Gold Coast halfback Ash Taylor admits he is struggling with the pressure of leading the Titans

WITH just 69 NRL games under his belt, Ash Taylor will next season become a million-dollar-a-season player. But the Titans halfback is struggling with the weight of expectation.

TITANS halfback Ash Taylor says he has failed to live up to the expectations of coach Garth Brennan ahead of a final showdown with Johnathan Thurston.

Taylor will go toe-to-toe with the mercurial Thurston in the North Queensland legend’s final NRL game at a sold-out Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday.

The back end of the season has been far from happy for Taylor, with the Gold Coast No.7’s form plummeting after he was overlooked for Queensland Origin selection.

SALARY CAP: Why does this keep happening?

NO SENTIMENT: Titans want to ruin JT send-off

The Titans have left Taylor exposed as he learns on the job. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Taylor, 23, started the season with a bang after being challenged by new coach Brennan to take control of the Titans.

He produced four try-assists in the Gold Coast’s first game of the year and rocketed into contention to replace Cooper Cronk in the Maroons No.7 jersey, only to be overlooked by Queensland selectors in favour of Ben Hunt and Daly Cherry-Evans.

Taylor’s form has fallen away as the Gold Coast has dropped down the ladder, with the Titans now fighting to avoid finishing the season in the bottom four.

Taylor admitted he failed to live up to Brennan’s pre-season challenge.

The 22-year-old knows he hasn’t done as well as expected. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

“It’s been tough,” he told The Courier-Mail.

“Garth has put a lot of pressure on me to lead the team around at such a young age.

“I’ve had a lot of help. There is a lot of experience in the team like Dark (Ryan James), Flash (Michael Gordon), Kevvie (Kevin Proctor), J-Wal (Jarrod Wallace). We’ve got a lot of experience.

“I’m going to be better for it in the long run, getting this experience under my belt. Trying to lead the team around has been challenging but I’ve enjoyed it.”

The pressure on Taylor will lift another level next season when he officially becomes a $1 million-a-season player at the Gold Coast.

Having played 69 NRL games, Taylor is still in the relative infancy of his career, but said he wanted the expectations when he was ready.

Taylor knows he still has a lot of work to do. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

“Yes I do, eventually,” he said.

“Still being a young age, it’s really hard to cement yourself as that half for the next 10 years.

“It’s been tough, especially my own performances. I haven’t been playing like I normally do.

“People expect so much of you. Some games you’re not in the game as much as you were the week before.”

If there’s one positive, it is how long it took Thurston to hit his stride.

Taylor grew up idolising Thurston and will experience a slice of history when he plays in the four-time Dally M Medal champion’s final game.

Thurston and the Cowboys will have plenty of support among the 27,000-strong crowd, but Taylor said there would be no sweeter way to finish the season than to get one up on the Queensland legend.

“I’m pretty excited. It’s going to be the biggest crowd we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said.

“It is a big occasion, but we’re out to spoil the party. We’re not going to take this game lightly just because it’s his last game.

“I want to have a big game and get a good game into me before I go into the break and then pre-season.

“I’m planning on having a massive pre-season and coming back in better shape than what I did this year.”

Jarrod Wallace’s advice? Play and have fun. (Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

Titans prop Jarrod Wallace said Taylor had to rediscover his love of the game.

“He’s got to remember he is here to play footy and have fun,” Wallace said.

“Just because he had a heap of big games at the start of the year, that doesn’t change anything for him.

“He doesn’t need to do any more or any less. He just has to be himself.

“In the first part of the year he was killing it because there was no expectation on himself. He just wanted to go out and play footy.

“It’s when you start putting that expectation and pressure on yourself it starts to fall away because you get down.”

Get 3 months free Sport HD + Entertainment on a 12 month plan and watch every game of every round of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership on FOX SPORTS. T & Cs apply. SIGN UP NOW >

Originally published as Gold Coast halfback Ash Taylor admits he is struggling with the pressure of leading the Titans