Taylor in line for Broncos recall
Powerhouse Brisbane teenager Dave Taylor is poised for a Good Friday NRL call up against Sydney Roosters with the Broncos hit by early season knee injuries to forwards Joel Clinton and Corey Parker.
Clinton (anterior cruciate) and Parker (posterior cruciate) were sent for scans to assess the exact extent of knee injuries suffered in Brisbane's 48-12 NRL romp over Penrith on Sunday.
Highly-rated prop Taylor was relegated to Queensland Cup competition at the weekend and local officials say he responded with a storming two-try performance in the Central Queensland Comets' 28-18 win over Norths Devils in Rockhampton.
Taylor and Nick Kenny, another Rockhampton product, loom as the likely back-up with Clinton a definite non-starter and Parker extremely doubtful for Friday night's game at Sydney Football Stadium on the back of such a short turnaround.
Some observers were surprised Taylor was left out of Bennett's 17-man squad which thumped Penrith on Sunday.
Club officials denied Taylor was being disciplined by being sent to the Queensland Cup, saying his trial form had not warranted his selection and that he needed to get his attitude right.
Taylor was reported to be unstoppable at times in Rockhampton, scoring one of his two tries after picking up a loose ball 25 metres out and carrying four Devils defenders with him over the line.
Comets chief executive Rob Crow and interim player-coach Wayne Barrett said Taylor had played strongly against the Devils, playing out the full 80 minutes despite offers to come off a few times.
"From the time he stepped off the plane here on Friday morning you could tell he was here for a big game and he certainly came out and delivered," said Crow.
"He copped plenty of attention as you would expect but he was very hard to handle at times.
"He was very strong in attack and defence."
Crow joked he and Barrett were trying to work out how to tell the Broncos that Taylor didn't play that well (to keep him for the Comets next game).
"They get a DVD of the game, so we couldn't really do that," he said.
"He was pretty impressive. He put his head down and rolled up his sleeves and he went for the full 80 minutes.
"We offered him some time off twice when he looked out on his feet but he was quite determined and got straight back into the action.
"If the Broncs want him, he's ready to go."
Bennett will name his squad on Tuesday with the team heading to Sydney on Thursday.
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