Taylor Walker departs AFL in tears after Brisbane rival Dayne Zorko’s ‘kind gesture’ to deliver match ball

An emotional Taylor Walker has departed the AFL with his kids by his side — and a match ball in hand after a “kind gesture” from Brisbane rival Dayne Zorko.

The Lions’ thumping 53-point win over Adelaide on Saturday night was over as a contest early in the third quarter, and the final term became a farewell to ‘Tex’.

Walker kicked his 714th and 715th goals while staving off the tears until the very end.

“Pretty emotional, mate. I couldn’t ask for anything more. Very appreciate of the career I’ve had,” Walker told Channel 7.

“Done it for 19 years, I remember the time when the footy club rang me to take me as a little kid. I was sitting at the Broken Hill airport with my nan — 19 years later it’s all done.

“I couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve lived out a career for nearly 20 years, a little kid from Broken Hill. Hopefully I can (create) a path for all the young kids from Broken Hill.

“If you have a dream just go and chase it because you just never know. It wasn’t our night but we’ve just improved out of sight but Brisbane are the team to beat, they’re just unbelievable.

He said the three-quarter-time huddle where coach Matthew Nicks urged his team to fight for Tex “got me a little bit emotional”.

“As we know it takes 23 blokes to get it done and unfortunately tonight we found out where our weaknesses are and we found out how good a side Brisbane are,” Walker says.

“Yeah, mate, I’m upset but also very happy I’ve been able to do it for such a long period of time.”

Walker also paid tribute to Zorko for ensuring he left with a match ball.

“It’s all I’ve wanted. Kind gesture by Dayne Zorko to go and get it and give it to me,” he said.

Every player on the ground rallied around Walker after the game, with Brisbane star Charlie Cameron also giving a shoutout to his former teammate.

“I had my four years at Adelaide with him, he took me under his wing,” Cameron said.