‘I don’t do things half-arsed’: Tayla Harris opens up about Matildas-themed kit, boxing career

Harris, who will challenge Millicent Agboegbulem for the Australian super-welterweight title at Moore Park on Wednesday, worked with Nike to design the unique fight kit as a way of showing her support for the national side.

“To be able to piggyback on that a little bit is something I saw as an opportunity to show my support for the Matildas specifically, but more holistically, what Australian athletes are doing on a world scale is really exciting,” she tells CODE Sports.

Harris is an enthusiastic fan – she dressed up as Sam Kerr for the Big Freeze slide at the MCG last month, wearing a captain’s armband, footy boots, and a dyed black ponytail to match Kerr’s.

But the AFLW premiership winner, two-weight Australian boxing champion and one of the most recognisable athletes in the country seems to be still coming to terms with also being a peer.

“I’m often in touch with other athletes that have made a name for themselves in their own sports, and I get star struck every time,” she says.

“Whether it’s Sam Kerr when I wore her kit for the Big Freeze Slide, or Steph Gilmore.

“Just to be able to have that little connection along the way, and know that these people I grew up looking up to are accessible now in some capacity, I certainly feel very privileged to have a communication line to some of these athletes.”

It’s a lesson she has adopted in her own approach to footy, fighting and fame.

In the Kick it like Tayla documentary released last year, Harris is shown Facetiming an excited school girl who wanted to ask her some questions for a homework project.

A simple enough task, but it’s something that Harris – who is constantly busy juggling her two professional sporting careers with owning a gym and another side hustle as a marriage celebrant – knows will have a lasting impact.

“I’m probably the most jam-packed person on the planet, but I’ve got all the time in the world for any young people who are brave enough to come and say hi,” she says. “I know when I was younger I was pretty shy to talk to people.

“To be able to influence people in a positive way – it might change their life. I love that about being an athlete and a role model.”

It’s a full on existence – her calendar planner might be the most used app on her phone – but she makes it work.

“I don’t do things half-arsed. When I want to do something, I give it everything and see what happens,” she says, adding: “I love trying things, putting things out there.

“I’m not afraid to fail, I’m not afraid to lose. That’s put me in good stead to just take on anything.

“The more people baulk at an idea, the more I’ll be inclined to do it.”

There’s a certain level of stubbornness there, but Harris, her footy team and her boxing crew are conscious of the delicate balancing act she’s performing.

“Physically the benefits (of juggling both sports) are clear, and mentally, the thing I need to continue to be clear with and communicate, is how I’m coping,” she says. “And at the moment, it’s really well.

“I feel really happy and really able to balance both sports. All of that comes down to transparency and a willingness for both coaches to work together.

“I’m not about to miss a training session of either in order to build the other one. Particularly with the team (Melbourne), I don’t want to be seen as cutting corners.”

If anything, Harris’ flag-winning Melbourne teammates are enthusiastic supporters of her boxing career. Many of them will be supporting from ringside on Wednesday, and a few of them have even given boxing a try.

“A lot of the girls are keen to see what it’s all about,” Harris says. “Obviously it’s great for fitness, but a lot of the girls are really keen to understand the process of a fight, the training camp, the weight cut and the lead-up.

“It’s been really nice of them to show genuine interest.”

There will be even more interest if Harris starts charting a path towards a world title fight, which could come as early as next year.

First though, she plans on claiming the Australian title on Wednesday, before watching the Matildas take on Nigeria 24 hours later.

“The Matildas can obviously win it,” she says. “They dare to dream and it would be the most unbelievable thing if they managed to get it done at home.”