Dave Taylor is going to make the Raiders the most dominant forward pack in the NRL.
When news broke Dave Taylor signed a deal with a train on contract with the Canberra Raiders, the public generally wondered what coach Ricky was thinking. But it was a case of risk vs reward.
In the upcoming season Dave Taylor will show has something to prove as he now knows it is his chance to resurrect his career and there will be no more chances.
The Raiders are starting to see how badly wanting this as when he arrived in Canberra he trained the house down and to date has lost nine kilos.
Dave Taylor has done all he has been asked so far but Ricky is not that easy to convince, especially when it comes to his beloved Raiders outfit. However, if there is anyone to change Dave’s career and bring him back to the form that saw him wear eight Queensland Origin jerseys and represent Australia, it is in Canberra.
A great example of what Ricky has done to get his players climbing through the ranks is seen with both Junior Paulo and Joey Leilua. Ricky has taken a big step of keeping Dave on track by getting him to pour drinks instead of drinking them.
If the Raiders do decide to take the gamble with Dave Taylor, he could make a good front-row great with the rotation of three 120 plus kilos boppers.
For a Raiders fan, having the three could be a boon and they’re all uniquely well placed to be fit and firing.
Junior Paulo is in great shape having just finished boxing training, where he trained twice a day to fight Paul Gallen. Shannon Boyd returns from the tour of England which he would have learned a lot by training with some the best players in the world.
Also, to add to that front row rotation with the back row of Sia Soliola, Josh Papalli, Elliot Whitehead, Josh Hodgson and Joseph Tapine.
With Ricky holding his cards close to his chest, big Taylor still has a lot to prove moving forward. He has the Auckland Nines to start, which if he is fit enough, has the potential to terrorise other teams with his size and pure skill.
After the Nines is the final test which will really make or break his career with the Raiders, with the Knights game. From there, he will be signed even if it in Mounties football team for two or three rounds until he finds and works his way into the team.
Swannies
Guest
Raiders are over-rated imo and struggle away from home as their forwards melt in the heat. Taylor won't have much impact. Storm or Broncos will knock them out of the finals again ☺️
Rob
Guest
He's a big man with a little man's brain. Wayne Bennett couldn't turn him into a Robot. I think he could have been used at outside centre because he had the work ethic of Inglis and Mal. He goes missing for parts of the game and hate trucking it up. Get him early ball on the edge and he is unstoppable.
BigJ
Roar Guru
And what talent do those two have???
turbodewd
Roar Guru
physical talent can make a person lazy. look at Kyrgios and, back in the day, Phillipoussis.
Mushi
Guest
It's that last bit. At ~30 I don't know how we can expect him to be anything he hasn't already been?
3_Hats SSTID 2014
Roar Rookie
Don't discount the Rabbitohs pack because of 1 bad season. I hear competitions for spots are raging hot.
3_Hats SSTID 2014
Roar Rookie
Giving away a penalty or missing a tackle these days doesn't count in the official stats as errors per say but years ago if you gave away "silly penalties" for dumb play or missed a tackle then they used to count as errors. Go on tell any coach that a player didn't "err" and the coaches will all tell you different. To err is to make a mistake, mistakes are counted as errors. Anyway, these days "errors" are broken up into so many different categories but they still are all by definition, errors! If I missed a tackle and the opposition score, I still made an error but YES, it is counted as a missed tackle. For the attacker a line break. William, yes your first point does go down as an "error" Dean, error rates are basically compiled that for anything a player does to effectively hand over possession to their opposition normally goes down as an error. What Barry did write is 100% correct. That is why so many different "Categories" have been compiled over the years. In Rugby league, if we knock back and regain possession, nothing is recorded. If we do knockback and loose possession it is an error. In the NFL they call them fumble recovery's or turnovers. We don't have an individual stat for turnovers, the commentators and league people do mention them but nothing is ever recorded!
Ben
Roar Guru
There's a difference between playing schoolboys and QLD Cup man.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Dufty definitely needs to be in the team. Halfback, might suit him better as he's small, agile and speedy with good hands. Not only did he score 23 tries last year - he set up another 22 tries.
BigJ
Roar Guru
Really? Brendans allowed him to play??? Interesting, thought nothing got in the way of thier next title, the comp must of been and easy win for them back in 05.
Don
Roar Rookie
When the Broncos were flying him down each weekend to play for the Clydesdales while he was still at school he was being played at prop and 2nd row.
Ben
Roar Guru
Probably the best Australian Schoolboys squad of all time.
BigJ
Roar Guru
No they are drilled to do it, well they were back in the 90's and 00s i know a couple of young fellas that went there in the 00's and they reckon the same old training was used similar to the training the fellas that i played against back in the 90's. I still tihnk that league is on their manaitory subject lists.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Dean-o I remember reading a couple of years ago that an error was classed as a handling mistake that led directly to a loss of possession. So for instance, throwing the ball along the ground from dummy half doesn't count as an error unless the other team gets the ball or it goes out. A knock back won't count as an error unless the opposition gains possession. A bad play the ball will count as an error, a knock on will, etc. Penalties and missed tackles are recorded as separate stats and not as 'errors'. There's always an element of subjectivity because of things like knocking the ball dead to save a try versus fumbling over the dead ball line, etc
kk
Roar Pro
Joe, IMO,without Ennis the Raiders edge past the Sharks as best pack. Don't miss: Canterbury v Canberra R9. May be their only clash in 2017. Klemmer v Boyd. The heavyweight championship of the NRL. I went for Ricky's boys for the title. This 'bout' will be good for the fact finders. The charging Rhino festival.
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
I would have been worried had Raiders made the GF for a flogging with Croker and BJ injured.
kk
Roar Pro
A11, Noticed a 'hesitancy' had crept into PV's play toward the end of his stay at Canberra. May have been carrying an injury. .
Magnus M. Østergaard
Roar Guru
Joel Moon, now theres a name I havent heard in a while. Thanks for the trivia TB, anychance of a link?
The Barry
Roar Guru
If McCrone is the best they can come up with for the 7 jersey the Dragons are in big trouble. Kurt Mann confirmed last season that he is a good try scoring outside back but not a creative ball player. I wouldn't be keen on McDonald at the back - I don't think he'd cope woth the miles. I don't know too much about Dufty but unless the Dragons are willing to take a punt on him I don't see too many alternatives than to play Dugan at 1 as much as Dragons supporters want hime to play elsewhere. 1 Dugan 2 McDonald 3 Aitken 4 Milne 5 Mann Isn't too bad a backline (with Nightingale and Lafai as back up), until you get to: 6 Widdop 7 ????? I actually like Widdop and think he's better than he's shown over the past two years. I'd love to see him rediscover his form and confidence but with no recognised halfback partner it's probably not likely.
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Howdy 3 Hats. Do you (or anyone else) have a link to how error rates are compiled? I've looked online briefly but can't find the criteria.