TRD to make mark in NRL
NO longer starstruck, Tyronne Roberts-Davis is ready to make a name for himself.
The talented young gun has spent the past two years at the Titans in the shadows of uncle and namesake Tyrone Roberts. A mainstay in the Gold Coast side since switching from Newcastle, Roberts has now left the club to take up an English Super League contract with Warrington, clearing the way for his 20-year-old nephew to take centre stage.
“It was pretty funny at trainings because we would always be around each other and they would say Tyrone/Tyronne and we would both snap our necks and look around and they’d say ‘na’ the older one or ‘na’ the younger one,” RobertsDavis said.
“He really taught me a lot. He was one of the boys I looked up to at the Titans while he was here and he really helped me through when I was playing my first game so I felt comfortable with him there.”
Roberts-Davis played six straight games on the wing early in his maiden NRL campaign but conceded his opportunities probably came before he was ready.
“I was just a bit timid,” he reflected.
“I was still in shock that I was actually playing against high-calibre players like Johnathan Thurston. Once I got back to under-20s my eyes really opened, I really wanted to be up there.”
The departures of Roberts, Jarryd Hayne and William Zillman have put RobertsDavis in major contention to establish himself as an NRL fullback.
League identity Scott Sattler has already thrown his weight behind the young gun.
The Kempsey Dragons product confirmed he has his eye firmly on the role.
“Yeah for sure but I have just got to look after my shoulder first,” he said.
Roberts-Davis had surgery on his left shoulder in August after being injured in an under-20s match and is not due to return to full contact training until the new year.