OFFICIAL Elijah Taylor [Discussion]

Unfiltered: Elijah Taylor

Dan Talintyre (Twitter: @dantalintyre)

Fri 13th January, 03:00PM

Elijah Taylor talks about the year that was and the year ahead.

See what the star lock forward had to say about his move to the Club, why he re-signed, working with the spine and the potential of the team in 2017 in the video above!

ET on… moving to Wests Tigers

"It was really good [to move]. I really enjoyed the second half of the year. I met a lot of new people and settled in to a new style of attacking footy, which I really enjoyed.

ET on… working with Tedesco, Moses and Brooks

"They were really welcoming to me when I arrived and encouraged me a lot. Most halves will want to go first receiver and tell players to play off them, but they really let me go first receiver and play into the line. They gave me the option to play out the back or play short, so I was really grateful that they helped me execute the game plan the best way possible. Credit to the spine boys. They're a freakish talent — they're going to be really good. I mean, they're good now, but when they grow older, they're going to be definitely Origin players."

ET on... what the team learned most in 2016

"When I got here, as a fresh pair of eyes, there were a lot of talks in the media about what was happening off the field with selections at Wests Tigers. But the first thing that I saw was that it didn't affect the playing group. To the media outside, it was massive news, but when it got to the playing group, there was no talk of it at all and everyone worked well together and worked hard together. I think what I learned most was that defensively, we've just got to get better. The average points we leaked was 25 points per game, and that's not good enough. As a team, that's what we've really focused on because we know that if we get our defence right, our attack is going to look after itself. When we get our defence right, we'll be pretty dangerous.

ET on... pushing for a return to the Kiwis team

"It's always a motivation to put on the black jumper. It's a massive honour — I know a lot of people say it but it really is — and I've just got to keep training and working hard. Hopefully I get another opportunity, but it was a privilege just to be in the train-on squad again."

ET on... Wests Tigers in 2017

"We've got so much potential. I've played with a lot of good players and a lot of awesome halfbacks — Peter Wallace, Jamie Soward, Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai — but the spine we've got here and how young they are, the potential of our spine and forwards is huge. We can do a lot in this competition and nobody outside the Club really believes that but as a playing group, we do. And our fans, they believe that as well. So we're working really hard here in the off-season to try and make 2017 a really successful year.

http://www.weststigers.com.au/news/2017/01/13/unfiltered_elijah_ta.html
 
'Probably one of the main reasons I re-signed was the Coaching Staff and the faith they have in me'..E. Taylor..

Too many head knocks I would say…
 
@Geo. said:
'Probably one of the main reasons I re-signed was the Coaching Staff and the faith they have in me'..E. Taylor..

Too many head knocks I would say…

Elizabeth Taylor , Peter Taylor ,Mark Taylor, Dave Taylor , Elijah Taylor ,Jason Taylor

You just can't trust Taylors , they all just stick together
 
Like the guy and glad to have him at WT. Expecting him to fit our squad like a glove after having an off season with the spine and helping them take us to the next level. That he misses few games is also a bonus.
 
WESTS Tigers forward Elijah Taylor shakes his head at the fact Ivan Cleary is still without a head coaching job more than a year after being sacked by Penrith.

Cleary’s name continues to be among the first mentioned for the next job that come on the market.

Ironically it could be Taylor’s new coach at the Wests Tigers who feels the most heat. Taylor, Paul McGregor and Des Hasler are all off contract at season’s end.

Cleary has made no secret of the fact he wants to get back into fulltime coaching even though he works as a consultant to the NRL to assist referees and the match review committee.

Elijah Taylor, who will line up in Friday night’s Campbelltown trial against North Queensland, now has his own career back on track, where the 26-year-old former Kiwi international said he has “loved” playing under Jason Taylor.

He also opened up on how Cleary helped him through his own crisis at the Panthers.

“Oh man, he is a great coach,” Taylor said, when reminded Cleary was still hunting a job.

“It is a tough sport we are in. It is unforgiving. People are very fickle.

“You are Dally M coach one year and next year you are fired.”

Cleary coached Taylor at the Warriors and was responsible for bringing him to the Panthers with a view to one day making him captain.

But Cleary’s shock axing to make way for Anthony Griffin ultimately led to Taylor’s own demise.

“If you asked me in 2015 would I leave the Panthers I would have said there is no way,” Taylor said. “I loved the club.

“I still love all the boys. A change of coach, a change of opinion, they wanted their lock to be more of a prop kind of role. Aggressive carries, big metres.

“You are Dally M coach one year and next year you are fired.”

Cleary coached Taylor at the Warriors and was responsible for bringing him to the Panthers with a view to one day making him captain.

But Cleary’s shock axing to make way for Anthony Griffin ultimately led to Taylor’s own demise.

“If you asked me in 2015 would I leave the Panthers I would have said there is no way,” Taylor said. “I loved the club.

“I still love all the boys. A change of coach, a change of opinion, they wanted their lock to be more of a prop kind of role. Aggressive carries, big metres.

“I was the next one to go and after me it was Chicko (James Segeyaro) and Sowie (Jamie Soward). There obviously was a plan to get rid of people that Ivan brought. But that is footy. I couldn’t control that.”

Taylor said he had rediscovered his worth playing under Jason Taylor. He labelled the way the coach had changed focus during pre-season training to game specific drills “an eye opener”.

“It has been refreshing to get that opportunity to work on skills and what you want to build on your game. I am not used to doing that during pre-season. Still getting flogged, but in a more specific way. It is smarter.”

http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/tigers/wests-tigers-forward-elijah-taylor-tips-ivan-cleary-to-return-as-nrl-coach-soon/news-story/d1c0597e8c0f94e74f995f07c35a2d4d
 
Awfully big wraps on a rival club and especially , another Coach, just before the start of a season.
I wonder how that will go over on any insecure egos ?
At least we know that at least there' will be one player happy if Cleary ends up here.
 
If we do end up sacking Taylor, hopefully we do it before Cleary goes to another club. He's the best coach on the market in my opinion.
 
@goldcoast tiger said:
Awfully big wraps on a rival club and especially , another Coach, just before the start of a season.
I wonder how that will go over on any insecure egos ?
At least we know that at least there' will be one player happy if Cleary ends up here.

\

Elijah Taylor, who will line up in Friday night’s Campbelltown trial against North Queensland, now has his own career back on track, where the 26-year-old former Kiwi international said he has “loved” playing under Jason Taylor.
>
Taylor said he had rediscovered his worth playing under Jason Taylor. He labelled the way the coach had changed focus during pre-season training to game specific drills “an eye opener”.
>
“It has been refreshing to get that opportunity to work on skills and what you want to build on your game. I am not used to doing that during pre-season. Still getting flogged, but in a more specific way. It is smarter.”

He'll be OK I reckon…
 
Who would you prefer as coach?, St Merge are confident in obtaining Des Hasler, I think that if Ivan is available then we would be remiss not to gain his signature, would bring more to the table than JT.
 
http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/teams/tigers/wests-tigers-forward-elijah-taylor-tips-ivan-cleary-to-return-as-nrl-coach-soon/news-story/d1c0597e8c0f94e74f995f07c35a2d4d

ET, so glad he's a Tiger!
 
Tiger switch an attacking eye-opener for Elijah

Chris Kennedy Fri 17 Feb, 2017, 4:47pm

Elijah Taylor in action in Friday night's trial against the Cowboys. Copyright: NRL Photos.
Former Penrith tackling machine Elijah Taylor says his mid-season switch to Concord last year was an eye-opener as he unleashed his rarely-seen attacking skills and he is keen to build on that in 2017.

The hard-working lock spent time at dummy half but was afforded a ball-playing role while in the back row as well, producing three try assists, four line break assists and a try in his 15 games with the Wests Tigers.

Taylor told NRL.com the club's new-look coaching roster under Jason Taylor as well as its trio of gifted young playmakers all encouraged him to get his hands on the ball in attack which has led to a vastly increased enjoyment of his footy since leaving the foot of the mountains.

"When I first met 'JT' and the coaching staff, my first meeting with them, they wanted me to focus on my attack with my passing," Taylor said.

"Their first pitch was leadership and then it was my attack. It was my defence later because they already knew I could do that."

Coming to the end of his first pre-season at the club would help immensely with combinations as well, the forward added.

"I know them all really well now, it's been good to develop relationships with our new coaches and work on our timing and combinations during the off-season," he said.

"The off-season has been very different compared to previous years. Everything we do is game specific. All the training we do when we get flogged, when we have to train hard, it's specific to rugby league; we're not running up sand dunes."

‌Taylor said the club's game plan was now built around himself and other ball-players in the pack getting involved with the ball in hand.

"They built their game plan around me getting the ball and helping with the structure," he said.

"Last year was a massive eye opener. When you get to play with the ball you have a bit more fun instead of just tackling your ring out.

"It's good for the team too but last year I really enjoyed my footy because I got my hands on the ball and I could ball play. The coaches encourage me to do it and it really opened my eyes to the other side of footy.

"The spine calls all the shots, I just work off them and help out where I can if need be. It's good the halves give me the opportunity to do that.

"All of our forwards can pass and we've really hammered that during the pre-season. Especially with defences so hard to break, that extra little skill factor could change a game."

Fullback James Tedesco – one of the most gifted attacking players in the competition – backed the strategy to get players like Taylor the ball in attack.

"'ET', he acts as another ball player, his passing and the way he can go into the line is as good as and the halves so having him as the lock definitely helps our attack and creates a bit of variety for us," Tedesco told NRL.com.

"The way he's been coaching some of our other back-rowers and locks as well and obviously 'Woodsy' (captain and prop Aaron Woods) can ball play as well so we've got a lot of options there.

"We know our attack can spark, we just need that consistency with our defence so I think that's our big area."

http://www.nrl.com/tiger-switch-an-attacking-eye-opener-for-elijah/tabid/10874/newsid/103857/default.aspx
 
That was very evident yesterday and he looked really good. Just please JT keep him away from dummy half or defending in the middle as he lost his spark and looked half the player when you did that.
 
@Tiger4life said:
That was very evident yesterday and he looked really good. Just please JT keep him away from dummy half or defending in the middle as he lost his spark and looked half the player when you did that.

I'm pretty sure Taylor defended in the middle the entire time he was on the field as he is one of the only blokes in our side that can effectively slow down the ruck and has the work rate of a machine..

Agree wholeheartedly about keeping out of 9 in attack though…
 
"tackling your ring out!" - a unique turn of phrase from Elijah, the mind boggles at the thought!

In the trials, Elijah seems to be rotating with Aloiai in the middle third with Sue spending time on the right edge - might be a hint of what's to come in 2017 ?
 
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