Taylor's 30 try season

Taylor took out the Katrina Fanning Shield Leading Try Scorer Trophy this season. Former Boorowa junior Eliza Taylor has capped a record-equalling season with a grand final hat-trick, helping the Belconnen United Sharks to their first Katrina Fanning Shield. Taylor scored three of the Sharks' five tries in their 20-14 win over the Gungahlin Bulls at Seiffert Oval on Saturday 19 September, crossing twice in the first six minutes before adding a third in the 26th minute. With the Sharks having lost last year's grand final, she said the team was determined not to take anything for granted. "We didn't want to get complacent going into the game because of what happened in last year's grand final," Taylor said. "Once we got those couple of tries, we got a bit of confidence and a bit of momentum moving forward, so I think we just used that to carry us through." The Bulls fought back after the break. "In the second half, they just came back quite fiery, and we just had to maintain our defence," she said. Taylor finished the Canberra Region Rugby League (CRRL) Katrina Fanning Shield season with 30 tries from 14 games, 11 more than her nearest rivals. Her 26 tries in the regular season equalled the competition record, which counts regular-season games only, despite her not playing every game, and she added four more in the finals. "I was quite happy to have just equalled the record, considering I didn't play all the games," she said. Remarkably, she scored most of them from fullback. After starting the season on the wing, Taylor moved to fullback in round two or three when the Sharks' regular fullback was injured, before returning to the wing for the finals. "I enjoy fullback for the movement, there's lots more you can do, and you're not just stuck to your wing," she said. Now studying at university in Canberra, Taylor has plenty to weigh up before next season. After a year like this one, it will be exciting to see what the future holds for the former Boorowa junior.