IN the 1990s star halfback Jason Taylor was a man who gave everything to seeing the North Sydney Bears succeed and while his playing days are now over, he holds that same mission.
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Taylor is now coach of the Bears' Presidents Cup side and on Sunday he will be at Bathurst's Carrington Park advising his men as they take on the Western Rams.
Taylor not only wants his Bears to continue their impressive run in the competition - they sit in second with four wins from five games - but give North Sydney fans in the Central West a reminder that the foundation club is still going strong.
"We are definitely really excited about it, we are really keen to get out there and hook up with some of the Bears fans which I am sure are around there," Taylor said.
"Early on, before the draw came out, we thought it would be a great opportunity for us to be able to get to a few country areas and spread the word that the Bears are still alive and kicking and thriving.
"But what happened was all the teams wanted to come and play us at North Sydney Oval. So in the end, we've got Bathurst this weekend and Maitland the following week.
"There is an enormous amount of interest in the Bears and it is really great to see the passion that they have because while a few years have gone by now [since they played in the NRL], there are still so many Bears fans who are as passionate about the jersey as they once were.
"We are working hard to keep the brand strong."
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While Taylor's resume as a player was impressive as mixed alongside 147 games for the Bears were three State of Origin caps for NSW, he has also found success as a coach.
He was the assistant coach of the Sydney Roosters' premiership winning side in 2018, while in his first stint as a head coach in the NRL he guided the Parramatta Eels on a nine-game winning streak.
In 2019 Taylor returned to the Bears as head coach and his men ended up placing third in the Canterbury Cup.
This season the mission is to win the Presidents Cup and the Bears have made a good fist of it thus far. Taylor is enjoying watching "a little bit of old-style footy".
Taylor admits he did not know much about the Western Rams prior to this week, but will view footage of their games as part of the preparation for the Bathurst match.
"Over the next few days I'll get up the footage of the games they've played so far and have a bit of a look who we need to keep our eye on and how we might be able to go about scoring some points," Taylor said.
"We do that every week in regards to preparing for the game and getting the boys to understand who they are playing against."
One area which has troubled the Rams thus far is being out-sized by rival forward packs. While the Bears will be a better match for Western as it hunts for a maiden cup win, Taylor feels they can still prove a threat.
"We aren't the biggest side either - we played Hills last weekend and they are quite a big team, so are the Glebe team - so we are not the biggest side, but we have some experience which really does help us," he said.
Kick off on Sunday is at 2pm and Taylor said there will be plenty of Bears merchandise available so fans can 'wear the bear'
"We'll be bringing along plenty of merchandise, so any Bears fans who wants to get hold of the current jersey or a pair of shorts or the like, there'll be an opportunity," he said.
"I'm really looking forward to it, getting out there."
Those who plan to attend must purchase a ticket.
