JASON Taylor has found his new Robbie Farah.

JT’s blood just ran colder than a well digger’s backside at that one, but we couldn’t resist.

Not when Wests Tigers skipper Aaron Woods sees so much of Farah’s famed work ethic and commitment in young hooker Jacob Liddle.

The now 20-year-old tyro who two years ago caught the train from Wyong to Concord for his first pre-season training session.

Round 19

The kid who had tongues wagging with an eye-catching debut last season, who still makes the same journey from the Central Coast or Sydney’s western suburbs in to the Tigers base every day.

Liddle only got the one crack at first grade last year due to second tier salary cap constraints, when Farah, Woods and James Tedesco were away on Origin duty.

But that one outing and an impressive pre-season have been enough for Woods, who sees more than a few shades of the Tigers greatest hooker in Farah’s long term successor.

“I think (Liddle) is one of the fittest at the club,” Woods told foxsports.com.au.

“(He’s) a really good kid, he’s like a little sponge, he just listens to everything you say.

Jacob Liddle scores a try on debut against the Bulldogs last year. Pic Brett Costello Source: News Corp Australia

“He’s always working hard throwing left and right passes after training. He gets filthy on himself if he doesn’t throw a good ball to the halves or the forwards and he just works his backside off.

“It’s great to see a player like that and he reminds me a bit of Robbie, just his work ethic.

“Robbie’s a really, really hard worker and you just see that in Jacob. There’s no crap about him.

“He’s just a typical, hardworking bloke.

“… He’s still up there on the (Central Coast). I think he lives with his partner sometimes at St Mary’s, Penrith.

“I say to him ‘what’s the point of moving there? It’s the same trek?’ He’s a very committed kid, and one of the first ones in and the last to leave every day.

“That’s telling you something when he gets stuck in traffic and it takes him two hours to get home.

“The commitment by him is unbelievable.”

Farah’s turbulent exit from the Tigers leaves the club without one of the game’s more dominant personalities for the first time since the early 2000s.

Robbie Farah farewells the Leichhardt crowd last year. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia

Woods admitted last October he had no idea what the joint would be like this summer without Farah, who put as much as anyone into the club over 16 seasons and 247 games in black and gold.

Marching back into Tiger Town recently after a well-earned break following the Four Nations, Woods has been pleasantly surprised by Liddle’s rise in stature.

“I’ve only come back in the last week (to training), and when you do that you watch a couple of the kids and he’s someone that’s really taken my eye and I’ve thought ‘jeez he’s had a good pre-season’,” Woods said.

“He’s got a lot of skills as well. He’s really quick off the mark and I think he’s the quickest in the club over 30 or 40 metres with just a bit of the testing we’ve been doing.

“He’s really surprised me since I’ve come back with his talk around the boys.

“He’s slotted in, come up from 20s and did a little bit of first grade work with us (in 2016) but to see how he’s slotted into the main squad has just been outstanding.

“I really hope it’s going to be a big year for him.”

Veteran No. 9 Matt Ballin is expected to share the hooking duties with Liddle as he finds his feet at NRL level.

Wests Tigers Matt Ballin during pre-season training. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: News Corp Australia

Ballin is almost back to full training after two seasons ruined by consecutive ACL ruptures and is targeting the Tigers’ blockbuster round one clash with South Sydney, featuring star recruit Farah, for his return.

Woods expects Taylor to pick both Liddle and the ex-Sea Eagle in his top 17, with Ballin a key figure in the youngster’s development over the season.

“You want to ease (Liddle) in,” Woods said.

“He’s a kid but he’s also playing in the middle and you want to protect him, because there’s some big bodies in there and it is a daunting task.

“You don’t see too many hookers debut at 19 and that’s what he was last year when he debuted.

“Assuming JT picks both of them; I don’t see why Matty wouldn’t play 20-25 minutes, then Jake with 15-20 or another 25 or so.

“That’s something JT will talk to him and Matty Ballin about.”

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