WEIGHT OFF MY SHOULDERS

Wallace opens up about his tough year

TITANS forward Jarrod Wallace admits he was below his best in 2019 – but he wants people to understand why.

Wallace lost his Queensland Origin jersey during a tough 2019 campaign where Gold Coast collected the NRL wooden spoon.

The hardworking prop was nowhere near his best and he doesn’t shy away from that fact.

But there were reasons for his dip in form and Wallace hopes jaded fans can understand why he battled on-field.

The 28-year-old (pictured) and wife Courtney Thorpe welcomed their first child together – Kennedy Grace – on August 14 last year.

Kennedy was born six weeks premature following a pregnancy with multiple complications.

For Wallace, football seemed insignificant as his wife battled the uncertainty of a turbulent pregnancy.

“It was a hard year for me in a sense that we weren’t up to par on the field, I took it a little bit personally and I wanted to do more for the team,” he said.

“Off-field was really hard for me too with my missus and the pregnancy. It was a hard year for me personally.

“It is hard (to play well), people don’t realise that. If our home life isn’t good, in the sense things are hard, then it shows on the field.

“I’ve always done really well to try and keep my family life out and play good footy, but it does catch up to you.

“We had a lot of issues from the get-go unfortunately. It was a very tough pregnancy for her. Last year, five minutes before warm-up, I was worried about my wife and texting her to check she was OK, then I’d go out and warm up and play.

“For the last five or six games, I’d fly home straight after the game because I had to be home to look after her and be there in case anything happened.”