League star’s tough run in game of life inspires

AS excitement builds towards this weekend’s NRL grand final, many of the incredible tales of on-field triumph, which have become rugby league folklore are being talked about by the sporting public. John Sattler’s broken jaw in 1970; Mal Meninga's miracle ankle tap in 1989; the Cowboys’ Golden Point glory in 2015 ... and the list goes on.

And while these game-time heroics have the ability to inspire, there is a story that has emerged that is just as stirring with former Parramatta star Paul Taylor.

The premiership winner has ridden the ups and downs of the ultimate game – life. Nowadays a Main Beach local, Taylor has opened up about his incredible fall from grace after his career ended.

A series of twists and turns saw him broke and in debt and as he puts it: “One day you’re playing in front of 50,000 people and the next minute you’re sitting in a park with two homeless people.”

He even talks about having to once steal a bike and tackle the M1 from Mudgeeraba to South Tweed to see his son and sleeping in parks around the Brisbane CBD. To many it would seem like a hopeless situation – a hole to difficult to dig your way out of. But in these difficult times, Taylor’s story is one many can draw from to help pick themselves up off the ground and find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Through hard work and determination, hallmarks of his playing career, Taylor did dig himself out of that hole and ironically has kept digging ever since. He now runs a landscaping and maintenance business.

And while he is happy this week to defer the limelight to the current crop of Eels, there is no doubt Taylor’s tough time to triumph story is one that will resonate long after the full-time siren sounds.