LEARNING FROM JT

WALLACE TO IMPROVE:

HE has spent a week alongside some of the NRL’s best forwards, but Titans coach Neil Henry believes Jarrod Wallace will return to the Gold Coast a better player because of Johnathan Thurston.

Wallace was drafted into Camp Maroon for Origin I as 18th man following the withdrawal of Thurston with a shoulder injury.

Wallace has been arguably the NRL’s form front-rower this season, taking his game to another level with more responsibility at the Titans after leaving his bench role at the Broncos.

The Titans prop mingled with Maroons mainstay Nate Myles, a 32-game Origin veteran, and trained alongside Test stars Matt Gillett and Josh Papalii.

And spending a week alongside four-time Dally M champion Thurston could elevate him even further.

“He’s really enjoyed it,” Henry said.

“He’s been in those camps before with the Emerging Origin squad. He’s really enjoyed the fact JT has been there as well for the full camp.

“He’s seen how it operates. It’s low-key and relaxed. They are very familiar with what they’re doing. Hopefully he takes that out of it, the fact he’s been thought of in that arena, it’s positive for his performances at the Titans.”

Maroons coach Kevin Walters all but guaranteed Wallace an Origin berth for Queensland in the future when he named his Game One squad.

Wallace, 25, was close to being named in the 17, however Walters opted to play the loyalty card rather than select purely on club form.

Wallace has been the Gold Coast’s standout forward this year and Henry said it wouldn’t be long before he was a Queensland regular.

“The guys in the position now have certainly got some pressure on them,” Henry said.

“He’s been worthy of that (Walters’ praise). His performances have been tremendous and he’s played good minutes.

“He has some quality about what he does.”

The 12th-placed Titans will be looking to get their finals aspirations back on track when they face North Queensland at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday.

Henry named an unchanged side from the team that lost 30-10 to Manly before the bye, showing faith in his squad. The Titans went into the game at home on a threematch winning streak and turned in a deplorable effort.

“There is a bit of faith there I suppose,” Henry said.

“It wasn’t a good performance against Manly. We were up for three weekends.

“We were pretty flat and needed a break to regroup and reset ourselves for the next few games around this Origin period. It’s the first time we’ve named the same 17 two weeks in a row this season.”

HE’S REALLY ENJOYED THE FACT JT HAS BEEN THERE AS WELL FOR THE FULL CAMP ... NEIL HENRY