Favourite son Robbie Farah was pushed out the door to the disdain of supporters who let their feelings known to Taylor in no uncertain terms.

More than 2000 fans rocked up to support Farah when he was dropped by Taylor to reserve grade with some brandishing signs saying “"JT is a dog" and "F##K JT, we love Robbie".

And with his side preparing to face Farah’s Rabbitohs in an explosive Round 1 encounter, Taylor finally opens the lid on his turbulent 2016.    

"That stuff you saw at Leichhardt that day was based out of passion,” Taylor told Fairfax Media.

“I know that all the decisions I make are made for the right reasons – and that's what is best for the club. The decisions I make are based on what I believe is 100 per cent the best thing for the club.

"So what that brings is what you saw that day. That's their passion and love for the club. We all have that in common. And I'm confident the decisions that were made have been the right ones and I suppose we'll see that down the track."

The Tigers have missed the finals for the past five seasons and fell just short of last year’s play-offs.

Taylor kept his job and has been given 2017 to show why he deserves a new contract when his current deal expires at the end of this year.

"I haven't had any discussions and I think that's right," Taylor said of contract discussions.

"Everybody wants to see how we start the season and that's understandable. The pressure is on in this game. It's always on. It doesn't get any more in my opinion. It just goes with the territory.”