Adelaide midfielder Zac Taylor had a strong contingent of friends and family in the rooms after his AFL debut, despite some having less than two hours to make it to Adelaide.

Taylor got a call from Senior Coach Matthew Nicks about 10-and-a-half hours before the Crows were set to host GWS telling him he would be making his debut.

The 21-year-old quickly called his parents who jumped on the next available plane from Melbourne to Adelaide to watch their son play his first AFL game.

His brother even missed his own game of footy - and in a remarkable show of great mateship - Taylor’s hometown friends made a dash to the airport after their own footy games to be there for him.

“I called my parents first and my brothers as well and then I went and told my two housemates - Dan Curtin and Hugh Bond - that I was going to be playing and they got around me so it was pretty exciting,” Taylor said.

“They were straight on the plane two hours later, same with my brother.

“I also had a few mates who played footy then came over to watch me, some of them played their games at 2 o’clock and finished at 5.30pm, went straight to the airport after that and got here in time, which was good.

“It means a lot to share that moment with them. It (debuting) is something I’ve always dreamed about and having them over here was very special.”

Nicks told Taylor the news on Saturday morning, leaving the midfielder overwhelmed with emotion.

“I woke up to a missed phone call from Nicksy in the morning,” Taylor said.

“I didn’t know what it was for at the time but he told me I’m not playing in the SANFL at 2 o’clock and that I was going to debut in the AFL.

“I was pretty speechless to be honest, I wasn’t expecting it.

“Obviously I was an emergency but I didn’t really think I was a sniff to actually play, it was pretty overwhelming at the time.”

Adelaide selected Taylor with Pick No.44 at the 2021 AFL National Draft and his AFL debut did not come without hardships.

Taylor spent most of 2023 on the sidelines after he was awkwardly caught under a tackle, rupturing his Lisfranc ligament, during the Crows’ Round Four match against South Adelaide.

He underwent surgery, beginning a long-term rehabilitation program, all while those he was drafted to the Club with - Jake Soligo, Josh Rachele and Luke Nankervis - were playing AFL.

But the youngster was able to overcome both the mental and physical obstacles and used the injury as motivation.

“I was pretty raw coming in and over my first two pre-seasons I think I struggled a bit with running and building up muscle,” Taylor said.

“Last year, when I hurt my foot and missed the whole year, that was a good stepping stone to get my body right and get it up to AFL standard.

“It was extremely tough mentally, though.

“I think knowing all those boys had got their opportunity… but to finally get the opportunity was a big relief and to share it with Nank, Rash and Soli was really special.”

A string of solid performances in the SANFL, including 26 disposals against the Eagles in Round 10 and 18 in the Crows’ Round Nine State League match against South Adelaide, were the catalysts for Taylor’s call-up.

He said going straight into the midfield and lining up on the Giants’ midfield brigade was a moment he wouldn’t forget and was pleased to cap the night with a win.

“I was just warming up and then got the tap on the shoulder to say ‘you’re going straight into the middle of the ground to start the fourth quarter, which was very exciting,” Taylor said.

“It was pretty crazy going in and lining up on the likes of Tom Green and Stephen Coniglio and Josh Kelly, players who I have been watching the past couple of years and admiring how they go about it so it was pretty surreal being matched up on them.

“We got the result we wanted and that’s going to be huge going forward and hopefully keep building on that.”