The 191cm former Launceston Tornado was a shock signing for the Roos in June, but a change of heart led her to rip up the contract earlier this month to refocus on basketball.

A national representative at under-17 and under-19 level, the 25-year-old will continue plying her trade for Dandenong Rangers in the WNBL with the benefit of knowing the door at Arden St remains open to her.

“Tayla Roberts is interesting,” Gowans said ahead of his side’s maiden AFLW season.

“Her basketball is at a stage where she either needs to commit to it fully or give it up, and in conversations with her, she’s worked so hard for a number of years to get her basketball that good ... we said to her ‘if you can’t commit to us fully then really you need to make a decision’.

“She said that she wants to play AFLW … and it’s not off the cards, she was developing really nicely with her skills and she was working hard at it but the trouble was she was just playing really good basketball.”

A life-long North fan, Roberts was drafted as a ruck prospect that offered both height and athleticism.

She would have been the tallest player on the Roos’ list – standing five centimetres taller than ruck Emma King – and still could be next season if she chooses. “The more we spoke about it she just saw that she was probably a year too early,” Gowans said.  

“My question to her was if you sit down when you’re 50 and look back ... you want to look back and know that you gave basketball absolutely everything.

“And an AFLW career is still there - you’re not getting any shorter, you’ve got another 12 months to develop your footy in your spare time and you’re still Tasmanian so we’ve still got access to you.

“So it’s not a no, it’s just let’s put it on hold for a little bit and see where your basketball goes, and she’ll know that in 12 months.”

The Roos’ 30-player list features eight Tasmanians after Nicole Bresnehan and twins Libby and Chloe Haines found their way to North in last week’s draft.

Those eight will be split between Windsor Park and a number of venues in the state’s South when training starts on November 15 – about 10 weeks before their round 1 fixture at North Hobart on February 3. 

Gowans said his Tasmanian contingent was showing promise. 

“I’ve been really impressed with Daria Bannister, the way she’s doing her rehab and getting her body right for round 1 and she’s thereabouts which is great. 

“The Haines twins could really could be something special - I was speaking to the other coaches after the draft and if it was a national draft and you could pick anyone they would go in the top 20 no problem at all.

“The other one for me is Maddi Smith - I watch her edits and I just shake my head at how skilled she is - we just need to get her body right with her knee and I wouldn’t be surprised if she turns it on.”