Rugby League: Elijah Taylor takes matters into his own hands

Elijah Taylor of the Tigers catches up with Ben Matulino of the Warriors after the round 25 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and the Wests Tigers. Photo / Getty Images

Elijah Taylor has never been one to make a scene.

Mild-mannered Taylor prefers to be patient when dealing with his problems.

But when he remained unsigned at the Wests Tigers nearing December, the former Warrior and New Zealand international knew something had to change.

So Taylor went over his manager's head and took things into his own hands, finalising his deal at the Tigers himself.

"That was the first time I've done that," Taylor said.

"But after starting the off-season and a deal still wasn't put to bed, you've got to get things done yourself I suppose.

"In the off-season I left it up to my manager to sort out a new deal, but it was taking a really long time.

"It came to November and it still wasn't done, so I just had to step up and do it and I finally got it done.

"I just called Justin Pascoe (CEO) and had a very open and honest discussion in his office and it was good.

"It took a lot longer than I thought, but I'm very glad to have it over and done with.

"It's a one year deal with an option for 2018 in my favour, so I'm pretty happy."

Taylor's contract extension with the Tigers capped an eventful season for the Hawera product.

After starting the year playing reserve grade football with Penrith, Taylor fought hard to resurrect his career at the Tigers.

Taylor played 15 games for the joint-venture club, cementing himself as one of the Tigers' most consistent performers.

It's a remarkable turnaround that the unassuming back-rower doesn't take for granted.

"At the start of the year I didn't even like league at all," he said.

"But I got the lifeline from the Tigers who gave me another opportunity.

"We have a lot of potential as a team and a lot of people don't realise that.

"But in our core group of players we've got a lot of belief and we are training really hard to make sure we fulfil our potential."

The level of raw talent at the Tigers was a major reason why Taylor wanted to stay at the club.

He drew interest from rugby union clubs, but says league was always his first priority.

"The Tigers set-up, the coaching and support staff and trainers are world class and I really wanted to work with them," he said.

"That made the decision a lot easier.

"Rugby was an option, but I wasn't as close as a lot of people thought I was."

Taylor now has his sights set on regaining his position in the New Zealand Test side after missing out on selection for the Four Nations.

"You want to be in that Kiwi team and I was pretty gutted not making it," the 10-test Kiwi said.

"To be told by the selectors that you had a great season with the Tigers and you played really well, but we are heading in another direction.

"That's pretty shattering. But it just makes me want to work harder and I've just got to focus on the Tigers now and play as well as I can."