Elijah Taylor

Elijah Taylor
Taylor during 2013 World Cup.
Personal information
Born (1990-02-27) 27 February 1990
Hawera, New Zealand
Height 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 101 kg (15 st 13 lb)
Playing information
Position Lock, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 NZ Warriors 67 14 0 0 56
2014–16 Penrith Panthers 39 3 0 0 12
2016– Wests Tigers 0 0 0 0 0
Total 106 17 0 0 68
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2011–13 New Zealand 10 1 0 0 4
As of 2 May 2016
Source: [1]

Elijah Taylor (born 27 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League. A New Zealand national representative, he plays at lock and second-row, and previously played for the New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers.

Background

Born in Hawera, New Zealand, Taylor played rugby union as a youngster, playing for the Patea Rugby Club and representing age group teams in Taranaki, Northland and Auckland, before taking up rugby league in 2006 while studying at St. Paul's College.[2] Taylor also attended Patea High School and Kaitaia College before moving to Auckland.[3]

Playing career

Early career

In 2007, while at St Paul's, Taylor was selected for the New Zealand Māori under-18s side.

Taylor was signed by the New Zealand Warriors on a development contract, where he played for the Otahuhu Leopards club in Auckland Rugby League competitions and the Tamaki Titans in the Bartercard Cup. With the creation of the Toyota Cup in 2008, Taylor joined the Warriors under-20 side and in 2009 became team captain. Taylor missed only one of the team's first 46 matches.[4] In August 2009, Taylor was to become the eighth player to make his first grade debut from the under-20 side when he was named to play against the Gold Coast Titans in Round 22, but had to withdraw from the game due to a hamstring injury.[5] On 3 October 2010, Taylor captained the Warriors under-20s team in the 2010 Toyota Cup Grand Final match against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where he started at second-row and scored 2 tries in the 42-26 win.[6] Taylor finished his Toyota Cup career with 52 matches and 14 tries.[7]

2011

In Round 4 of the 2011 NRL season, Taylor made his long awaited NRL debut for the New Zealand Warriors against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, playing off the interchange bench in the Warriors 26-18 win at Owen Delany Park in Taupo.[8][9] In Round 6 against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, Taylor scored his first NRL career try in the Warriors 20-10 loss at Brookvale Oval.[10] On 2 October 2011, Taylor played for the Warriors in their 2011 NRL Grand Final match against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, starting at second-row and scoring a try in the Warriors 24-10 loss at ANZ Stadium.[11][12] Taylor finished his debut year with him playing in 21 matches and scoring 4 tries. On 4 October 2011, Taylor earned selection in to the New Zealand Kiwis 24-man squad for the 2011 Four Nations series.[13] On 5 November 2011, Taylor made his international debut for New Zealand against Wales, playing off the interchange bench in the Kiwis 36-0 win at Wembley Stadium.[14][15] Taylor played in 2 matches for the Kiwis in the tournament.

2012

Taylor finished the 2012 NRL season with him playing in 23 matches and scoring 2 tries for the Warriors. On 13 October 2012, Taylor played for New Zealand against Australia in the October trans-Tasman test, playing off the interchange bench in the Kiwis 18-10 loss at 1300SMILES Stadium.[16]

2013

On 7 March 2013, Taylor announced that he signed a 4-year deal with the Penrith Panthers, starting from 2014, joining former Warriors' coach Ivan Cleary.[17] On 19 April 2013, Taylor played in the 2013 ANZAC Test, playing off the interchange bench in the Kiwis 32-12 loss at Canberra Stadium.[18] Taylor finished his last year with the Warriors by playing in 23 matches and scoring 8 tries. At the end of the year, Taylor was selected in the New Zealand 2013 Rugby League World Cup squad, scoring his first international try in the 56-10 win against Papua New Guinea at Headingley Stadium.[19][20] On 30 November 2013, Taylor started at lock in the Kiwis 34-2 loss to Australia in the World Cup Final at Old Trafford.[21][22] He played in all six of the Kiwis World Cup matches.

2014

In Round 1 of the 2014 NRL season, Taylor made his club debut for the Penrith Panthers against the Newcastle Knights, where he started at second-row and scored a try in the Panthers 30-8 win at Penrith Stadium.[23] Taylor missed the 2014 ANZAC Test through injury.[24] In Round 21 against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Taylor suffered a season ending ACL knee injury in the Panthers 22-16 win at ANZ Stadium.[25] Taylor finished his first year with the Penrith Panthers with him playing in 17 matches and scoring 2 tries.

2015

Taylor missed the 2015 ANZAC Test due to injury.[26] In Round 20 against the Canberra Raiders, Taylor played his 100th career match and also scored a try in the Panthers 34-24 loss at Penrith Stadium.[27][28] In Round 24 against the St George Illawarra Dragons, Taylor’s season was ended due to a hand injury suffered during the Panthers 19-12 loss at WIN Stadium.[29] Taylor finished the 2015 NRL season with him playing in 20 matches and scoring a try for the Panthers. On 8 September 2015, Taylor was named in the New Zealand train-on squad for the end of year tour of Great Britain,[30][31] but didn’t make the final 23-man squad.[32]

2016

Leading up to round 1 of the 2016 season, Taylor was dropped to the Panthers' Intrust Super Premiership NSW team by new coach Anthony Griffin in favour of Panthers' rookie James Fisher-Harris.[33] On 2 May, Taylor joined the Wests Tigers effective immediately, after being released from his Panthers contract.[34]

References

  1. ↑ "Elijah Taylor - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. ↑ Aaron Lawton (2011-11-03). "Elijah Taylor enjoying the league dream". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. ↑ "Elijah's Story | The Official Site of Elijah Taylor | New Zealand Kiwis #770 | Penrith Panther". Elijahtaylor.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  4. ↑ "McKinnon Stood Down Titans Clash". Tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  5. ↑ Johnstone, Duncan (9 August 2009). "Titans too slick for Warriors". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  6. ↑ "Bunnies Lament Another Near Miss". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  9. ↑ Steve Kilgallon (2011-04-04). "Warrior Elijah Taylor takes long-awaited chance". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  10. ↑ "Sea Eagles cruise past Warriors - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. 2011-04-16. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  11. ↑ "2011 NRL Grand Final". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  12. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  13. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  14. ↑ Aaron Lawton (2011-11-03). "Elijah Taylor enjoying the league dream". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  15. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  16. ↑ "Australia v New Zealand". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  17. ↑ Ben Stanley and Duncan Johnstone (2013-03-07). "Taylor ditches Warriors to sign for Panthers". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  18. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  19. ↑ "Home | Live Scores & Latest News". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  20. ↑ "New Zealand 56-10 Papua New Guinea | World Cup match report | Sport". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  21. ↑ Bott, Richard. "Australia 34 New Zealand 2: Kangaroos crowned world champions | Daily Mail Online". Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  22. ↑ "World Cup final player ratings". NRL.com. 2013-12-01. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  23. ↑ "Panthers Belt Knights at Sportingbet Stadium". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  24. ↑ "Kangaroos Test team named". NRL.com. 2014-04-27. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  25. ↑ "Panther's Win Over Canterbury on Friday Comes at a Cost of Three Stars". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  26. ↑ Michael Chammas (2015-04-22). "Penrith Panthers forward Elijah Taylor feared season was over after picking up knee injury". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  27. ↑ "Panther Taylor reveals mental demons". NRL.com. 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  28. ↑ Jon Tuxworth. "Josh Hodgson masterclass steers Canberra Raiders to crucial win at Penrith". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  29. ↑ "Panthers forward Taylor out for season". NRL.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  30. ↑ "Penrith Panther Elijah Taylor eyes Kiwis tour to England". Stuff.co.nz. 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  31. ↑ "League: Kiwis to manage Mannering's workload on England tour - Rugby League - NZ Herald News". Nzherald.co.nz. 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  32. ↑ "Issac Luke, Adam Blair to co-captain Kiwis for England tour". Stuff.co.nz. 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  33. ↑ "Panthers slapped with more injury woes". NRL.com. 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  34. ↑ "Wests Tigers sign Elijah Taylor". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 2016-05-02.

External links

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