Taylor is rightly in demand
AN ADMISSION this week that the Broncos are ‘interested’ in bringing Ash Taylor back to Red Hill should not surprise anyone with a notion of the key role a champion halfback plays in the game of rugby league.
And make no bones about it, Ash Taylor IS a champion. He is the next big thing in the NRL and is destined to assume the mantle soon to be vacated by Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
Okay, Taylor’s boyish grin and youthful looks give the appearance he is young. But in professional footy terms he is, at 22, ripe to lead the Broncos into a decade of triumph. Titans supporters will no doubt be filthy if Taylor turns his back on their team and returns to Brisbane when his contract expires at the end of 2018. After all, it was the Titans who took the young bloke under their wing two seasons ago when Wayne Bennett decided to release him on empathetic grounds.
It wasn’t that Bennett and the Broncos didn’t want Taylor, or couldn’t foresee his potential. But with established halves Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford in the seven and six jerseys, Bennett didn’t want Taylor’s progress stymied.
The playmaking situation at Red Hill has subsequently changed. Hunt is moving on, Milford is more an attacking catalyst than a game manager and the next in line, Kodi Nikorima, still has a question mark over his ability to direct play.
In professional sport there is no room for sentiment and with the Broncos experiencing their longest premiership drought in the club’s history, members, fans and sponsors are becoming restless.
Success has been their staple, and bringing back Taylor – who was originally signed by the Broncos as a 12-year-old – would provide an undeniable X-factor.
Luring him away from the Titans, however, will be no snack.
As a country boy – from Toowoomba – he is loyal, and feels a great affinity with the club that opened the NRL door for him.
And, despite the Titans’ lack of success, it is obvious he enjoys the camaraderie of his teammates. But he needs to ask himself where his budding, brilliant career will flourish.
In their 29-year history, the Broncos have missed the finals just five times, and have won six premierships.
In 11 years, the closest the Titans have come to being at the big dance was an appearance in the preliminary final in 2010. After some promising moments in 2017, they have again missed the finals – the eighth time in those 11 years.
And let’s face it, while we hear potential buyers are lining up to take over the franchise, the future of the Titans – and their coach Neil Henry – remains tenuous.
Tomorrow evening at Robina won’t be a red-letter day in the career of Ash Taylor, but it could shine a light into the future for Bennett and his fellow recruitment and retention committee members.
With the forced switch of Ben Hunt to dummy half, Taylor goes head to head with Nikorima who the coach says will wear the Broncos No.7 jersey next season.
And while snaring the two premiership points are vital to the Broncos, who wins the battle of the halves could be the more defining moment.