David Taylor (rugby league)

Dave Taylor
Taylor playing for the Broncos in 2009
Personal information
Full name David Taylor
Nickname Coal Train[1]
Born (1988-08-07) 7 August 1988
Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 123 kg (19 st 5 lb)
Playing information
Position Second-row, Prop, Centre, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–09 Brisbane Broncos 49 9 0 0 36
2010–12 South Sydney 63 18 0 0 72
2013–15 Gold Coast Titans 58 15 0 0 60
2016– Catalans Dragons 10 5 0 0 20
Total 180 47 0 0 188
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2010 Prime Minister's XIII 1 0 0 0 0
2011–12 NRL All Stars 2 0 0 0 0
2010–14 Queensland 8 0 0 0 0
2012 Australia 1 0 0 0 0
As of 14 September 2015
Source: Rugby League Project, rabbitohs.com.au

Dave Taylor (born 7 August 1988) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League. He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative second-rower, he can also fill in at prop, centre and five-eighth.

Early life

Taylor started off his career playing with Blackwater Crushers. Taylor attended St Brendans College, Yeppoon and in 2005 represented Australia at schoolboy level.[2] He also played Rugby Union before committing to League.[3]

Playing Career

Brisbane Broncos

Taylor in action for the Broncos

In 2006, Taylor signed with the Brisbane Broncos. Playing 49 times over 3 seasons, he departed the Brisbane side in 2009 to join South Sydney.

South Sydney Rabbitohs

Taylor was one of the Rabbitohs’ strongest players during his two seasons with the club, earning four Queensland State of Origin caps whilst with the club, as well as selection in the Australian squad at the end of the 2011 season. Taylor was originally selected to play in the 2010 All Stars match but withdrew due to injury. In his first year with Souths, Taylor was selected to play for Queensland and made his debut for the Maroons from the bench in Game I of the 2010 State of Origin series. He played in all 3 games in 2010. Taylor played game 2 and was suspended in time for the third game 2011 and as a result, was unable to play. Taylor made his test debut for Australia in 2012 ANZAC test. He also played for Queensland in the 2012 State of Origin series. Taylor played in the first two origins then dropped for the third game in 2012. At the end of the 2012 season, Taylor was included in the Australian train-on squad.

Gold Coast Titans

Taylor signed a 4-year contract with the Gold Coast Titans in 2012. It was reported that Taylor signed the contract to be closer to home. Taylor joined the acclaimed forward pack of the Titans, which included Greg Bird, Nate Myles, Ashley Harrison and Luke Bailey, all of which had played in their representative state teams. 2013 was a very up-and-down year for Taylor. Failing to make the Queensland Maroons, as well as Taylor being dropped from the first grade squad, led to many media reports suggesting the Titans made one of the poorer signings for 2013.[4]

Taylor was recalled to Queensland's squad for the second State of Origin match in 2014, replacing the injured Corey Parker. He scored 7 tries from his 19 NRL appearances.

One of five Titans players charged with cocaine possession or supply in 2015, Taylor was initially stood down from the first grade squad, but recalled after pleading innocent.[5] He was left out of the Queensland State of Origin team and was later dropped to the Titans Queensland Cup feeder club mid-season. In October, he was ordered to stand trial over the cocaine charges.[6]

Catalans Dragons

On 4 August 2015, Taylor signed a 2-year contract with French Super League club Catalans Dragons beginning in 2016. He also announced his ambitions to play for England for which he is eligible through his Cumbrian born grandfather.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ Lutton, Phil (9 June 2011). "Locky wants 'Coal Train' to deliver in engine room". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Annual Report 2005 – Australian Rugby League
  3. ↑ Chris Garry (14 June 2015). "Dave Taylor set to quit Gold Coast Titans for stint in Japanese rugby union". Fox Sports. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "Titanic turkeys: Signings who flopped". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  5. ↑ Tom Forbes (8 May 2015). "Gold Coast Titans players facing cocaine charges demanding to see evidence as case is adjourned". ABC. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Former NRL star Taylor to go ahead with Catalans move despite cocaine trial". The Guardian. 12 December 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Catalans Dragons sign Gold Coast Titans forward Dave Taylor on two-year deal". Mail Online. 2015-08-04. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  8. ↑ http://rugbyleagueweek.com.au/taylor-wants-to-play-for-england/

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, April 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.