Wahgunyah junior Taylor Duryea has never played in a losing grand final, he has the chance to join an exclusive club of players to win three AFL premierships.
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On Saturday night, the two-time Hawthorn flag winner crossed to the Western Bulldogs in 2019 and has become a key member in defence.
His mother, Bernie Rogers, hopes he can keep his impressive record in deciders intact against Melbourne.
"He won with the Bushies (Murray Bushrangers in 2008) and his first year at Hawthorn (in 2010) he won with the VFL development squad because back then you could only have seven senior players in the team," she said.
"He won the VFL premiership (with Box Hill) in 2013 and then the AFL in 2014 and 15, so he's been fortunate and we're just hoping that trend continues.
"It would be amazing if he could be a triple-premiership player."
Duryea, a standout junior and a regular in representative sides, came through the Riverina and NSW pathways around the same time as future Hawthorn teammates Luke Breust (Temora) and Matt Suckling (Wagga).
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Stepfather Ian Rogers was Duryea's first coach and recalled later being a stepladder for a 15-year-old Taylor as he took a spectacular grab in one of his first senior games at Wahgunyah.
"That was a cracking mark. I looked up and thought 'holy crap', it was big," he laughed.
"He was so clean. He played on ball and he was in and out so most blokes wouldn't get much of a chance to get to him.
"I remember his very first game out at Rennie and both teams were short. We had Taylor and they had a little kid, so we agreed to run them both out, but Tay played better than a lot of the side."
Mrs Rogers was resigned to the fact she wouldn't get to see her son run out for a third grand final in Perth, but will be glued to the TV.
"If it was Taylor's first grand final, it would be really tough to miss out, not that you get sick of them at all, but it was easier because we'd actually been to a couple," she said.
"He was emergency in 2013 as well, so we went to the parade and did it all three years in a row.
"We won't have anybody around, we just want to sit down, watch it and enjoy it."
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