Sport
21 January, 2025
Brown is determined to win a premiership in 2025
Former QCup and National Youth Competition (NYC) rugby league player, Taylor Brown, is entering his second year in the Stanley River Wolves A Grade side, and expects to make the grand final this year.
Taylor fi rst started playing rugby league when he was five-years-old, following in the footsteps of his father and two uncles, who all played for the same junior club in Bankstown, Sydney.
At just 15-years-old he was selected to play for the Canterbury Bulldogs development squad, and then went on to play for the St George Illawarra Dragons in the NYC from 2012-2013.
Taylor then moved up north to play for the Redcliffe Dolphins in the QCup from 2014 until he retired in 2020.
After retirement, he didn’t see himself returning to the sport, until last year when he was presented an opportunity to play for the Wolves.
“I joined because I wanted a bit of fitness, and I wanted to get back into footy, I was missing it, the Wolves popped up as an opportunity so I took it,” Taylor said.
He added he has a wealth of experience from his time playing in the NYC and QCup, giving him invaluable lessons.
“The biggest thing I learnt would be professionalism and how to go about your football preparation,” he said.
“It’s almost more about what you do off the field than you do on the field.
“When I say preparation I mean things like stretching and diet and sleep which are just as important to get right.”
The front rower said his personal preseason training will be focused on ensuring his body is ready for week in week out games.
Taylor said what he enjoyed most about rugby league was the camaraderie.
“What I love most about footy is just hanging with my mates, and spending time with other people,” he said.
“It’s the one thing I missed when I retired in 2020 and came back, was getting to spend three nights a week with blokes plus weekends.
“Your squad almost turns into your family.”
The Wolves have secured a number of marquee signings and re-signings this season, which makes Taylor confident the squad will be top contenders for the 2025 premiership.
“Last year was our first year back in the A Grade competition so that was definitely a learning season last year,” Taylor said.
“This year, I’d expect us to be competitive, our goal every year is to win a competition.
“But if we don’t feature in a grand final this year, I’d see the season as a failure with the squad that we have and the people around us.”
Other big signings for the Stanley River A Grade team include Tauaalo Vaipulu, who captained the Redcliffe Dolphins in the BRL last year, and Logan Cox, who captained Brighton in the BRL last year.
