The demotion of David Taylor to the Queensland Cup will have no impact on the off-contract Brisbane Broncos forward's value on the open market, according to his manager.
The in-demand 20-year-old was yesterday dumped from the Broncos side to face Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, with coach Ivan Henjak citing a need for the 115kg Taylor to accumulate more minutes without being hampered by fatigue.
The Rockhampton product will instead play for the Central Comets against Easts at Langlands Park on Sunday.
His dumping, at the expense of NRL debutant Palmer Wapau, leaves on shaky ground his claims for a surprise call-up by Queensland for this year's State of Origin series, but his manager Col Davis insists it will have no impact on the salary he stands to make as part of his next contract.
Taylor's current deal at the Broncos expires at the end of this year and at least five other clubs are said to be chasing the damaging ball runner, with South Sydney reportedly willing to pay him $250,000 a season if he leaves Red Hill for the Rabbitohs.
"I wouldn't expect dropping back to Queensland Cup would alter his value in the marketplace at all," Davis said.
"If clubs see a value in Dave they'll have a value in mind whether he is playing Queensland Cup or not."
The birth of Taylor's first child last month and the support network he has in Queensland increases the likelihood of him staying in Brisbane.
However Davis said he and his client had to weigh-up several other factors - including lifestyle and where his game can be best developed - before deciding on the destination for his devastating brand of rugby league.
Henjak also claimed Taylor's sacking would not lessen his chances of an attractive offer by clubs including the Broncos.
"It doesn't hurt them from our end," he said.
"I don't know how that is going to affect other clubs but it shouldn't really.
"He hasn't lost his ability or the potential that he has."
Taylor has played as many as 61 minutes in a game this season - against the Melbourne Storm in round two - but featured for only 15 minutes last Friday night at Penrith.
Henjak believes he must develop the capacity to contribute more game time without being affected by fatigue.
"Anyone who is playing NRL and who is on a big contract, and when you read the hype about him and what South Sydney are offering, they've got to be able to play some minutes to justify that," Henjak said..
"We're no different. Dave is a big guy and 15 minutes is not enough.
"You have to be able to cope with the intensity and making decisions under pressure and to do that you have to be playing games."
Henjak was hopeful Taylor would play a full game, or the best part of one, when he turns out for the Comets in Brisbane's eastern suburbs on Sunday.
"Going back and playing a full game is going to, I think, benefit him hugely," he said.
"They are always disappointed to get dropped. It's not a nice thing but they've got to see what the positive in it is. I think he will get a huge benefit out of it."
Taylor's replacement on the Brisbane interchange bench is the 26-year-old Wapau, who was been rewarded for an excellent start to the season for the Redcliffe Dolphins.
Brisbane Broncos Karmichael Hunt, Antonio Winterstein, Steve Michaels, Justin Hodges, Israel Folau, Darren Lockyer (capt), Peter Wallace, Nick Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Joel Clinton, Sam Thaiday, Ashton Sims, Corey Parker. Interchange: Aaron Gorrell, Palmer Wapau, Josh McGuire, Alex Glenn.
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