GREATER Western Sydney has secured a vital part of its future, warding off significant rival interest to sign star defender Sam Taylor to a monster seven-year contract extension.
Taylor penned one of the AFL's longest extensions on Monday, adding seven more years to the final season of his deal to ensure the Western Australian will remain with the Giants until at least 2032.
The All-Australian and Giants best and fairest subsequently joins Port Adelaide captain Connor Rozee and Western Bulldogs spearhead Aaron Naughton as the only players signed through until the end of the 2032 season.
A series of rival clubs had already registered a high level of interest in Taylor ahead of his free agency campaign next year, with the mega deal taking the star interceptor off the market a full 18 months before his contract was due to expire.
"It's just fantastic news for the footy club. A player of Sam's quality, the person he is and his commitment to the club a year before he becomes a free agent, we couldn't be anymore delighted," Giants footy boss Jason McCartney told AFL.com.au.
"It was one where we caught up at the beginning of the year, we tabled a formal offer earlier in the year and we were working towards a timeline around the mid-year point of the year of having more of an understanding of where it sat.
"The length of the contract, that's something we talk about a lot now. Free agency has meant that the contracts are going to the six and seven-year mark and sometimes beyond that.
"We were comfortable going to those levels with the understanding that if it got to any stage where player or manager were prepared to field some offers – which it never got to that stage – that's certainly the level you'd be dealing with."
Taylor has established himself as one of the competition's premier key defenders in recent years, forming a vital part of its Grand Final backline in 2019 before winning both All-Australian honours and the club's best and fairest in 2022.
He ranks No.3 for intercept marks in the entire AFL this season – behind only Brisbane's Harris Andrews and the Western Bulldogs' Liam Jones – while he's lost just three contested defensive one-on-ones from 26 contests.
"He's just a fierce competitor. He hates being beaten and he's added that intercept marking to his game over the last couple of years. He takes on all-comers. Whether it's spoiling or intercepting, he's just incredibly difficult to beat," McCartney said.
