Scott Taylor admits he turned down opportunities in both rugby league and rugby union in order to take charge of the sport’s newest professional club Goole Vikings. Taylor was announced as the Vikings’ inaugural head coach on Tuesday afternoon, with the club formally launching with a media event in the town centre.
With the help of former Hull FC CEO James Clark, the club have been accepted into League One for next season with the Goole outfit boasting bold and bright ambitions to cement themselves as a fixture in the sport’s heartland. The appointment of Taylor, a three-time Challenge Cup winner and former England international who represented Hull KR, Wigan Warriors and Salford Red Devils before making 178 appearances for Hull FC, is certainly a statement of intent.
Of course, the job is Taylor’s first in the game since retiring in 2023, and the 33-year-old has thrown himself into the deep end somewhat in taking the head coach role. However, after turning down opportunities in both codes, he says joining the project at Goole came as a ‘no-brainer’.
“I wanted to step away and make sure I had that fire still burning inside me before getting back involved at coaching level,” Taylor told the press at the Goole Vikings’ media launch. “Since that’s happened I’ve had a few interviews, I’ve spoke to a few clubs and I’ve had some very good offers come my way.
“I wanted something that felt right and got the fire burning inside, it’s not always about money, it’s about what’s right for me and my career and the values that I stand by. As soon as I met Mark and spoke about Goole and the passion behind the project and with James getting involved and I had the full picture, it was just a no-brainer for me.
“I’m really bought into it all, it excites me and it’s right in the heartbeat of rugby league. I’ve got a lot to give this game still, I’m 33. Some people say I retired too young but I’m a competitive person but I got out at the right time in my opinion and I want to take this step on the rugby league ladder and I’m over the moon.”
Of course, Goole will be entering the competition at the bottom rung of the ladder in League One, so what are the club’s immediate ambitions?
“We’ll take it week by week,” Taylor added. “I’m a very competitive person and I go into every game wanting to win. If we had it my way we’d win every game and go up but that’s not the headline I’m putting out there.
“We’re building something special and something new. We want to be successful and we need to be successful and we need to win but I’m realistic in the fact that it’s a big task. We’ve seen teams in the past go into it like Cornwall and London Skolars, it’s tough, but I think we’re on the front foot already with where we are location wise.”
Goole Vikings announced their first two signings on Tuesday with local lad Tom Halliday joining the club from Doncaster, while Ben Hodder will be making the step up from the amateur side to the professional ranks.
More signings are on the way of course, with the club being linked with Jamie Shaul, while Taylor and Clark have been actively looking to recruit from League One and the Championship with pre-season getting underway in just two months’ time.
“Very hands on,” Taylor said when asked how involved he’d be with recruitment in the coming weeks. “It’s a tight budget, we’re building a squad and we have to do things the right way.
“The big thing is getting the right players involved, people who buy into this not just want money, they see the big picture and see what we’re building and want to be part of something special.
“Over the next couple of weeks more players will get announced and there will be a few names where you might be shocked and some might make a bit of sense.”
