:38

But the kids that sit in front of gaming devices all day, all weekend, then come to school. They have no social skills. That's the scary thing and that's where I think you know I see the biggest issues moving forward is that they are addictive devices for these kids. So when I see kids on games in classes, when they're meant to be doing English but they're playing games, I lose my mind.

Speaker 2 1:04:05

And I'm not even to teach it. I'm like they're like Mr, what are you doing? I'm like get off mate.

Speaker 5 1:04:12

You look like you haven't seen the sun in six weeks. Mate, get outside on the weekend. Please go to the skate park, fall off, come to school with the greys on your knees. Kiss your first girl. I don't care, you're 14. Wake up, get out of your bedroom.

Speaker 3 1:04:26

You've just hit the nail on the head because me and my missus we went out for dinner only a couple of weeks ago and there was a couple of young kids there and the parents are just throwing an iPad in front of them. Yeah, it's like where's the colouring in pencils?

Speaker 5 1:04:44

You. So I understand exactly where you're coming from with that. Yeah, and there's a time it's too easy, it's too easy. I always say, oh no, no iPads, I'll give mine an iPad, yeah, yeah. But like there's a time and a place, go and play mud footy, go and fuck. Yeah, those are the best days. I still remember.

Speaker 4 1:04:55

Yeah, poured a three knots on, just picked. If you're well outside with your mates.

Speaker 3 1:05:00

Yeah, so we used to do that, but we used to play cricket and stuff like that.

Speaker 4 1:05:03

How do you play cricket in the rain, bro?

Speaker 3 1:05:05

We do it all the time. Oh dude Backyard cricket in the rain, bro it's awesome. Oh, okay, fair enough. But it's single and there's not too many options like you can do back there, Exactly League cricket, I don't know he.

Speaker 5 1:05:25

I just want to let everyone know yeah, go Sydney FC. I don't play anymore.

Speaker 3 1:05:27

Go for it, no honestly, we really appreciate you giving us the time of day to come on the show. Mate, I'm not much about footy, as I said to you at the start, but I've learned a lot today with your story and I think it's awesome, especially where you've been to, where you're going and where you are now. So I really really appreciate you. Yeah, very exciting.

Speaker 4 1:05:45

Thanks for the time, thanks so much for taking the time out to obviously come and share with us your story, obviously, the things that you struggled with and just your journey so far, and, if I can say one thing obviously is good luck in your future in terms of your academy, elite Football Academy, yep Anyone who's listening and wants to send their kids Join the waiting list, join the waiting list. But good luck and thank you. Thank you for obviously putting your heart out there to share not only with our listeners but obviously your career in football, whether it be local or abroad. You're welcome anytime and, yeah, we want to say thank you. So All the best For the future, rock on and we Hope to have you again, maybe in the future, when things are For sure.

Speaker 5 1:06:35

Thanks for having me. Guys, keep doing good things and you know, I'm sure People out there will Become more and more aware Of what you're doing and appreciative of the things you do for them as well.

Speaker 4 1:06:45

Absolutely.

Speaker 5 1:06:46

Thanks guys. No, no, no. Thank you very much.

Speaker 3 1:06:48

You're welcome anytime. That was awesome.

Speaker 5 1:06:49

Yeah, shev.

Speaker 3 1:06:50

Yeah, no. So To wrap up this episode it was good, it was good, yeah, I loved it. I thought it was great. I thought you really had a good day.

Speaker 4 1:06:56

I thought it was great. Yeah, in Regan reminded me of a little outro that I'd love to give a pink button. This is probably if.

Speaker 4 1:07:09

I was going to describe you in any way, this would be like the theme song I'd have for it. Yeah, regs, we appreciate you being on here. Mate, thank you so much for sharing your story with us and everything you've achieved. Congratulations, obviously, on your career. We appreciate you being on here, mate. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and everything you've achieved. Congratulations, obviously, on your career. We would love having you on here, honestly and sharing your story. So, shev Yep, another episode done.

Speaker 3 1:07:36

Mate, I'm absolutely cheering it was awesome, I really had fun today. Yeah, yeah, it was awesome, it was awesome.

Speaker 4 1:07:42

So anyone who is listening yeah, remember socials. Yeah, socials. Leave a lot on podcast. Yep, that's Instagram, that's Facebook and, according to Shiv, we now have TikTok. Yeah, we do so I don't know, what TikTok is all about.

Speaker 3 1:07:56

You'll never get me on. I'm not a big TikToker. It's taken me weeks to figure it out. I bloody use it.

Speaker 5 1:08:02

Guys, I walked in the front door here and I saw him doing a Beyonce TikTok All the single ladies just said. Shirt off in front of the mirror.

Speaker 3 1:08:09

Shirt off in front of the mirror, yeah, but last thing I suppose, give you, yeah, give Taylor, you know, give yourself a plug on Academy. Yeah, Elite Football.

Speaker 5 1:08:20

Academy. Yeah, Newcastle Elite Football Academy. We're only new. We're about 18 months old. We've got a large waiting list, but we've also got about 180 kids already. I'm trying to build a pathway where we can create some future Socceroos around Newcastle and hopefully get the Jets back to winning ways Jump on it.

Speaker 4 1:08:40

Get around it. So get around it. If anyone's wanting more information, hit us up. I'm sure we can get you those details. But, riggs, thanks. So much Appreciate it.

Speaker 3 1:08:49

I really appreciate it. Anyway, another episode Stay safe. Another episode.

Speaker 4 1:08:52

Stay safe and don't forget to leave a light on.

Speaker 2 1:08:56

Hey, thanks for listening. We hope you've managed to gain some insight from today's episode. Jump onto our