SYDNEY co-captain Luke Parker has challenged suspended Swan Elijah Taylor to take hold of his AFL future after his COVID-19 breach last week cost him playing until 2021.
Taylor's decision to sneak his girlfriend into the Swans' Perth quarantine hub accommodation saw him banned for the rest of the season.
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The AFL also fined the club $50,000, half of which will be suspended, with the remaining amount to count towards its 2021 soft cap total.
A "remorseful" Taylor spoke to Swans leaders and other teammates in the days afterwards, before fronting the entire group, including coaches and staff, to apologise on Wednesday.
"Elijah made a really poor decision, knowing beforehand the consequences of what would have happened," Parker said.
"He came out yesterday and addressed the group and we really want to put it behind us. We've got to take his word for it – he apologised – and we want to make sure we move forward, and he needs to learn from this situation.
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"Unfortunately, that's cost him his season, but at the same time we still need him to grow as a person and we want to give him every opportunity to have a successful AFL career.
"He's got some choices to make, but no doubt the group's going to do everything we can to support him."
Parker said it was important Taylor made the right decisions from here if he wanted to have a successful career and that he had to "earn respect back from the group".
An online 'troll' posted a racist comment on Taylor's Instagram page in the aftermath of the sanction, which the AFL and Sydney have since publicly condemned.
Parker called it "disgusting", saying it was "very easy for people to hide behind a computer screen".
He said the Swans needed to turn their attention to Saturday night's clash with Fremantle at Optus Stadium, in a battle between emerging midfielders.
With experienced pair Josh Kennedy and George Hewett sidelined by injury, Parker's been impressed with the development of James Rowbottom and Ollie Florent.
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"They just keep taking their game to another level each week and they've really matured this year," Parker said.
"The good thing is they've added a new boost of energy for our group and hopefully with the experience of myself and Josh in the midfield, we can continue to help them grow as players."
