Elijah Taylor loving life at the Wests Tigers

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Elijah Taylor loving life at the Wests Tigers
June 22, 2016 - 6:00PM
James Lemon

Elijah Taylor is relishing a mid-season switch to the Wests Tigers and is loving having a leadership role at his new club.

The ex-Panthers forward, with 111 NRL games under his belt, brings experience to a squad that has played relatively little first-grade football.

The back-rower fell out of favour at Penrith earlier this season which reportedly prompted interest from the Sydney Roosters, but he initially resisted any move to focus on regaining his first-grade spot instead.

The 10-Test New Zealand international representative said taking the younger players at Concord Oval under his wing was the main reason he came to the Tigers.

"[Coach Jason Taylor] wanted some more leadership because, obviously, we've got a really young team – really young as in NRL games each," he said. "That was the first pitch, the leadership role. It's something I'm very comfortable with and something I've done over my career.

"It's really exciting working with the young talent here. There's a lot of talent here, it's unbelievable actually. As a senior player you need to do everything right. You need to make sure you're doing everything right so hopefully [the less experienced players] can follow."

The 26-year-old said the energy of the younger group was a positive for the entire playing group, including the old heads.

"They've got a lot of enthusiasm and it rubs off on a lot of the boys. It's really refreshing when you see them training," he said. "They're freakish – freakish skills, but just the enthusiasm they bring kind of lightens the mood."

The immediate boost the lock has given to the side isn't lost on his teammates. Winger David Nofoaluma said Taylor's performances on the field speak for themselves.

"Since he's come to our side he's made a difference and you can see that on the field," Nofoaluma said.

"I don't really have to say much about that, you just have to watch him perform and you can just tell. He does well for the team and makes a massive impact."

Taylor puts his rise in form down to the faith the coaching staff put in him each week.

"The game plan tells me I have to get the ball, so it's a great sign of confidence from the coach and the coaching staff," he said.

"As a player, sometimes all you need is backing from the coach and the confidence from the coach to get you to execute a game plan."

Taylor was also very positive about the culture at the Tigers, contrary to the seemingly constant drama that surrounds the side involving the at-times strained relationship between the coach and NSW hooker Robbie Farah.

"Everyone get's their say. At video sessions it's a discussion, it's not 'do this, do that, do this'," he said.

"The boys have input. All the players are brought in because we've helped make the game plan, and that's the culture they want to build here."
 
Settled Elijah praises JT's approach to attack
Chris Kennedy Thu 23 Jun, 2016, 7:00am
National Correspondent , NRL.com

Former Panthers lock Elijah Taylor says a licence to get his hands on the ball more under Wests Tigers coach Jason Taylor is helping him flourish after leaving Penrith mid-season.

The 12th-placed Tigers are now just one win out of the top eight, having won three of five games Elijah Taylor has played since leaving the foot of the mountains for Concord, and he says his attacking licence – which he had been honing in the Instrust Super Premiership at Penrith this year – has helped him produce the sort of form his coach was looking for when he was recruited.

"It's a credit to the coaching staff and the players that have really made me feel welcome," said the former Kiwi international after producing three try assists and try in five games to go with his regular defensive workload of 38 tackles per game.

"They've been very welcoming and supportive, they've helped the transition and I think that's the reflected in the way the team's performed.

"[My attack] is something that I've worked on a lot back in the reserve grade at Penrith. Credit to 'JT' and the coaching staff for giving me I suppose the licence to get my hands on the ball.

"The game plan tells me I have to get the ball so it's a great sign of confidence from the coaching staff and as a player sometimes that's all you need is the backing from the coach and that confidence from the coach to get you to execute the game plan he gives you."

Taylor said he had started to work on his ball-playing last year under former coach Ivan Cleary while at the Panthers, along with half Jamie Soward and ball-playing back-rower Bryce Cartwright.

"It really depends on the coaching style and what the coach wants from his 13\. Some coaches want a ball-playing 13 or some coaches want another prop for the middle. It really depends on the coach's preference.

"Obviously JT's preference is for the lock to be a ball player so it's a massive learning curve, I'm still learning a lot. I'm learning a lot off [Tigers assistant coach] Craig Sandercock who's a really good coach and I'm very grateful."

Taylor suggested his current coach and former mentor Cleary were similar in their approach.

"[JT] is very similar to Ivan. It's very much like a democracy on how the game plans are written, the culture at the club. Everybody gets their say in video sessions. It's a discussion, it's not 'do this do that'. That's the culture they want to build here. So they're very similar in style, JT and Ivan Cleary."

Though he didn't mention current Penrith coach Anthony Griffin, Taylor said the culture at the Tigers in the way they train and the open nature of video sessions compares favourably to his former club.

"It's very different, the clubs, culture-wise," he said.

"The players have a lot of say here in how we prepare for games, how we train, our preparation. Some clubs you have to do it this way and this way only.

"I suppose that's the biggest difference – the players get a lot of say here. Personally as a player I think that's really good because the players are the ones that are going out there so between the clubs that's probably the biggest difference."
 
I don't know why , but I'm just not confident we will re-sign him , we desperately want to no doubt , just have this feeling …..........

Hope I'm wrong
 
We still haven't seen the best of ET yet,but when we do,he will be the standout recruit that this forward pack really needs..his attitude and work rate are very good,once he completely settles in his leadership will be quality….I'm glad he is a WTs man,we need players like him....
 
@willow said:
"It's very different, the clubs, culture-wise," he said.

"The players have a lot of say here in how we prepare for games, how we train, our preparation. Some clubs you have to do it this way and this way only.

"I suppose that's the biggest difference – the players get a lot of say here. Personally as a player I think that's really good because the players are the ones that are going out there so between the clubs that's probably the biggest difference."

hmmm but from the outside, that's been a problem for us, some players having TOO much say.

Anyway, glad he's happy here, be even better if they sign him up.
 
@happy tiger said:
I don't know why , but I'm just not confident we will re-sign him , we desperately want to no doubt , just have this feeling …..........

Hope I'm wrong

We all hope you're wrong!

It would be a massive disappointment if he left after we gave him an opportunity, seems to be a pattern with players we sign who come good.

He does seem like the kind of guy who would repay the faith though.
 
@happy tiger said:
I don't know why , but I'm just not confident we will re-sign him , we desperately want to no doubt , just have this feeling …..........

Hope I'm wrong

yup feel the exact same, ever since i found out we only gothim for this year

sounds like he took a pay cut to play FG and will look to make a mark then take bigger dollars wherever he can. fair enough to him, but we will likely lose out in the long term
 
I am confident he will remain a Wests Tiger beyond this year…
 
He seems like such a level headed and down to earth guy that he would be genuinely grateful for the opportunity to re-ignite his career with us. Provided we offer him a respectable offer for future seasons I could see him staying, even if slightly more was on offer elsewhere.

If there's a big disparity that might stretch the friendship though.

We need to re-sign him ASAP as his market value is only increasing with every game he plays. We know what he offers us and how much he's benefiting the club. Sign him up and sort the rest out later. Other less essential players can be moved on if necessary.
 
@happy tiger said:
I don't know why , but I'm just not confident we will re-sign him , we desperately want to no doubt , just have this feeling …..........

Hope I'm wrong

I think Happy a lot will depend on what Farah does, because I doubt we have the cap space to match the offers that will come ET's way. Anyway fingers crossed we find a way
 
Interesting how he gives the coaches plenty of raps and talks how everyone has a say in game plans. Now this doesn't sound like the JT that a lot of people talk about. Just maybe thing inside Camp Concord are a lot better than a lot of people think
 
@supercoach said:
Interesting how he gives the coaches plenty of raps and talks how everyone has a say in game plans. Now this doesn't sound like the JT that a lot of people talk about. Just maybe thing inside Camp Concord are a lot better than a lot of people think

Now your being silly SC

Taylor is the worst coach in the Universe bar none :unamused:
 
@happy tiger said:
@supercoach said:
Interesting how he gives the coaches plenty of raps and talks how everyone has a say in game plans. Now this doesn't sound like the JT that a lot of people talk about. Just maybe thing inside Camp Concord are a lot better than a lot of people think

Now your being silly SC

Taylor is the worst coach in the Universe bar none :unamused:

No Happy your right, it was just a bit of propaganda from the club to try and lift JT's profile with the fan base. In actual fact the players all have voodoo dolls of JT and are sticking needles into it. The old saying never believe a word you read of course unless you want to!!!

Anyway all jokes aside, ET is a must signing even if they have to pay overs
 
@supercoach said:
@happy tiger said:
@supercoach said:
Interesting how he gives the coaches plenty of raps and talks how everyone has a say in game plans. Now this doesn't sound like the JT that a lot of people talk about. Just maybe thing inside Camp Concord are a lot better than a lot of people think

Now your being silly SC

Taylor is the worst coach in the Universe bar none :unamused:

No Happy your right, it was just a bit of propaganda from the club to try and lift JT's profile with the fan base. In actual fact the players all have voodoo dolls of JT and are sticking needles into it. The old saying never believe a word you read of course unless you want to!!!

Anyway all jokes aside, ET is a must signing even if they have to pay overs

Couldn't agree more. He adds another dimension to our attack and is great in defence. Best signing we've made in a long time.
 
@Balmain Boy said:
He seems like such a level headed and down to earth guy that he would be genuinely grateful for the opportunity to re-ignite his career with us. Provided we offer him a respectable offer for future seasons I could see him staying, even if slightly more was on offer elsewhere.

If there's a big disparity that might stretch the friendship though.

We need to re-sign him ASAP as his market value is only increasing with every game he plays. We know what he offers us and how much he's benefiting the club. Sign him up and sort the rest out later. Other less essential players can be moved on if necessary.

That is my take on it as well, he is loyal even to his own detriment, he stuck it out at Penrith even though they were clearly trying to make him leave, he will stay with a reasonable offer.
 

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