Ash in a dash for Origin

Confident Titans star keen to don Maroons jersey

ASH Taylor has declared he is ready to make his Queensland Origin debut.

The Titans gun, 23, has emerged as a contender for a spot in the Maroons halves, following a consistent start to the season that has seen him lead his side to wins in the past two rounds.

While Ben Hunt, Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster are frontrunners for the halves spots left vacant by Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk, Taylor is making his own case.

Queensland coach Kevin Walters has certainly taken notice, saying the Gold Coast star is a dark horse for a spot.

Maroons selector Darren Lockyer last month said he thought Taylor was another year away from Origin footy, but that is not the opinion of Walters.

And when asked if he thought he could handle the step up to representative level, the response from Taylor was an emphatic “yes”.

“That’s my biggest goal,” he

said of an Origin debut. “I set myself little targets through the year but that’s one of the major ones. For now I want to worry about the Titans and keep winning.”

The young half was critical of his performance against the Sea Eagles on Sunday. While many applauded him for his composure to keep the Gold Coast in the lead against a re- surgent Manly in the second half, Taylor said he was disappointed to make three errors.

Walters said Taylor had greatly impressed over the opening five rounds.

“He’s been very consistent, which is what you want to see and expect from a player of Ash’s calibre,” he said.

“To be selected they need to be confident about what they’re doing ... he has a lot of skills and you like to see that level of consistency as he’s getting older.

“He needs to show more of the same he’s been doing (to be selected).

“Defence is one thing everyone gets scrutinised a lot for at that level and the other is being a good, consistent player every week and coming up with the right moments.”

Meanwhile, the Titans could be without skipper Ryan James in Sunday’s showdown with the Panthers, after he was slapped with a grade one dangerous contact charge for a hit on Manly five-eighth Lachlan Croker. Even with an early plea, James faces up to a week on the sideline.