Taylor stepping up
BRENKO Lee turned to Titans star Ash Taylor before officially agreeing to take his NRL career to the Gold Coast.
Lee’s one-year contract was announced last week after he secured a Bulldogs release.
The 22-year-old Emerging Maroons centre grew up playing representative footy with Taylor and was pleased with what the halfback had to say about the Parkwood club.
“I’ve known Ash since I was 12 years old,” Lee revealed.
“We played Queensland Schoolboys under-12s together. I had a chat to him and without even talking to (Titans coach Garth Brennan), he basically said to me what Garth said to me.
“I was pretty excited.
“It was something I couldn’t really knock back – too good to be true.”
Lee, who was eager to move back to the Logan region where his family are based, had already been filled with optimism from his talks with Brennan.
“Garth said he wanted to bring back a lot of southeast Queensland kids and start recruiting like that instead of buying players,” Lee said.
“What he explained to me really opened my eyes and really showed me that the club is going in the right direction … it will be a force.”
Lee’s revelations also prove a glowing sign that Taylor can be the true marquee man the Titans have long been chasing. The club had an ill-fated attempt to lure Daly CherryEvans north on the big bucks, then landed the signature of two-time Dally M medallist Jarryd Hayne for what proved to be an infamous stint. Hayne’s on-field talent cannot be questioned but in the end he hardly brought the kind of leadership associated with other marquees in the game such as Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston. For Taylor, who in October re-signed until the end of 2021 on a multimillion dollar deal, his dealings with Lee perhaps show that he is prepared to be the genuine face of the club that the Gold Coast fan base has been craving.