Dave Taylor is a dominant force in club footy but a failure at Origin

DAVE Taylor was supposed to be the Queensland State of Origin battering ram.

HE was supposed to be the Queensland State of Origin battering ram.

Instead big Dave Taylor's statistics read no tackle busts, no offloads and no linebreaks.

He really only troubled the statisticians with missed tackles - three of them.

Chosen for his ability to steamroll the NSW forwards, the Rabbitohs second-rower became a 122kg passenger and liability. Now Queensland is on the verge of sacking the heavyweight Kangaroo forward from the decider on July 4 at Suncorp Stadium.

Maroons sources have revealed Taylor needs to turn in a couple of blinders against Parramatta this evening and the Broncos next Friday night to have any hope of keeping his Origin jersey.

Apart from his lack of involvement, Taylor made three crucial errors on Wednesday night in the rare moments he got near the football. He knocked on early in a tackle count, failed to dive on a loose ball in the NSW in-goal area and gave away a crucial late penalty when his team had the ball on the first tackle.

His two Origin performances in Melbourne and Sydney have more than justified Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire's decision to withdraw his offer to the giant forward earlier this year.

No one at Souths has complained about him leaving to join the Gold Coast Titans.

Good judges believe the big man struggles with the pace of Origin and the quicker and more brutal defence.

On Wednesday night, Maroons coach Mal Meninga threw Taylor into the starting line-up to replace the injured Sam Thaiday.

The statistics from Origin II are even more damning considering he started and played 47 minutes double the game time from Melbourne. Wednesday night was a game in which all back-rowers apart from Taylor stood out.

Nate Myles and Ashley Harrison were two of Queensland's best while Paul Gallen, Greg Bird and Luke Lewis all had blinders for the Blues.

A source close to the Maroons team said Meninga and the selectors were privately concerned about Taylor's performance.

Others even questioned his commitment to the jersey.

"It was a very un-Queensland performance," the source said.

"He really needs to produce in the next two club games for Souths if he wants to be chosen for the decider."

Regaining form against Parramatta tonight at ANZ Stadium will be tougher than it looks on paper. The Eels might be bottom of the table but their forwards are fresh from the bye and finished over the top of the highly rated Cronulla Sharks pack the week before.

Taylor will then have to again produce against the Broncos and many of his Queensland teammates next Friday night.

While the NSW side is all settled for game three (the same 17 will be chosen) the Maroons have a number of issues.

The loss of champion fullback Billy Slater leaves Meninga and his selectors tossing up between Greg Inglis, Ben Barba and Matt Bowen for the number one jersey.

With doubts about Thaiday returning and Taylor's position, Broncos forward Ben Te'o is favoured to come into the team.

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