Like everyone, the Tigers had done their research. Like every club, they had been emailed the list of basic probation conditions that Troy's manager Jason Dover had worked hard with the Northern Territory Department of Justice, the AFL and the Players Association to draw up, so that he could transfer interstate. They'd taken time to wonder whether they would be a good fit for Troy, too.
Francis Jackson, the Richmond recruiting manager, has no doubt some clubs were put off by Troy's past. He believes that three or four years ago, the Tigers would not have been in a position to offer Taylor both the on and off-field support he knows he will need to settle in and become what he is capable of. But in calling his name, he had no doubt Punt Road would be a place where he could thrive. ''There was no question on his footy ability. He doesn't fully understand the requirements of professional footy yet and patience will be a virtue, but I think we're in a far better position to give Troy the support and development he needs than we would have a few years ago,'' said Jackson, pointing out that when he started at Richmond three and a half years ago, the club had no fully-devoted welfare or development staff.
Now, there are four. ''I think we're far better resourced in that area now, and we're in a good position to give Troy the help he needs not just to succeed in footy, but with every other part of his life,'' Jackson said. ''He'll do the AFLPA traineeship, but we've talked about him continuing his education and through our indigenous centre we think there will be some opportunities for Troy to be involved in some indigenous community stuff here at the club, which is another positive. He'll have a good role model in Richard Tambling and, of course, we needed to take everything into account when we drafted him. Everyone deserves a chance. It's going to take him some time to understand what professional footy is - I'm sure he doesn't understand that yet - but he's a very talented player and we're willing to put a lot of effort into making sure that we bring that talent out.''
