Taumalolo ready for a storming comeback

A FIRED up Jason Taumalolo has his sights on steamrollering the Storm after admitting he flopped in the derby loss to Brisbane.

Taumalolo is seeking redemption for two below-par performances that have irked North Queensland’s powerhouse forward.

The 2016 Dally M Medal champion produced one of his quietest games of what was a sensational season in last year’s 34-6 grand final loss to Melbourne.

Taumalolo, 24, was limited to just 104m in the premiership decider, well short of the 194m he averaged throughout a record-breaking 2017 season.

In last Friday’s 24-20 derby loss to the Broncos, Taumalolo played 52 minutes, 11 minutes short of his 2017 average, and ran for 144m.

The quietly spoken Tongan Test star said he wanted to bounce back in the grand final rematch at AAMI Park tomorrow night.

“We were off as a team (against the Broncos) and personally it was a bit quiet for my standards,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to having a big game on Thursday and hopefully making up for how I played last Friday. It wasn’t up to my standards and how I normally play.

“I was one of those players that took a back seat. Hopefully I up my game and play a lot better.”

Coach Paul Green said fiveeighth Michael Morgan (abdominal strain) had shown promising signs in his attempt to play his first match of the season.

Green has promoted Origin forward Coen Hess to the starting side in place of Ethan Lowe, while Ben Hampton has retained the fullback duties.