The NRL has hinted it will look favourably on Dave Taylor's looming comeback as the former State of Origin forward works with the Canberra Raiders to resurrect his career.
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The Raiders have offered Taylor a one-year deal but he must accept certain conditions if he wants to be a part of the Green Machine's 2017 campaign.
Even if Taylor agrees to all of the terms, the NRL would have to make the final decision on whether it would register Taylor's contract after he pleaded guilty to cocaine possession in court three months ago.
The Raiders have to prove Taylor is fit and prepared for the rigours of professional football before his contract is registered by the NRL.
The NRL integrity unit could have a say on whether Taylor will lace up the boots for Canberra but it seems almost certain he will play at some point this year.
But Fairfax Media can reveal NRL officials have been impressed with how the Raiders have handled Taylor's bid for a contract and his progress.
Taylor has been pulling beers in a Queanbeyan pub after Raiders coach Ricky Stuart offered him a chance to train with the club.
Stuart has said an offer would be made to Taylor, and it was now up to the former State of Origin and Test representative and his manager to decide if they would accept.
The NRL will work with the Raiders to deem whether a suspension is necessary in the wake of Taylor's cocaine possession charges in November last year.
Questions about his desire have dogged Taylor for his entire career, but Canberra fullback Jack Wighton has been impressed with his work ethic at training.
"The big lad is looking fit and stuff so he'll be ready to kick off at the start of the season," Wighton said.
Taylor would add further size to one of the competition's biggest forward packs that Wighton predicts could give opposition teams nightmares.
While the Indigenous All Stars fullback expects the hulking forward pack to lay the platform for the backs to run amok, he just hopes "the big bastards" aren't too slow in getting out of the way.
"I definitely haven't played with a forward pack this big," Wighton said.
"We've all got to work together for it to be a good set-up also, hopefully all the boys come together.
"I think if we go in there with the right mindset, we've got some strike power in our forwards and also some strike power in our backs.
"It's a lot of hard work to get to where we got to last year."
Taylor would be a welcome addition to a Raiders side already missing Junior Paulo for the trip to Townsville in round one.
Paulo was suspended by the NRL for the opening round of the 2017 season for a road-rage incident that occurred in Sydney almost two years ago.
Wighton is expecting the season opener against the North Queensland Cowboys to be a big test for the Green Machine without Paulo and skipper Jarrod Croker, who was injured in the NRL All Stars match.
"It's only going to be round one but it's going to be an eye-opener to how hard the season is going to be so we'll go up there and try and do our best," Wighton said.
Taylor could come up against a current Raider should he sign and have the contract registered by the NRL in time for round one.
Canberra lock Shaun Fensom has been linked with the North Queensland Cowboys but things would need to progress quickly for him to play the season opener against the Raiders.
