AN 18-year-old sports science student is claiming one of the latest Wests Tigers signing as his own.
Simon Latham is a self-confessed keyboard warrior and when he heard there was a chance Penrith’s Elijah Taylor might be signed by Wests Tigers he got excited.
“We’d been playing pretty badly for a few weeks, so when I heard he might be signed to us I thought that was pretty good,” he said. “Then it looked like we might not sign him and that’s where it all started for me.”
On April 25, Latham tweeted at Wests Tigers: “I’m going to tweet Wests Tigers to sign Elijah Taylor every day till it happens”
Latham said he was frustrated they hadn’t signed the 26-year-old backrower, but mainly he was just joking around.
“From there it was almost a bit of a joke really,” he said.
“I was a bit worried it might not happen because I thought I’d look a bit stupid, but then they signed him.”
But a week later, Latham’s work had seemingly paid off with Wests Tigers announcing the former New Zealand International had joined its roster.
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Taylor didn’t get as much game time as he would have liked at Penrith Panthers, but was a fan favourite.
Digital Media Coordinator at Wests Tigers Dan Talyntire said while it wasn’t Latham’s persistence which prompted the club’s signing of Taylor it was exciting to see such a great following of the side in the social media world.
“It was good to have a bit of fun with some of the fans that tweet to us,” he said.
Simon Latham proved he is definitely persistent.
“We have a really strong and passionate supporter base on Twitter, and it’s great that they’re really engaging with what we do, and that the news of Elijah Taylor’s signing was so well-received.”
In announcing the signing, Talyntire made sure he Tweeted a simple “okay” reply to the persistent Latham.
Latham was quick to reply: “Legends. Will this work every time?”
Taylor has an immediate release from Panthers, and he will join the club following his commitments with the NSW Residents side this weekend.
Taylor, with 106 NRL games experience under his belt (as well as 10 Test matches for New Zealand) will significantly bolster the club’s forward pack and has signed a contract for the remainder of the 2016 season.
“It’s really good to be here at Wests Tigers,” Taylor said. “I can’t wait to get into training and meet all of the boys next week.
“There is a good opportunity to play first grade football at the club, I haven’t played a lot of first grade this year so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.
“It’s a really young squad with a lot of potential here at the club, you can see that with the natural talent and flair.
“I’m also looking forward to working with experienced players such as Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods, while also playing some good football with Wests Tigers.”
MEET ELIJAH TAYLOR
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Elijah Taylor stretches out for the Penrith Panthers.
● Born in Hawera, New Zealand, Taylor made his NRL debut for the New Zealand Warriors in 2011 and was selected for the Kiwis later that year.
● Taylor played 67 games for the Warriors before moving to Penrith at the start of the 2014 season.
● He played his junior footy with Patea Rugby Club (Rugby Union) and made his NRL debut in 2011 (Round 4: Warriors v Cronulla)
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/inner-west/sport/keen-twitter-user-simon-latham-tweeted-wests-tigers-every-day-until-they-signed-elijah-taylor/news-story/a6e437609a18d83f109634c6660991bd
