Ash Taylor has agreed to join the Warriors on a train and trial contract, believing that he can revive his career at the club.
Stuff understands the former Gold Coast Titans star, who was on $1 million a season with his previous contract, has shunned bigger offers from Sydney based NRL clubs, to hook up with the Warriors.
The five-eighth is set to sign a train and trial contract, which allows the Warriors to take a good look at the 26-year-old with the intention that he’ll be a part of their squad next year.
There will be conditions and targets that will have to be met by Taylor during the preseason, but the Warriors wouldn’t have agreed to the deal if they didn’t feel Taylor could add value to the club.
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown initially joined the Warriors on a train and trial contract in 2019 and was then rewarded with a long-term contract.
There’s no doubting Taylor’s ability, which was why the Titans offered him a $1million a season deal in 2018.
But it’s the mental side of the game that Taylor has struggled with. The massive contract and the pressure to live up to it, became something of a burden for him.
By agreeing to a train and trial deal, it’s almost like going back to the beginning for Taylor. He’ll be hungry, want to prove he belongs in the NRL and is willing to fight to show he can be the genuine game-changing type player, that he once look destined to be.
For the Warriors, it’s a low risk signing. If it works out well, they’ve picked up someone who can be a superstar for a fantastic price that will barely cause a ripple to their salary cap.
He will be able to put pressure on Chanel Harris-Tavita and Shaun Johnson to be at their best each week and it has been a desire of the club to have another playmaker who can compete with them for starting spots.
If it doesn’t work out, they can part ways with Taylor and move on to someone else.
Taylor’s attitude has been questioned over the years, but the Warriors have done their homework on the former Junior Kangaroo and he impressed Warriors coach Nathan Brown and CEO Cameron George when he had a meeting with them on the Gold Coast recently.
Getting Taylor is a case of the stars aligning for the player and Warriors. There are many drawbacks to the Warriors being based in Redcliffe, northern Brisbane next season, but this is a rare positive from it.
Taylor wanted to stay in South East Queensland for family reasons and the Warriors have found themselves based there in 2022 because of trans-Tasman border issues, as well as in need of a five-eighth.
The chances of Taylor remaining with the Warriors beyond 2022 would seem remote.
If it went well, he’d be looking to pick up a big offer with an Australian club and could possibly be a target for the NRL’s 17th team, which will be based somewhere around Brisbane from 2023.
Stuff understands there were at least two New South Wales clubs keen on Taylor and while he was tempted, he felt going to the Warriors and taking a financial hit for one season, could work out better for him in the long run.
