Fuller beans and ready to form Titans’ dynamic duo
THE Gold Coast Titans have signed the Intrust Super Cup’s hottest young talent in the hope of delivering the NRL its next Johnathan ThurstonMatt Bowen combination.
Burleigh sensation Shallin Fuller will join the Titans next season on a development contract after setting Queensland’s top competition alight.
Fuller, 21, is an Indigenous playmaker from Beaudesert who was introduced to the Bears in 2019 by former skipper Jamal Fogarty, now cocaptain at the Titans.
Fuller and Jayden Campbell, son of Gold Coast legend Preston Campbell who is now playing fullback for the Titans, carved up the under-20s competition that year in what was a remarkable season for the dynamic duo.
Now, they will rekindle their relationship at the Titans and hope to find the spark that made them as dangerous as North Queensland’s one-two punch in Thurston and Bowen.
“Honestly, Shal is one of the best young talents I have ever played with,” Campbell said.
“He is a freakish footballer. He is just a natural football player. I scored 24 tries in 2019 for the Burleigh Bears Colts and he set up about 20 of my tries.
“Shal reminds me of my dad. He is quick off his feet, he is fast and he is just a freak. He can be a star in the NRL.
“It would be awesome for him to stay at the Titans for a long time. I’ve signed my new deal (until 2024) and I was telling Shal to sign as well because I would love for us to link up again playing NRL for the Titans.”
Fuller has made seven ISC appearances for the Bears this year since debuting in round 8 in a season that has been disrupted by Covid.
While he has only started three of those games at halfback, he has still managed to amass 10 try assists and scored four tries of his own.
Fuller’s YouTube highlights reel shows a freakishly talented player who has a unique combination with Campbell that’s reminiscent of Thurston and Bowen in their prime.
Burleigh chief executive Damian Driscoll said the club was thrilled to see Fuller take the next step to the NRL.
“Shallin came here in 2019 from Beaudesert with some help from Jamal Fogarty,” he said.
“He carved up that under-20s competition with Jayden then played A-grade last year and kept improving. He has continued to improve in the Intrust Super Cup this year under Rick’s (Stone, coach) guidance.
“We are really happy. You love to see those guys rewarded and he certainly deserves it.
“His try-assists and line break assists statistics are very impressive.
“Winning premierships is what we want to do but when you see players like Shallin come into your system and develop, it gives you a real thrill.”