Paul Taylor (rugby league)
Paul Taylor (born 26 July 1959) is a former Australian rugby league player who played mainly in the 1980s and 1990s. He spent most of his career with the Parramatta Eels from 1981 to 1989, with short spells at Oldham in England (1984–85 and 1988–89), Wakefield Trinity (1989–90), and Penrith Panthers (1990) before retiring. He played in many positions, including fullback, five-eighth, halfback, hooker, second-row, and lock.
Taylor played in four grand finals for Parramatta, helping the team win premierships in 1982, 1983, and 1986, and he was a reserve in Parramatta’s first grand final win in 1981. He was the favored fullback during the Jack Gibson era and played about 150 first-grade games for the club.
In 2013 he spoke about his time at Parramatta, saying he focused on endurance and fitness to fit into the fast, skilled side.
Two career highlights stand out: in 1981 he made 52 tackles in a single match, and in 1988 he scored four tries in a game against the Canberra Raiders, tying a club record.
Taylor left Parramatta after a dispute in 1989 and moved to the Penrith Panthers, where he played three games in 1990 before a broken collarbone ended his career. He later coached at Central Coast.
In 1996 he was made a life member of the Parramatta Eels. In 2022 it was revealed that he had experienced homelessness after his playing days, surviving on small amounts of food and stolen tea bags and describing that period as very tough.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 22:13 (CET).