Ash Taylor need to only look to Johnathan Thurston to see how a player can make themselves great
JOHNATHAN Thurston was 22 in his first season at the Cowboys. Ash Taylor is now 23 and on Saturday night the blueprint for his future will be standing right in front of him, writes MAL MENINGA.
Opinion
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JOHNATHAN Thurston’s last game at Cbus Stadium on Saturday is also Ash Taylor’s last chance at invaluable on-the-job work experience.
It is an opportunity I hope Ash takes with both hands.
Ash has had an up-and-down year by anyone’s measure in a season where we were all hoping we would see him continue to develop as a No.7.
Instead, it seems like his climb up the halfback rankings has stagnated.
INSPIRATIONAL: JT’s journey to all-time great
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UNDER PRESSURE: Taylor struggling with expectations
We have seen glimpses of his best, particularly early in the season when he was being mentioned as a contender for the Queensland State of Origin team.
But after being overlooked for Origin III, Ash’s confidence took a battering and his form suffered as a result.
There have been signs over the past two weeks that he is coming out the other side, but he would do well to pay attention to the free lesson standing on the other side of the scrumbase this weekend.
There are many elements that have gone into making Johnathan the champion he is.
A lot of them centre around freakish natural ability that cannot be taught.
But importantly for Ash, and any aspiring halfback, there are also many that can be.
At the top of the list is JT’s sheer enjoyment of the game.
Playing rugby league with his mates, at whatever level of the game he is competing in, is still about having fun for JT.
Even this year, in what has been a tough and unsuccessful season for the Cowboys, Johnno still plays the game with a smile on his face. It has never become a chore.
Yes, there are plenty of times when he has become frustrated and disappointed with a poor performance. But that is natural for someone as competitive as he is.
He has never lost his enjoyment for playing the game and thriving on all of the pressures that come with it.
Ash needs to rediscover his love of the game.
There are other lessons there for the learning as well.
Johnathan’s toughness and his ability to deal with big hits and late shots is remarkable. He will never give an opponent the satisfaction of knowing he has been hurt.
His resilience is just as important. Even when things are working the way he wants — and let’s face it, a lot of time this year they haven’t — Johnathan just resets and starts again.
He doesn’t drop his bundle. He becomes even more determined to make it work next time.
Then there is his determination to make every play count.
Johnathan brings his competitiveness and determination to every play he is involved in. There are no wasted plays, no “nothing” options.
Yes, he makes mistakes. He is not infallible. But every time the chance comes for him to be involved in the game, he makes sure he gives everything he has.
That touches on the one element of Johnathan’s game that may be the most important of all.
Ash won’t be able to see it, because very few people ever do.
It is his appetite for hard work.
Every training session, every pre-season and in every game, Johnathan puts the work in to make sure he is the best he can be.
He does the extras, he does the work in private because he knows hard work breeds success — and he wants it more than anyone.
The good news for Ash is that Johnathan too, in the early stages of his career, had to learn all of these lessons as well.
JT learnt from the likes of Darren Lockyer, Cameron Smith and Danny Buderus how much work goes into getting to the top, and how much more work is needed to stay there.
Johnathan was 22 in his first season at the Cowboys, Ash is now 23.
Like Ash, JT had to learn to deal with pressure and expectation and how to be a leader for his team and his people.
And I am here to tell you, the 23-year-old Johnathan Thurston was a very different beast from the mature 35-year-old model we will honour in his last game on Saturday.
But JT knew where he wanted to go and who he wanted to be, and did the hard work to reach his goals.
On Saturday night the blueprint for Ash Taylor’s future will be standing there right in front of him.
Like the rest of the rugby league world, I’m hoping Ash is able to see it.
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Originally published as Ash Taylor need to only look to Johnathan Thurston to see how a player can make themselves great