HE hasn’t played in nearly three decades, but Brian Taylor still captures the imaginations of AFL fans

Whether people are laughing with him or at him, you can always bank on the man they call BT to provide at least one instalment for the highlights reel in a weekend of footy.

In Round 14, that highlight came on Friday night after Sydney’s thrilling one-point win over Essendon, secured when Gary Rohan marked in the goal square with just seconds remaining and slotted his set shot through the big sticks for a major.

After such an incredible win Taylor — who commentates for Channel Seven — headed to the Swans sheds to perform what has this year become an iconic segment — “Roaming Brian”.

Taylor has taken to strolling around the winning team’s rooms after a game, having impromptu chats with whoever he can get his hands on (and his microphone near). But on Friday he blew up when the Swans refused to let him wander as he pleased, instead saying they would send players to him to be interviewed in a fixed position.

Taylor got hold of star forward Buddy Franklin but that was it, and he wasn’t happy.

“What Sydney want is total control, they want us to be boring like they are,” Taylor said on Triple M. “It’s an old-school attitude and it needs to change.”

Essendon legend Tim Watson agrees with Taylor, saying the fans were the real victims in seeing him being stifled from flourishing in his natural environment.

“Anyone who knows Brian would know he is a creative soul, he needs his head, he can’t be corralled, he can’t be hemmed in, he needs space and movement,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.

“He is a restless soul. ‘Roaming Brian’ is free range. Sydney played him on Friday night like they played under Paul Roos — super defensive, crowding him, forcing stoppage after stoppage. He looked as impotent as a weathercock.

“Yes, they allowed him access, but no time and space. He was painted into a corner and suffocated.

“Sadly, the byproduct of this was the viewers.

“The fans didn’t get the access you deserve. On Friday night, Sydney turned Brian into a battery swan. A sad, forlorn figure. Wings clipped, eyes dripping, beak all shut.”

After Taylor slammed the Swans live on air in Seven’s post-match coverage, Sydney’s head of media Loretta Johns revealed the club had already told the network it wanted interviews to be conducted from a fixed spot in the dressing room.

“It is our strong preference that post-match interviews be conducted from a fixed position in our rooms, which we had conveyed to Seven ahead of (Friday night’s) game as well as ahead of our previous Friday night games this season,” Johns said.

“We recognise Seven is an important broadcast partner and we are willing to discuss this with the network further.”

Watson said that notion went against the very essence of “Roaming Brian”.

“The whole idea of ‘Roaming Brian’ is you let him free range, you don’t try and corral him in any way, you don’t put a little cage around him and say, ‘We’ll being (players to you),’” Watson said.

Melbourne legend Garry Lyon said the Swans had every right to determine what Taylor did in their inner sanctum after a match.

“Isn’t it their prerogative to say, ‘OK, we’ll keep you in this little section’? They didn’t hobble him, they just restricted him,” he told SEN.

Sydney plays Melbourne at the MCG on Friday night and the Demons have already agreed to give Taylor unrestricted access to their players if they’re victorious.

But it will be most interesting to see if things change should the Swans extend their three-match winning streak.