TAYLA Harris is acutely aware of how many times the game could have gone past her.

As the AFLW rapidly expands to become faster and more competitive than the year before, the 29-year-old Melbourne star has always known that she needs to find the extra one per cent if she wants to remain with the top echelon of players.

"I think if I was still the player I was when I started, I wouldn't even be in the league anymore, I certainly would have seen the door," Harris told AFL.com.au

"I think the development of AFLW means that I have to continue to evolve and grow.

"To continue to grow and to try and keep up with these kids that are coming in with super skills, I have to keep unpacking what could help me in my own way. And that's my point of difference. I'm willing to do that in my way." 

Doing it "her way" is no small feat for a premiership player like Harris. A dual-code athlete in AFLW and boxing, Harris has pursued competitive excellence her entire athletic career. And she's not afraid to lean into the most unconventional methods to do that. 

Recognising she wanted to improve her forward craft in 2026, Harris went beyond parking herself in front of goals for a few hours to take it to the next level. 

Wanting to work on her breathwork specifically, she reached out to Luke Sullivan, director of Human Performance Programs, where she implemented diving techniques to reduce her stress in front of goal. 

"I really enjoy trying to find new opportunities to get better and learn about myself as an athlete but then as a person as well," Harris said. 

"I thought I'd like to understand more about breathwork and then I thought 'What's the most extreme way to do that?' And that would be diving. In my opinion it's probably the most stressful time you need to apply the breath protocols, so [Luke's] formulated this program from his experience of using breath to stay calm while diving."

Spending parts of her off-season on the central coast of New South Wales, Harris traded the football field for pushing rocks underwater, implementing a mix of diving techniques to make her a more complete athlete. 

"We swim out to a buoy and then make our way down and essentially hold your breath," Harris said. 

"There was one time where I had to really trust [Luke], which I do, and I go down, I hold my breath and I stay calm. But then I go into a ball, be like seaweed and just kind of float and he'll spin me around as if I have been dumped by a wave. 

"Certainly, the first time I would do one of the tasks he would ask of me, I would probably have to come up for breath really quickly. Then next time, once I understood what was happening or what I needed to do, I could apply more of the process on the second occasion. 

"But that applies to footy as well. I think as you get older in your career, you become more comfortable in uncomfortable situations, which that's, in my opinion, the whole point." 

As one of the marquee faces of the competition since 2017, Harris has experienced both beloved celebration and media scrutiny across her career. From the iconic kick that sparked a media storm to moving clubs twice, Harris is no stranger to adversity, but she's never let it deter her. 

Instead, she's grateful for it.  

"I think my career certainly hasn't been straightforward, it's not been without adversity but I'm so thankful for it for a couple of reasons," she said. 

 "Obviously now I feel like I'm a better football player because of it, I've had to really bring myself back up a couple times whether it be from injury or I know changing clubs can provide stresses. 

"I mean, certainly in the moment I probably would feel a little bit snowed under, but now I'm feeling like I'm thankful for the adversity that I've gone through." 

After a shoulder reconstruction and a trade request to Hawthorn that collapsed in 2024, Harris put it all behind her to push herself to the limit in 2025. 

Her return to form last year not only aided Melbourne in rejoining finals contention, but the star was rewarded with a two-year contract extension – proof that a lot can change in a year when it comes to professional sport. 

"Well, I didn't want to go anywhere in the first place, so I suppose I would have signed [the extension] a while ago," Harris said. 

"But yeah, I think obviously after injury, I can only say so much. I have the foresight that I know what I was willing to put in but I suppose it's something that …you need to prove. 

"To not have had the opportunity to take the field up until the point where I did, it was really hard for me, to feel like I can see what is going to unfold because I know I put the work in but then having to be patient.

"Ask if patience has always been there, probably not, but now patience has been there and whatever's meant to be, will be. I believe I have proven to myself; there's no point in stressing about what is out of your control especially something like this where you just need to wait for the opportunity. 

"I was never going to go anywhere and I was happy to have had the opportunity to re-sign."

Now coming into her 11th season in the competition, Harris knows she's moving towards the twilight years of her career. But with a mindset of always striving to find her competitive edge to get better, she's confident she'll never wonder what more she could do.

"My nature is to explore. I'm a really curious person. So, I'm always going to take an opportunity to learn something new off someone new. I think everyone has something to offer," she said. 

"I enjoy unpacking that, asking a lot of questions, seeing if I can do it, testing myself. If it's physical, that's probably more likely. I'm certainly someone who will take an opportunity. I'm certainly not going to die wondering."