Kuwarna forward Taylor Walker has revealed how a pair of his favourite sunglasses was the catalyst to meeting his now wife, Ellie.
Joining Roo, Ditts and Loz on Triple M Adelaide Breakfast, the crew was talking about meet cutes, which prompted Walker to tell his story.
He explained how he first met Ellie, and the clever move he pulled that brought about a second meeting.
“It happened to be that Scotty Thompson and I went to the Clipsal and were lucky enough to be in the Channel 7 box, Ellie’s Dad was working at 7, so she was driving the golf buggies around,” Walker said.
“Thommo and I needed a lift to the other side of the track, so she drove us, and I had my favourite pair of sunnies with me and I knew I wanted an excuse to see this girl again.
“So I said to her ‘I’m going out, can you hold my favourite pair of sunnies’, so that I would have to go see her during the week to see her again, and the rest was history.”
The story of the sunglasses did not end with their first meeting.
Walker recounted how he used the meet cute story as part of his proposal.
“I then re-enacted it when I proposed to her, which is the next part of the story,” Walker said.
“We went down to Victoria Park, she had no idea, and I said to her can you hold my sunnies and hold them forever.
“She is a legend, and it’s a great story to have.”
Walker also took the chance to chat through Saturday night’s epic Showdown 57, where Kuwarna held off the fast-finishing Power to claim a five-point victory.
Irish defender Mark Keane etched his name into Showdown folklore in the final minutes, as he took a classic back with the flight grab to stop a dangerous Power attacking foray.
But Walker said it was not just the Irishman that stood up, with a number of key moments helping Kuwarna secure the win.
“I was probably the most stressed I’d been for a long time, that finish was very tense” Walker said.
“Having Mark Keane and then ROB (Reilly O’Brien) go back with the flight, and then Alex Neal-Bullen put his head over a ground ball on the wing, I feel like we really stood up in key moments.
“That Keane grab especially was incredible, you can’t teach that stuff, you’ve either got it or you don’t, and that moment will be replayed in Showdown history forever.”
The tough challenges do not stop for Walker and his teammates, as they travel to Melbourne to face top-of-the-table Collingwood this Saturday afternoon.
Having fallen to the Pies by under a kick in their last four encounters, the group heads to the home of football excited by the prospect of flipping the script.
“We are pumped, we can’t wait to get over to the MCG and play against probably the most in-form team in the competition,” Walker said.
“We’re super excited to take on the challenge, and hopefully we can steal four points off them as we haven’t done that in a while.
“They are very good defensively, so we will need to make the most of our opportunities going forward.
“Ball in hand they are also very good, they like to attack the corridor and get it in to there in forwards that are in-form. They are very quick in front of the ball, so we will have to be very switched on in defense all across the ground.”
Kuwarna faces Collingwood at the MCG this Saturday afternoon, with the first bounce at 12.40pm (ACST).
Fans can watch the game live on Channel 7 in Adelaide, as well as on Foxtel and Kayo.
