Dave Taylor, former NRL, Origin and Test star, quits rugby league at age 30
Dave Taylor has reportedly quit rugby league at age 30.
The former NRL star was playing with the Central Queensland Capras in the Queensland Cup, but decided to hang up his boots due to injury.
Nicknamed 'Coal Train', Taylor played eight State of Origin games for Queensland from 2010-14 and a Test for Australia in 2012. He played 181 NRL games, for the Broncos, Rabbitohs, Titans and Raiders.
Taylor was extraordinarily gifted but struggled with motivation and weight issues during his career. At his best, he played at about 125kg and he fell out with numerous coaches due to a lax work ethic.
Wayne Bennett once called Taylor “the most naturally gifted footballer I have ever coached”. He mixed a prop's brute force with the ball skills of a half, yet never reached the superstar heights that his talent promised.
Dave Taylor played eight games for Queensland. AAP
"It is quite sad that we may have seen the last of Dave at this level," Capras head coach David Faiumu told News Corp.
"I struggled to understand how someone that big could be so athletic and blessed with wonderful ball skills.
"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 six months in particular."
Taylor's NRL career hit the skids while at the Gold Coast, when he was charged with two counts of possessing cocaine in 2014. He pleaded guilty and was fined $1,000 in 2016.
Taylor was by then playing with France-based Super League club Catalans Dragons, but lasted only the 2016 season abroad.
He played 11 games for Canberra after being thrown a lifeline by Raiders coach Ricky Stuart for the 2017 season. That was the end of his NRL career.
Dave Taylor (R) during an Origin clash with Mitchell Pearce and Cameron Smith. AAP
Kangaroos coach and rugby league Immortal Mal Meninga gave a blunt assessment of Taylor during that final season.
"His inconsistency is born out of his [lack of] desire and understanding to actually know about the little things in the game and what it actually takes to be a player that's consistent week in, week out," Meninga said on FOX Sports.
"He doesn't take great interest in the game but he does love playing the game."
Former Broncos and Queensland teammate Justin Hodges said: "It's a tough question why Dave Taylor never made it to the heights [he could have].
"He had everything that you want from a football player. For a big man he had ability, he had speed, he had everything.
"He was like a halfback but he was in a big man's body, that's how Dave worked. His big thing was always his weight, his weight always let him down.
"I'm not saying his lazy, but he's just got this mentality where he'll switch off, he just had lapses. Things probably don't mean as much to him as the players around him."
