TIME TO DELIVER
PEATS TALKS TOUGH OVER SEASON
MOVING to the Gold Coast has been a bad move for some NRL careers. Think Wally Lewis, Dave Taylor, Jarryd Hayne. But for Jarrod Wallace, it has been precisely the opposite.
In five years in the Broncos’ NRL squad, Wallace could not quite find the next gear and crack a start regularly.
Just half a season into his tenure at the Titans and he had earnt a Maroons debut.
After a blockbuster campaign in which he mixed aggression and work rate in an otherwise outpointed pack, Wallace this year has the chance to kick on as one of the best props in the game.
And Gold Coast are banking on it. They’ll need their No.1 prop to fire if they are to surprise as many clubs as coach Garth Brennan wants. Wallace is part of the homegrown push that began under Neil Henry’s watch.
The 26-year-old, affectionately known by teammates as “J-Wal”, was born on the Gold Coast and played junior football at Runaway Bay and then Sawtell in northern NSW before returning home with the Titans’ SG Ball side.
Wallace’s family remained involved in grassroots footy, with his father Craig coaching at Parkwood last year.
TOMORROW: Our No.4