Wallace keen to have an impact
JARROD Wallace can build an immediate case for an Origin recall by standing up to the most fearsome forwards in the Titans’ clash against the redhot Rabbitohs.
Wallace’s tepid performance in Queensland’s 22-12 loss to NSW on Wednesday night left him in Origin limbo, with Kevin Walters facing some tough decisions on the make-up of his team for Game Two. The Gold Coast prop failed to make an impact for the Maroons, making just 43m from five runs in 35 minutes on the field and calls are already being made to bring back veteran front-rower Matt Scott (pictured) for Game Two.
With opposition forwards David Klemmer and Reagan Campbell-Gillard eating up a combined 233m, Wallace was shattered after the match.
“I just want to be a forward leader and I didn’t get the ball I would have liked,” he said.
“I’m very disappointed … that’s the way football goes sometimes and I have to cop it on the chin.
“I thought Naps (Dylan Napa) and Josh McGuire were really good, and I’m really disappointed with how I went because I didn’t back them up.”
But with the Titans taking on a South Sydney side boasting arguably the three form middle forwards in the league in George, Tom and Sam Burgess, Wallace has the chance to mount a case to maintain his Maroons place.
The 26-yearold has the support of his Titans coach and captain, who have both backed him to make an impact tonight.
“I thought he did a lot of work off the ball,” Titans coach Garth Brennan said of Wallace’s Origin effort. “If you watch the game closely, he didn’t have as many carries (as usual) but he was there supporting the guys around him, which, as a coach, I look for. His effort was there and he defended really well. “(He’s) probably hurting after the result and I’m sure both (Wallace and Jai Arrow) will want to come out and make amends for their loss.” Titans captain Ryan James was close to making his own Origin debut, only pulled from an extended NSW squad at the 11th hour. And while he is desperate for the Blues to prevail, he wants to see Wallace and fellow Titan Jai Arrow do well for the Maroons in the series. “He knows he can play good at that level and he did the little things that there isn’t a stat for in that game that probably Queensland will pat him on the back for,” he said.