Kiwi NRL Player Movement ft. RFM, Liolevave and Taylor
Many NRL teams could make use of Elijah Taylor's defence + skills combo.
There's been a bit of player movement regarding our kiwi lads, plus a whisper regarding Elijah Taylor which needs addressing.
Lamar Liolevave is a former Junior Kiwi who has moved from Wests Tigers to the Bulldogs, joining Raymond Faitala-Mariner as a a young kiwi edge forward moving to the Doggies. This is a bit weird from Bulldogs coach Des Hasler and the Doggies as Liolevave and Faitala-Mariner both do a similar job out on the edge, however Hasler has clearly identified the need for mobile, dynamic edge forwards.
Faitala-Mariner's moved to the Bulldogs comes via a trade which sees Shaun Lane going to the Warriors. Lane is a massive human while Faitala-Mariner is much more mobile so there's a hint in that, especially with the speed of the NRL and interchange rules influencing how teams build their roster and their style of play.
This is however a situation unique to the Bulldogs as they already have a forward pack full of very large humans, headlined by David Klemmer and Sam Kasiano. Hasler must have noted this and has brought in smaller forwards who still pack a punch.
Liolevave started in the Bulldogs Intrust Super Cup team over the weekend, a team that included kiwis Brad Abbey at fullback, Reubenn Rennie at centre and Renouf To'omaga starting on the opposite edge to Liolevave.
The rumour surrounds Elijah Taylor who has been outer at Penrith to start the season, falling out of favour with new coach Anthony Griffin. Taylor basically followed Ivan Cleary to the Panthers, so with Cleary gone, it's now pretty clear that Griffin and Phil Gould view Taylor as surplus to their requirements. That's especially the case with Bryce Cartwright, Trent Merrin, Isaah Yeo and Tyrone Peachey holding down middle/edge back-row spots.
Wests Tigers are mentioned as being Taylor's possible destination and the Tigers could certainly use Taylor's skillset. The Tigers lack a middle forward like Taylor who leads the defence and oozes effort, they have been playing Sauaso Sue at lock and he's more of a dynamic ball-runner. Taylor also has plenty of skill which could fit in nicely with the Tigers who love to attack via fun footy.
On the surface, this is a bit stink for Taylor. However I reckon a change of scenery will be good for Taylor and the Tigers would suit Taylor down to the ground. Taylor can also play on the edge and the Tigers aren't exactly flush on edge forwards, they've let Liolevave go (he has only been playing reserve grade) and have given Chris Lawrence, Dene Halatau and Kyle Lovett plenty of minutes.
The Warriors have also been mentioned with regards to Taylor, I doubt that will come to fruition.