JASON TAYLOR'S sacking as South Sydney coach sparked rumours that Brisbane forward Dave Taylor was fishing for a way out of his contract after having second thoughts about leaving the Broncos. However, Taylor's manager, Col Davies, insisted the change of coach wouldn't affect the powerhouse prop's shift to Redfern at the end of the season. ''Not at all,'' Davis said. ''The furniture removalist was at his place today. His wife is on the way down there.'' That reassurance will be welcomed by the Rabbitohs as the 21-year-old, nicknamed the ''Coal Train'', has privately made it known he is leaving the Broncos with some regrets and would be keen to one day rejoin the club. Given his current heroics, there's little doubt Brisbane would hope that day comes sooner rather than later. Taylor's departure has been an open sore for Broncos fans, many of whom are gobsmacked that such a damaging player earmarked for future representative duties could have slipped through their grasp.

Noble exit

While South Sydney have recalled former Cronulla and Penrith mentor John Lang from retirement to take the reins from the sacked Jason Taylor, Wigan are set to blood the untried Shaun Wane to replace former Great Britain boss Brian Noble next season. Noble, who has been told his contract will not be renewed when it expires at the end of the season, is considering an offer to take over at Celtic Crusaders, with Iestyn Harris as his assistant. Melbourne assistant Michael Maguire had been strongly linked with the job but, according to sources at the Storm, he has not heard from Wigan boss Ian Lenagan for some time. Parramatta under-20s coach David Fairleigh and Roosters defensive coach Adrian Lam were other names mentioned. But it now appears the former glamour club is set to promote from within, with The Guardian reporting that Wane - Wigan's academy coach and a former player - is emerging as the surprise favourite.

Elford holds court

Clint Elford, who went from Sharks saviour to a jail cell within weeks, is back doing what he does best - causing a stir. Elford on Wednesday sacked his solicitor and decided to represent himself via audio-visual link from Goulburn jail as he answered allegations that he threatened grievous bodily harm to former Sharks chief executive Tony Zappia. Elford indicated he would plead guilty to sending a document threatening Zappia, who had previously been in discussions with Elford about the Sharks fanatic handing over his life insurance pay-out to the club. Elford appeared dishevelled during the hearing, with the green in his hair matching his prison attire. The matter has been adjourned until November 11 when the court will deal with allegations that he attempted to dupe a life insurance company of more than $500,000 when he claimed he was terminally ill. Elford's parents also appeared on Wednesday. Graham Norman Elford and Leslie Alma Elford entered no plea to charges of recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.

Ref's call

When it came to appointing the video referees for this weekend's finals matches, only two members of the five-man selection panel were able to vote, as Bill Harrigan, Steve Clark and Russell Smith were all in contention for jobs. As a result, it was left to NRL referees' boss Robert Finch and former Sharks coach Stuart Raper to give the nod to Harrigan and Paul Simpkins.

Blow for Brown

Former Dragons coach Nathan Brown, fleetingly mentioned as a possible candidate for the Souths job, has steered Huddersfield into third place in Super League but will go into this weekend's opening finals match against St Helens without two players stood down for disciplinary breaches following the club's awards night. Super League hooker of the year Scott Moore and former Melbourne Storm prop Keith Mason will learn their fate at a board meeting next week and have apologised to teammates and sponsors.

Super selection

Five Australians made the Super League team of the year announced this week, including Hull KR second-row partners Ben Galea and Clint Newton. Their teammate, former Canberra halfback Michael Dobson, is also in the side, along with Huddersfield's ex-Wests Tigers captain Brett Hodgson and 2001 Newcastle premiership-winning centre Matt Gidley, now at St Helens.

The team, which was chosen by a panel of journalists and broadcasters, is:

B Hodgson (Huddersfield); P Fox (Hull KR), M Gidley (St Helens), K Senior (Leeds), R Hall (Leeds); S Tomkins (Wigan), M Dobson (Hull KR); A Morley (Warrington), S Moore (Huddersfield), J Peacock (Leeds), B Galea (Hull KR), C Newton (Hull KR), K Sinfield (Leeds).