Farewell and best wishes to Titans star

IF anyone wonders whether professional sports stars are worth their seemingly inflated salaries, consider this: they dedicate themselves to being the best professional athlete they can be, have a short window to achieve their dreams and make a decent earn to set up their future, and are faced with no guarantees.

The constant threat of career-ending injury lurks. Consider Argentine tennis star and former world number three Juan Martin del Potro, forced to retired due to a horror run of injuries and a recurring knee issue.

He has admitted recently to being lost due to the abrupt nature of his sports career and lifelong passion ending.

With that in mind, it is well played to retiring Gold Coast Titans stars Corey Thompson who has pulled pin on the game after 170-plus first-grade games across stints with the Bulldogs, Tigers, a Super League outfit called Widnes and the Titans.

It brings to a close a professional career that started in 2014.

He was the open winger who almost certainly would have scored in the corner and sent the Titans deeper into last season’s play off if a pass had been made. But that is sport.

In today’s newspaper, he catalogues his injuries and outlines his hopes to pursue coaching post his playing career.

His departure will be a loss.

The energizer bunny of the side who hit harder than his size and was among the most popular players in the team both internally and with fans is excited for the future.

The Gold Coast Bulletin and Gold Coast Titans club’s legion of fans wish him and his family all the best for the future and thank him for his years of service to the side.