David Taylor - 2013 Player Discussion
David Taylor - 2013 Player Discussion
JOIN THE NEW FORUM AT https://www.titansupporters.com/forum/
PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Gold Coast face a titanic task in fixing up Coaltrain Dave Taylor
IT WAS Dave Taylor's final game in South Sydney colours yet coach Michael Maguire gave him just 43 minutes on the field, the shortest amount of game time Taylor has had all season.
The big back-rower was hooked with 20 minutes remaining on Saturday night after missing a tackle on Greg Eastwood which led to the lock bursting through the middle of the Rabbitohs' defence and setting Frank Pritchard up for a game-sealing try.
After that miss, Taylor was trending on Twitter in Australia as Souths fans vented frustration and thanked Gold Coast Titans for taking him off their books.
Taylor signed a four-year contract with the Titans earlier this year, while the Rabbitohs nabbed Brisbane Broncos in-form second-rower Ben Te'o for half the price.
Te'o was among the Broncos' best performers this year and Titans coach John Cartwright must surely be wondering why he spent $500,000 a season on Taylor.
While Cartwright has not been able to get the best from star backline imports such as Jamal Idris, he has a track record of improving the play of forwards as evidenced by Nate Myles' terrific season.
In the Rabbitohs' biggest game of the season, the freakishly talented Taylor, who has the skills of a halfback wrapped in the body of a giant, basically went missing.
In his 43 minutes, down from 70 the previous week, Fox Sports Stats revealed he made just 51m from six runs.
In comparison, fellow second-rower Sam Burgess made 17 runs and 163m.
Taylor made 22 tackles but missed three, including the ugly Eastwood shirt grab.
He has had his worst year in the NRL, even though it was punctuated with the occasional brilliant game.
Before Saturday's preliminary final, Taylor had played less than 50 minutes in just one game this season.
In seven games this year he missed five tackles or more.
He was dropped for State of Origin III and was also heavily criticised after an error-riddled performance in week one of the finals when the Rabbitohs were smashed by Melbourne Storm 24-6 at AAMI Park.
His drop in form means Taylor is unlikely to be picked for the Kangaroos for the one-off trans-Tasman Test on October 13, after he secured his first Australian jersey in April.
The Titans will have a huge task transforming Taylor from enigmatic to reliable.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
JOIN THE NEW FORUM AT https://www.titansupporters.com/forum/
PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Hard to argue with any of that.
Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.
Coast lifestyle a top fit for Titans' Taylor
Travis Meyn | 12:01am November 28, 2012
Dave Taylor is loving the Gold Coast lifestyle and says keeping active and out of the house is doing him good. Pic: David Clark
THE waves of Currumbin, cafes of Burleigh and rollercoasters at Dreamworld - that's the secret to Dave Taylor's new-found happiness ... and apparent weight loss.
The star Titans recruit yesterday revealed he has rarely been happier than his past two months on the Glitter Strip.
Taylor arrived with wife Ashlee and daughters Macie, 3, and Aliah, 1, on the Gold Coast just days after former club South Sydney bowed out of the NRL finals.
The 120kg-plus forward has had well-publicised weight battles in the past but he is now significantly lighter than he was during the 2012 season.
He credits his fitness with a better lifestyle and happier surroundings. The hustle and bustle of Sydney has been replaced with the calmness of Burleigh.
"Boredom gets a lot of people with weight (issues). One of the keys of trying to lose weight is keeping active," he said.
"Keeping out of the house, not sitting in front of the tv, being bored and looking at the fridge and thinking 'I'm hungry'.
"I'm lighter than I was last year which is a real positive and every kilo I lose is going to be a bonus for me."
"You get outside, take the kids to Dreamworld, there's things to always keep active," he said.
One of the driving factors in Taylor's move to the Gold Coast was so his family could be closer to Ashlee's mother.
But he never envisaged things working out so well so quickly.
"Moving to Burleigh has been great. It's an awful spot," he laughed.
"I walk down the street and it's so laid-back. Everyone's polite and nice.
"I'm a lot happier. The family's a lot happier too."
"We sort of planned it to be like that but didn't think it'd be this good.
Taylor isn't here for a holiday though.
The 24-year-old has come with a reputation and a big price tag.
He has battled a minor Achilles strain for the past fortnight but is confident of a strong pre-season.
Regardless, a spot in the Titans starting back-row is not a foregone conclusion.
Origin stars Ashley Harrison and Greg Bird are shoo-ins for two of the places with Taylor to battle Mark Minichiello and Ben Ridge for the right edge.
"I'm no shoo-in. I've definitely got to earn my spot," he said.
"You've got players like Minichiello, Ben Ridge, Birdy, Nate (Myles). It's just a cracking squad there.
"I'm not expecting just to walk straight in and grab my jumper. I've got to earn my stripes before being handed the number."
Taylor is the ambassador for new junior rugby league club Coomera Cutters.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au
JOIN THE NEW FORUM AT https://www.titansupporters.com/forum/
PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Hope he plays better for us than his memory is
David Taylor saying he has never lost a game at Skilled Park: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1226537155103
David Taylor's games at Skilled Park: http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/ma...0tLS0tLS0tLQ==
50% ain't that bad though I suppose.
Watched a training session and doesnt he stand out.Best bang for titans buck is to play him on the edges.Good hands and good turn of pace.Still wonder how he fits under the salary cap.
For those who don't live on the Gold Coast, the local paper (GC Bulletin) had a bit of a bio on DT on the weekend, including his actual hand size on the back page. It was scary big! Took up nearly half of the page!!
here is the article:
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/...st-titans.html
Anyway, very impressed with his fitness so far particularly the kick chase on Sunday that saw him first to the in-goal, not to mention his passing game.
Have always been a fan, and he looks the goods from round 1.
What are our thoughts now? He can be devastating on the field but we need to be careful that his attitude doesn't erode the team like last year. It is clear that there were personality issues last year and we cannot afford to have more this year if we want to improve our position on the ladder.
More time with Myles and Bird will get him right.
Yes I agree !!!
He is going great guns in the q cup game, 16 hit ups 8 offloads 1 try and 1 try assist not bad for a half game of footy
Man of the match just awarded to dave
He played really well , had 4 defenders on him every time he hit the ball up & was only tackled once or twice, scored a try & set another up.
Best of all he looked like he was really Having a go
#itaintweaktospeak
Best of all he looked like he was really Having a go [/QUOTE]
Totally agree Pete, he was putting in 110% and played 80 minutes