A 22-year-old with less than 50 first grade games to his name has the power to lift the Titans out of the mediocrity they have been mired in for the past seven years and deliver the Gold Coast its first premiership.
That's the opinion of incoming coach Garth Brennan who less than a week after being revealed as the third coach in Titans history put in place perhaps the most important piece of the puzzle for the next four years, Ashley Taylor signing a three-year extension that keeps him on the Gold Coast until at least the end of the 2021 season.
With the Broncos lurking in the background eager to entice back an exceptional talent that they helped to foster, the Titans worked feverishly over the past two months to come to an agreement with Taylor before other clubs could make their approaches from November 1.
Still smarting from the Daly Cherry-Evans backflip of two years ago, the Titans even managed to get Taylor to sign a waiver to the 10-day cooling off period that guarantees his place within the organisation for the next four years.
Having worked with Taylor in a mentoring capacity for the past 18 months, Brennan's appointment last week in no small way contributed to Taylor's confidence in pledging his future to the Titans and the new coach has no doubt he can take the team to the very heights of the competition.
"I think he is," Brennan said when asked whether Taylor was the player who could lead a team to a title.
"Obviously there's a lot of work that goes into that and a lot of other quality players. It's not a one-man game. Ash is a big key to our football side being the halfback but so are a lot of other players in that squad too.
"We're a team and that's what I'm going to build. Ash is a big key to that, there's no doubt about that, and having a quality halfback is crucial to taking a team to a premiership.
"I'm sure with myself and the other players that are involved with the team, the experienced players in the team and the coaching staff behind Ash, I think we can get to the ultimate goal which we're all trying to achieve."
The rich contract extension reported to be as much as $3 million over three years brings with it scrutiny and expectation, pressure Taylor believes he will be able to handle.
"I've been in the system now for two years. Hopefully I can be a real leader in the team and guide us to some success," Taylor said.
"I didn't think it would come so quick to be where I am.
"I'm only 22. It's very rare you jump into contracts like these and have a lot of expectation.
"I'm willing to take it on the shoulders and carry it with me for the next few years."
During his tenure as CEO of the Titans Graham Annesley has seen more lows than highs but like Brennan has full faith that Taylor is the player that a successful team can be built around.
"Anybody that knows anything about rugby league knows how important a quality halfback is to the success of any team in the competition," said Annesley, who stressed that he hoped Taylor would remain at the Titans well after this latest deal expires.
"We see Ash as an important part of this club for many years to come and to build the team around him.
"You've only got to look at the great halfbacks that have steered teams around the field to premierships.
"We think Ash has got the potential to do that for us."
