THIRTY has long been the line of demarcation that distinguishes the summer from the autumn of a career. 

Some perform in the twilight zone longer than others. 

Taylor Walker is in that bracket. 

The Adelaide veteran turns 36 on Saturday. He was supposed to be done last year. And the year before that. 

But after slotting five goals in Saturday night’s one-point win over St Kilda at Adelaide Oval, Walker is the third oldest player in Champion Data history to kick five goals in a game at 35.98 years old.

Matthew Lloyd retired at 31. Injuries ended Jonathan Brown's career by 32. Wayne Carey called time just after his 33rd birthday. 

Walker has kicked 262 goals since turning 30, sitting fourth all-time behind only Brisbane great Alastair Lynch, who kicked 439 of his 633 goals after the age of 30, mainly during the Lions' three-peat under Leigh Matthews. 

Geelong champion Tom Hawkins slotted 318 of his 796 goals across his final six seasons, while four-time Coleman medallist Lance Franklin – the most recent player to kick 1000 goals – kicked 272 goals in his 30s. 

Walker has played 306 games across 18 seasons at West Lakes, but produced a career year in 2023 when he kicked 76 goals at the age of 33 to be named in the All-Australian team for the first time in his career. 

The former skipper kicked 39 goals last year and played his 300th game in the qualifying final loss to Collingwood, before signing a one-year contract extension for 2026 – the fourth one-year extension in a row.

Despite the rise of Riley Thilthorpe over the past 18 months, Walker is still Adelaide's most reliable target inside 50, converting a goal 29.6 per cent of the time the Crows target him.

Thilthorpe is a key part of the present under Matthew Nicks and the long-term future of Adelaide, but the 2025 All-Australian is going to take a long time to eclipse Walker's goals record at Adelaide – and might never get there. 

Walker needs only 10 more goals to become the first Crow and just the 28th player in VFL/AFL history to kick 700 goals. Tony Modra is next best at Adelaide with 440 of his 588 goals during his time at the Crows. 

Thirty automates veteran status in this game, but Walker, like many of the current cohort, is still delivering in the twilight.