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Elijah Taylor, pictured playing for the Tigers against the Titans, has signed for the English Super League club Salford.
Eleven-round Kiwis forward Elijah Taylor signed a two-year contract with English Super League club Salford just weeks after the New Zealand High Court ruled that his former coach had embezzled $ 400,000 from the NRL player.
Taylor, 30, joins the Salford Red Devils after being released by NRL club Wests Tigers at the end of the 2020 season.
The former Warriors favorite said he had “talked to some of the players I know, and Salford sounds like a great club.”
“I look forward to the opportunity to play at Salford, train and live there.
SALFORD RLFC
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Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Wests Tigers forward Elijah Taylor passes a pass in 2017.
“I have been following Salford for the last two years and have always wanted to play in the Super League at some point. Talking to rich [coach Richard Marshall]I’m excited to play for the club. “
Taylor, who made 186 first-grade appearances for the NRL, played with Salford’s Krisnan Inu and Sebastine Ikahihifo on the Warriors and Red Devils rival Tui Lolohea on the Wests Tigers.
Marshall said his new recruit has “the quality of having a massive impact on this team with his actions on and off the field.
“He already has a good relationship with Tui since his time at Wests Tigers, and I am looking forward to seeing them play together in Salford jerseys.
“I also believe that Elijah’s experience on the world stage will make him a huge influence on the rest of our pack, and our younger players in particular.”
Salford, based in Greater Manchester, was runner-up in the 2019 Super League final and the 2020 Challenge Cup final.
His rugby manager, Ian Blease, described Taylor as a “world-class talent” whose “presence makes our pack look even more imposing heading into next season and beyond.”
“This signing is a declaration of our intent, and I am sure it will fill our fans with excitement for his first match in the Salford colors.”
Mark Kolbe / Getty Images
Elijah Taylor in action for the Warriors against the Roosters in 2013.
Taylor, who can play forward, second row or hooker, made his NRL debut with the Warriors in 2011 after captaining the Junior Warriors for the National Youth Competition title.
He won his first games for the Kiwis in 2011 and started as a loose forward in the Kiwis’ final Rugby World Cup loss to Australia in 2013. He scored a hooker try in his last appearance for the Kiwis, against Scotland in the World Cup 2017.
Kai Schwoerer / Getty Images
Elijah Taylor in his last appearance for the Kiwis against Scotland at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup in Christchurch.
Taylor transferred to Penrith Panthers in 2014 and two years later moved to Wests Tigers, where he became co-captain.
He played 11 games in 2020, nine off the bench, but was among a group of players released by Wests Tigers and Kiwis coach Michael Maguire at the end of the season.
Taylor took legal action against his former manager, Christchurch-based Ian Miles, and the Supreme Court ruled last month that Miles had embezzled $ 400,000 from the NRL player over a four-year period.
Taylor told the Herald of New Zealand this week he felt betrayed by a man who had been his mentor since he was a teenager on the Warriors.
“How could it be possible? How could someone do this, someone who was like my father? I trusted him a lot. I trusted him more than anyone in my life,” Taylor said.
Miles issued a statement to Herald of New Zealand saying that he denied the misappropriation of funds from Taylor and was in therapy after “various health problems in the last four years.”
However, Superior Court Judge Jan-Marie Doogue ruled that Miles had abused Taylor’s trust and ordered him to pay $ 25,000 in general damages and court costs of $ 28,750, with sums of $ A340,112 and $ 17,909 awarded to Taylor.
Taylor told the Herald he had little hope of receiving money.
