Broncos halves shape inbound Titan
TOM BOSWELL GOLD COAST BULLETIN OCTOBER 08, 2015 12:00AM



TITANS recruit Ashley Taylor is poised to use the halves pairing that forced him out of the Broncos as the backbone to his own success in the NRL.

Taylor was told by Brisbane that he would need to look elsewhere for the chance to play regular NRL football due to the partnership of young guns Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford. The move could pay dividends for Taylor and the Titans with the 20-year-old using his apprenticeship under the Broncos grand final halves this year to fast-track his own development.

Taylor revealed he used his final year at the Broncos to soak up everything he could from his mentors, taking traits from Milford and Hunt to enhance his game.

“It’s been great to work under them as well as guys like Kev Walters and Allan Langer,” Taylor said. “I learnt a lot of things from them and I’m better because of the experience.

“I take on the line more instead of passing and my kicking especially has been pretty good even though there is still room for improvement. You take some traits from both of them and introduce them to your own game a bit.”

Taylor will likely form a halves combination with fellow young gun Kane Elgey next year with the duo to be assigned the task of steering the Titans around the field.

The NYC under-20 team of the year member said a key to his success at the Gold Coast would be gaining the trust of his teammates.

“I’ll have to get to know the blokes first and gain the trust of the team,” Taylor said. “I’d love to be close to the players because it helps your game.”

Taylor is recovering from a hand injury sustained during his NRL debut for Brisbane against Melbourne in Round 26 on September 3