North Queensland schoolboy sensation poached by elite Sydney NRL club the Parramatta Eels

A top Sydney NRL side has scored the signature of a Kirwan Bears and Townsville Blackhawks young gun who is touted as a future star. Find out how they pulled off the coup.

Elijah Tapau-Taylor (third from left) has agreed to terms with the Parramatta Eels. Pictured with members of Kirwan SHS's Clontarf Foundation students (R-L): Cooper Pearson, Jeffrey Ross, Anthony Iorangi, Kaiden Lahrs, Elijah Tapau-Taylor, Darius Carter and Cohen Emmi. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Kirwan Bears young gun Elijah Tapau-Taylor would be excused for having his bright future front of mind after agreeing to terms with the Parramatta Eels, but the towering backrower was still able to turn in a titanic performance in the Aaron Payne Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.

Tapau-Taylor scored a second-half double in a man of the match worthy appearance as the Bears mauled cross-town rivals Ignatius Park College 18-4 to book a ticket to next week’s grand final.

The game was hanging in the balance at halftime with Kirwan clutching onto an 8-0 lead before the devastating ballrunner charged over for back-to-back tries through his sheer strength, stamping out any hopes of a comeback.

Tapau-Taylor’s semi-final spectacle gives people a good idea of what the Parramatta Eels see in the gifted athlete that has been touted as a future NRL player.

The North Queenslander will move south at the end of this year to take up a two-year deal at the famous Sydney club.

Kirwan backrower Elijah Tapau-Taylor playing in Fiji, 2023. Picture: Kirwan SHS

Tapau-Taylor said he was excited to be offered the opportunity to learn off some of the game’s best as he develops his own talent.

“My manager was talking to a few clubs and then Parramatta stepped forward and said they’d really want me at their club, they’re looking for a player like me to try and build around and take through the ranks,” Tapau-Taylor said.

“So I just took a step up and (thought) ‘I’ve got to take that, it’s going to better my career and it’s going to be good.’

“I really look up to Shaun Lane, even though he’s out with an injury right now, I really look up to him. He’s got a really strong line, a good carry, he’s well-disciplined on the field, so he’s one I look up to.”

Ignatius Park College players Conner Sadler and Hayde Murno and Kirwan High players Loranzo Fono and Elijah Tapau-Taylor are set for the big clash, June 2023. Picture: Evan Morgan

Kirwan coach Nathan Norford was proud of his backrower’s efforts in Wednesday’s final but said it was the unsung work of the Bears’ middle forwards that gave Tapau-Taylor the space to dominate.

“Elijah was outstanding, along with a lot of our boys,” Norford said.

“I think Tavita (Penaia) is getting a little bit of game time under his belt and he’s been hard to handle.

“It was a good display from Elijah out wide but the boys in the middle gave him those opportunities.”

Elijah Tapau-Taylor has always had a massive frame, seeing eye-to-eye with Cowboys forward Coen Hess in 2021 as a year 10 student. Picture: Supplied

The semi-final victory is just the latest in Tapau-Taylor’s growing list of accolades and achievements after he starred for the Townsville Blackhawks under-18s in this year’s Mal Meninga Cup, eventually falling to the Redcliffe Dolphins 36-18 in the grand final.

The year 12 student wants to finish his Kirwan career by leading the school to its first National Schoolboys Cup title since 2019.

He said there was a special feeling around the squad and hopes were high but they’re taking it one game at a time – starting with the Payne Cup grand final next Thursday played at QCB Stadium before the Cowboys’ NRL match.

“I think of the boys as family, this team,” Tapau-Taylor said.

“I can trust these boys with anything, I spend every day with them, every day of my life. I treat them as family because they’re like my brothers.”

Originally published as North Queensland schoolboy sensation poached by elite Sydney NRL club the Parramatta Eels