Time in the bin the making of big-man Bronco
12.09.2009
By: Dan Koch
THERE is a badly beaten old wheelie bin somewhere in central Queensland that knows exactly how Josh Dugan felt this week.
As a 12-year-old tearaway in the small coal-mining town of Blackwater, just inland of Rockhampton, David Taylor was struggling.
For all his size and strength at such a young age, he couldn't quite get his body and mind to work together to perfect a sidestep.
While his barnstorming efforts out wide for Brisbane this year might suggest a sidestep was an unnecessary tool, that was anything but the case when he squared off against kids from the local indigenous community at Woorabinda ``just down the road''.
``Playing touch footy with them -- if you wanted to play with them you either had to have some skills or you sat out on the wing and no one passed you the ball,'' Taylor said.
``So I guess that was something I worked on from a young age.
``There were so many good footballers. They have all the skills in the world -- it is such a shame more of them weren't able to go on.
``But definitely growing up in the schoolyard with those boys, your skills are what it is all about. It is just in their blood, they are so talented.
``I guess it was just a case of me having to learn their way.
``But in defence they can make you look stupid -- you always had to be on your toes because they were so quick and steppy.''
Which takes us back to the original issue.
No sidestep.
Taylor turned to local teacher Matt O'Hanlon -- father of boom Parramatta youngster Pat -- for assistance.
The answer came via a bin filled with garbage.
``He put a full bin in front of me and told me to run at it as fast as I could,'' he said.
``Then, as I got to it, Dad would pass me the ball.''
Unfortunately for Taylor -- or perhaps the bin when you think about it -- it took him some time to master.
Raiders fullback Josh Dugan, who twice denied a charging Taylor a try last weekend might argue he never has.
Still, the rampaging youngster has no doubt the unusual grounding was what has set him on a path many believe has never been trodden by any player in the NRL.
``As an athlete ... just for a man of his size and strength I haven't come across many, really any who are capable of some of the things Dave is capable of,'' Broncos coach Ivan Henjak said.
For the record, Taylor stands 185cm or 6'1'' in the old language. He is the heaviest player at the club, tipping the scales at 118kg, though he has been 124kg.
He wears a size-16 shoe and is among Brisbane's fastest players over 40m, winning the Brisbane Broncos Gift this year. At the same time he holds the club record for squats and bench press, which, incidentally, he set during pre-season training despite having not lifted a weight for almost six weeks.
However, until recently, Taylor was seen as somewhat of an unfulfilled talent -- a player capable of doing the impossible, but at the same time guilty of switching off at crucial times.
Slowly but surely this season, Taylor has begun to get it and as much as Henjak and his offsiders Dean Benton and Chris Haseman have poured countless hours of work into helping mould him into the destructive force he has become, the man himself credits the impact of one, far smaller, arrival.
``I guess I learned a lot when I first came down to the club at such a young age because I think a lot of people expected me to become a lot bigger a lot sooner than I would have liked,'' Taylor said.
``That experience has helped me deal with things this time around. I don't let too much get to me -- but more than anything it is Bub that has changed my life.''
``Bub'' is Taylor and his partner Ashleigh's tiny six-month-old daughter Macie, who one of his teammates joked could ``curl up and roll over'' inside one of Taylor's enormous mitts.
``It is good to get away from football and there is no better escape than spending time with her,'' Taylor said.
``My whole life revolves around her and it has helped me enormously. It has just been such a great thing in my life.
``I am a totally different person on and off the field -- a better person I think and I guess I think a better player as well.''
Which all spells danger for the Gold Coast in tonight's blockbuster southeast Queensland derby at Skilled Park.
There is no doubt Taylor's first finals series is a bittersweet experience, given he has committed to South Sydney for the next three years. Still, there is a glimmer of hope there for all Broncos fans, with Taylor hinting a return to Red Hill was a distinct possibility.
``I am excited about next year, but I am sad to be leaving,'' he said. ``I love this club. If things don't work out ... this is home. But, I mean I am only 21.
``In three years I will still only be 24, so hopefully I will still have plenty of football and plenty of improvement left in me.''
That is just a scary prospect for everyone else.
