'Coal train' Dave Taylor teases next rugby league move after retirement announcement

One of the most enigmatic rugby league careers in modern times has come to an end, with former Queensland and Australia player Dave Taylor retiring.

The 30-year-old, who played 207 NRL matches at Brisbane, South Sydney, Gold Coast and Canberra, had been playing in the Queensland Cup for the Central Queensland Capras but decided to hang up his boots.

He did leave the door open to continue to contribute to rugby league locally in the future though.

"I haven’t made my mind up as yet to be honest he said. I am enjoying the time away from training at the moment and allowing my body to recuperate, however I still love the game and who knows something may come up in the near future," Taylor said.

As well as his NRL career, Taylor played eight State of Origin games for Queensland and one Test for the Kangaroos.

"It is quite sad that we may have seen the last of Dave at this level," ISC Head Coach David Faiumu said.

"He has been a professional footballer now for over 12 years and reached some wonderful heights. No doubt his body has taken a lot of punishment during this time, and niggling injuries have plagued him over the past 6 months in particular."

"I first remember seeing Dave playing for Rocky under 17’s in Gladstone at Marley Brown and even as a schoolboy he was a mountain of a man," Capras CEO Peter White said.

"I struggled to understand how someone that big could be so athletic and blessed with wonderful ball skills. I knew then that barring injury he would go all the way to the top."

Despite his achievements the hulking prop retires with a sense of what might have been about his career.

A highly touted junior with the size of a front-rower but the skills of a half, Taylor broke into the Broncos first grade setup as a teenager.

After four seasons with Brisbane, he moved to Sydney to play for the Rabbitohs in what was probably the most consistent period of his career.

He then moved to the Titans in 2013 but lost his representative position while on the Gold Coast and was then caught up in the club's cocaine scandal at the start of 2015.

A short period at Catalans Dragons in France was followed by a single season at Canberra in 2017 before playing out his career in the Queensland Cup.