Boom rookie gets set for giant task
FOR years, Alexander Brimson was unable to crack into his school side’s top team. Now he is the man who could soon be piling pressure on Gold Coast’s incumbent NRL halves.
Away from the fanfare usually involved with ink drying on contracts, Brimson was quietly upgraded from development player status to a top 30 main squad deal just before the Christmas break.
The homegrown talent who played five-eighth for Queensland in last year’s under-20 State of Origin is tied to the Titans until the end of 2020.
His contract upgrade plus the fact the club has so far resisted the urge to sign a playmaker to replace Tyrone Roberts – leaving Ash Taylor and Kane Elgey as the only other specialist halves – shows its faith in Brimson.
“I feel like the club is happy with me and how I am going at the moment,” he told the Bulletin.
But things didn’t always look so upbeat for the left-footer as he came through the renowned Keebra Park pathway.
“I was in the B’s (reserve grade) for most of school until I got to like Year 12,” said the 19-year-old who is better known as “AJ”.
But Brimson always believed he could make the grade and, eventually, his persistence was rewarded.
“I look back and think that was good because it would have been easy just to go ‘stuff that, I’m playing B’s’,” he said.
“I guess I just had confidence in myself and as soon as I started getting bigger and stronger, I started playing better footy so I just kept doing it.”
The Brisbane-born footballer has blossomed into a
dangerous running half with a solid kicking and defensive game.
Coming off a 2017 season in which he had a brief taste of the top level in the Auckland Nines and shared the Titans’ under-20 player of the year award, Brimson is ready to test himself against the game’s best.
“That’s my biggest goal,” he said.
“It is a massive step and I don’t really know how hard it is or what to expect but I feel like I would be ready if the opportunity came.”
Given Elgey is coming off a horror season, Brimson could conceivably lift himself into contention for a debut by delivering for Tweed Heads in the Queensland Cup.
Elgey and Taylor have been helping mentor the boom rookie. “It’s good to train with them and then at the end of the session do extras with them,” he said.