NRL: Taylor's a centre of excellence

Lewis Brown lasted a minute against the Titans. Photo / Dean Purcell

Elijah Taylor might be better known as a lock or second-rower but fans might become familiar with him as a centre over the next month, with Lewis Brown sidelined with a high ankle sprain.

Brown injured his ankle in the second minute of the match against the Titans on Friday night and was in a moon boot by the time the game finished. Warriors doctor John Mayhew expects Brown to be out for between two and four weeks.

"It looks fairly regulation," Mayhew says. "They can be a pain and grumble on a bit but it's not a season-ending injury. It'd be divine intervention if he was back this week."

It is a continuation of an almost weekly conundrum for coach Ivan Cleary since Jerome Ropati seriously injured his knee in the third game of the season. Joel Moon, Simon Mannering, Shaun Berrigan, Brown, Krisnan Inu and Taylor have all been used there and Lance Hohaia even played a few minutes in the centres on Friday night.

Berrigan will occupy one spot against the Bulldogs this Friday and Taylor looks the most likely option at left centre.

Mannering started his career at centre, has played a couple of pretty important matches for the Kiwis there and also had a smaller number on his back for a handful of games midway through the season. But Cleary appears to prefer him in the second row. The fact he stayed there on Friday instead of shifting out to allow Taylor to slot into the second row was revealing.

There's little difference between the two positions in the modern game anyway. Centres line up one position further out than second-rowers and defence is a big part of their game, especially with the need to cover for the smaller halves.

Taylor is a tireless defender who averages 37.5 tackles a match. He's also played centre in the past, most recently in pre-season, and has the ability to fill in a number of positions including lock, second-row, hooker, five-eighth and centre.

Inu has played centre for the Vulcans in the last couple of games but, as good as he can be on attack, doubts exist about his defence. Moon has been unsighted since round three and controversial centre Shaun Metcalf, signed as injury cover in April, hasn't progressed as much as the club had hoped.

Another sign that Taylor could get the nod is that the club have plenty of second rowers who can come off the bench. Steve Rapira has been solid in the four games he's played and the punishing Ukuma Ta'ai, who injured his knee eight weeks ago, is close to a return.

Brown's injury is a nuisance. He's proved to be a valuable member of the side over the past three seasons with his high work rate and dependable game. But the Warriors have more troops available than a lot of sides at an important juncture in the season.