A total of 937 unauthorised transactions were made, spent on things such as overseas holidays, gifts for his wife, motorbikes, clothing and furniture, but it was the ultimate act of betrayal for Taylor because Miles was more than a manager \u2013 he was a father figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trusted him so much and it got me burnt,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always bitter towards that because I like to think I\u2019m a loyal person and I know a lot of young kids coming through don\u2019t have father figures, so as soon as they get that father figure, they\u2019re going to become loyal to them and sometimes that loyalty can get in trouble.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a lot more cautious with who I\u2019m speaking with or if I meet someone new and I\u2019m a bit more paranoid than I was or less naive than I was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elijah Taylor in his rookie NRL season in 2011. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
The pair met when Taylor first joined the Warriors system and Miles was brought in to do mental skills coaching.<\/p>\n
In 2011, when Taylor and his then agent Stan Martin were negotiating a new deal to stay at the Warriors, Miles convinced him he was worth more and later that year became his manager after becoming accredited.<\/p>\n
The following year, Miles suggested Taylor open two BNZ bank accounts and the manager was given access to both.<\/p>\n
The same thing happened the following year in Australia. As Taylor was preparing to make the move to the Penrith Panthers for the 2014 NRL season<\/a>, Miles told him to open two Westpac accounts.<\/p>\n Taylor was headhunted by then Panthers boss Phil Gould and former Warriors coach Ivan Cleary to provide much-needed leadership at the club.<\/p>\n Over the next few years, Miles would accuse Taylor\u2019s wife of erratic spending, which created friction, and it wasn\u2019t until the end of his first season with the Wests Tigers in 2016 \u2013 having made a mid-season move from the Panthers \u2013 that Taylor made the shocking discovery after meeting with their personal banker.<\/p>\n By the time the matter went to court, a further four years had passed, with a judge eventually ordering Christchurch-based Miles to pay $484,824 in damages, but he declared bankruptcy, leaving Taylor without restitution.<\/p>\n Miles has previously refused all requests to comment and basically denies any wrongdoing, as cited in a Facebook post from 2021.<\/p>\n The mental toll of what happened impacted Taylor greatly as he lost all the money he had earned at the Warriors and Panthers, and when Tigers coach Michael Maguire told him he wouldn\u2019t be re-signed beyond his deal at the 2020 NRL, he wanted to call it quits.<\/p>\n \u201cI put the cue in the rack,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cIt was four years of stewing over losing your money.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried knuckling down at the Tigers where I played decent, but I got to end of 2020 and that\u2019s when I found out he\u2019d declared bankrupt. I was just like, what the frick?<\/p>\n \u201cI pretty much gave up on league. I was like, I\u2019m done with this. Thisis bulls***.\u201d<\/p>\n During this period, Taylor had begun thinking of life post footy and after completing seven exams over 15 months, he obtained his commercial pilot\u2019s licence.<\/p>\n After everything he\u2019d been through, Taylor was ready for a fresh start and would have hung up the boots then, but due to Covid and the continual uncertainty around travel, he knew he had to keep playing.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the airlines got shut down and I was like, \u2018oh, s***, I need to keep playing here\u2019. That\u2019s when Salford [Red Devils] offered me a contract and that\u2019s how I ended up in the Super League.<\/p>\n \u201cIt had a huge effect on me mentally, financially, obviously, but I was done with the game by the end of 2020.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Covid didn\u2019t come, I\u2019d probably be in the airlines right now, to be honest. I was done with the game, but it wasn\u2019t to be.\u201d<\/p>\n In England, Taylor was based in Manchester and played for Salford (2021-22) and Featherstone Rovers (2023) before ending his career at Oldham (2024-25) in the Championship, the second tier of English rugby league.<\/p>\n Taylor said he had an Instagram page focusing on music, but with a desire to help people, two of his teammates at Featherstone pushed him to change tack.<\/p>\n His first video was on advice to rookies playing in their first NRL trial matches and the page took off after that, with hundreds of videos now available to view.<\/p>\n Lots of the videos are based on his own personal experiences or of others who have challenging journeys to the top or had to overcome adversity. His content is often shared by many other former players.<\/p>\n Resilience from adversity<\/p>\n Taylor\u2018s journey started in H\u0101wera, where he grew up playing rugby union, watching the Hurricanes and idolising the likes of Christian Cullen and Tana Umaga.<\/p>\n Things got tough for his family and Taylor found himself sleeping in the car with his brothers<\/a> and eventually, they moved from Taranaki to the small Northland settlement of Herekino near Kait\u0101ia, to live in a shed on family land.<\/p>\n Taylor then moved to renowned rugby league school St Paul\u2019s where he picked up the 13-man code and that\u2019s where he was spotted by the Warriors, who asked him to come train once a week. <\/p>\n He had the option to join Auckland\u2019s rugby system or the Warriors\u2019 U20s programme, but with a clearer pathway to the top with the latter, he felt that was the best option.<\/p>\n Those struggles in his early teenage years had him seeking a way out.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember I wanted to sign with the first manager that I got in contact with when I was a teenager,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to get out of my circumstances and I thought as soon as I get a manager, I can leave. That was my mindset, I was that desperate to sign with anyone just to try and give me a contract.\u201d<\/p>\n That adversity made him resilient and he is aware of the pressures many kids face in today\u2019s society who are getting snapped up by agents and teams, some as young as 13, but many are often trapped in the system after taking a signing bonus to help ease financial pressure.<\/p>\n Taylor said lots of messages he receives on his pages are from parents and how to handle managers from things like how to get their kid out of a contract with an agent because they can feel trapped.<\/p>\n \u201cKids that come from well-educated, financially educated families, they\u2019ll make better decisions,\u201d Taylor said. <\/p>\n \u201cWhereas you come up in a family that\u2019s struggling all the time, you don\u2019t really have sound advice for making some decisions.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a vicious cycle and that\u2019s another motivation for the page is just giving kids the heads up of just to be careful like, who you trust.<\/p>\n \u201cMake sure you keep your receipts, email threads, screenshots, just that type of advice because I know that could help some young kid out there, definitely.\u201d<\/p>\n Most people who ask that question usually follow up by asking if Taylor would consider representing their kids, and while there is an appetite to be helpful, it\u2019s an avenue he\u2019s hesitant to explore.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was going to be a manager, I\u2019m taking nothing, no money at all,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can see the attractive side to it, but you\u2019d have to be a bit two faced and I don\u2019t think I could sleep at night.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be cut from a certain cloth to be a manager because I wouldn\u2019t want to promise the world to a young fella and then just not be able to get him a deal, that would burn me.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor feels managers have much power in the game and they can influence player contracts, potentially leverage media attention for a player\u2019s benefit and manage both players and coaches within the same agency.<\/p>\n Taylor made the decision to hang up the boots this year and his decision was made easier after copping a few head knocks during the season, admitting he should have probably done it a year earlier.<\/p>\n The 35-year-old was one of many former Warriors who were honoured in the retiring class of 2025 before the NRL grand final, where the Brisbane Broncos beat the Melbourne Storm.<\/p>\n He was surprised to get the call from Joe Galuvao \u2013 who runs the past players and transition programme for the \u2013 and to feature in the presentation, and says it was a special moment.<\/p>\n Others who played for the Warriors who were also honoured include David Fusitu\u2019a, Ken Maumalo, Chad Townsend, Kieran Foran and Shaun Lane, although he was unable to attend.<\/p>\n A major regret<\/p>\n Taylor finished with 186 NRL games and a further 93 in the UK, plus 11 tests for the Kiwis.<\/p>\n He feels the sport is thriving down under, but in the UK it\u2019s struggling and Taylor believes the NRL must step in to save the integrity of the sport.<\/p>\n That is highlighted by the financial issues in the sport, including by one of his former clubs in Salford that was unable to pay players for periods during the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Even though there were plenty of career highlights, including doing the haka alongside Adam Blair and Issac Luke, there is one major regret he has.<\/p>\n \u201cI worked my ass off, but I don\u2019t have like any silverware to back it up,\u201d Taylor said. \u201dThat\u2019s going to sting me for a while. <\/p>\n \u201cI put in so much effort over the years. There was some great times, but not winning anything, gee, that burns a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite spending a decade in the NRL, Taylor played in only two NRL finals matches in his debut season. The first being the 20-12 preliminary final win over the Melbourne Storm, who many regard as the Warriors\u2019 greatest performance, along with the grand final the following week, losing 22-10 to the Manly Sea Eagles.<\/p>\n Taylor scored a try in the final. He was playing in the unfamiliar position of centre when he caught a pass from Shaun Johnson, breaking the tackle of Steve Matai before sliding over in the corner.<\/p>\n Even though he has some great memories, Taylor admits he feels embarrassed by the lack of silverware, but acknowledges that\u2019s how tough the NRL is.<\/p>\n Taylor doesn\u2019t count the title he won captaining the Warriors\u2019 U20s side to glory in 2010, and his jersey collection is with him mum.<\/p>\n The U20s competition back then was a big deal with all matches broadcast, while the Warriors were the most successful team with three titles between 2008-17.<\/p>\n Slowly does it<\/p>\n But now his focus turns to the future as he settles into his new life in Rarotonga, where his wife is from, and he\u2019s enjoying the peaceful and slow lifestyle compared with the bustling Manchester city where he\u2019d been based for the previous five years.<\/p>\n Along with creating content, he plans to focus on getting his commercial pilot\u2019s licence back in order, having completed his studies during the Covid years.<\/p>\n He has to complete some medical exams and improve on the 300 hours (at the time of the interview) of fly time as he looks to start doing some inter-island flights. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very peaceful and slow,\u201c Taylor said. \u201dWhen I first met my wife, I always said I wanted to retire here.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of people, they probably couldn\u2019t handle living over here because it\u2019s a bit too quiet, it\u2019s a bit too slow, but I enjoy that aspect of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Taylor said he had no plans to get into coaching, although he has made a few trips to one of the local clubs in Rarotonga, admitting he doesn\u2019t watch much these days.<\/p>\n Taylor\u2019s focus in rugby league now is to help, and when all is said and done, that\u2019s how he wants to be remembered.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone that helped mentor young kids,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cEspecially with the page. <\/p>\n \u201cMy motivation is just to help kids, make the most of their careers, make wise decisions and hopefully, not make the same mistakes I did.<\/p>\nElijah Taylor made 41 appearances for the Salford Red Devils. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Elijah Taylor was a member of the Wests Tigers when he made the discovery about his former agent, Ian Miles. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Elijah Taylor is presented with a jersey by Dean Bell after his final match at the Warriors. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n