Monster contract to seal legacy

RUGBY league’s latest millionaire isn’t talking fast cars or luxury homes.

Instead, champion halfback Ash Taylor wants to spend some of the $3 million over three years he will earn from the Gold Coast Titans on players who could be him, given the opportunity.

In a one-on-one chat minutes after penning the monster deal that will keep him at the club until at least 2021, the 22-year-old playmaker revealed his passion to ensure the best talent in southwest Queensland had a pathway to the game.

“Everyone’s talking about a massive contract but there’s a lot that goes into it,” Taylor said.

“You don’t just get given it just because of who you are. There’s a lot of things that people do to make (players) successful and (giving back to others) is one of them.”

Taylor said he had seen too many young men fall through the cracks in his home regions of Toowoomba and St George and he wanted to create a pathway that provided the same opportunities he had enjoyed.

“I’m looking to set up a foundation now, my own foundation just to give back to what everyone’s done for me and give to people that don’t have opportunities like I did,” said Taylor, who has inherited

a proud indigenous heritage from his parents, Karen and Randall.

“I think (opportunity) is the biggest key,” he said.

“I know a lot of people that could be where I am.

“It does touch your heart, there’s so much more talent out there that I grew up playing with that just went down the wrong path and didn’t stick to it, thought it was too tough.”

Taylor, who models himself on superstars like Johnathan Thurston, was almost one of those players himself.

He moved from Toowoomba to Brisbane at 17 to link with the Broncos but found the grind of work and training tough and almost pulled up stumps.

He stuck it out though, with the support of his family, and wants to give a helping hand to the next generation, especially young indigenous players.

“That’s sort of what I’m trying to set up … to help sort out some of the people at home in Toowoomba or where I grew up (in St George),” he said.

“I want to start it out in Toowoomba and get some feedback on what the young kids need in the schools – maybe it’s as simple as going to a barbecue with the indigenous students at the school, just little things like that to give a little bit of feedback on what they need and we’ll go from there.”

Gold Coast Titans CEO Graham Annesley said Taylor’s signing was crucial to the club’s future.

“Halfbacks are so important to a team and to have a quality halfback is critical to the success of any team.

“To have one like Ash, who’s at the very start of his career but has had so much success and shown so much potential at such a young age – I think we tend to forget sometimes he’s really only had a couple of seasons in the NRL – and I think he can go on to become one of the most outstanding players in the game.

“You have a look at what Cooper Cronk’s done, Johnathan Thurston and how long they’ve been in the game, how durable they’ve bene and how important they’ve been to their teams winning premierships.

“To have a player of Ash’s age committed to the club for the next four years – and hopefully longer than that – is really fantastic news.”