Tyrone Roberts says he's a wedding and honeymoon have put him in the best shape he's ever been heading into the start of a pre-season.
Roberts along with Kane Elgey and Ash Taylor will all be in the mix for starting spots next season, with Taylor now the reigning Dally M Rookie of the Year, Elgey coming off a season-ending knee injury last pre-season and Roberts coming off a season where he kicked at more than 83 per-cent accuracy.
Roberts says maintaining his spot in the starting side is high on his agenda.
“That’s one of my goals,” he said.
“I think I had a good year last year and I want to back that up.”
At 25, he is easily the most experienced of the trio.
Since debuting with Newcastle in 2011, 105 of his 118 NRL appearances have been in the No.6 or No.7 jersey, and he helped spearhead the Titans to their first finals series since 2010 last season.
He also claims he’s entering this summer’s pre-season fitter than ever, no mean feat given he’s yet to miss one through injury.
“I’m just making sure that I’m fit and ready to go,” he said. “When the season does come around I know how hard it is because I’ve done it for the last couple of years.
“I’ve just got to make sure I’m consistent on a day-to-day basis.”
Roberts was lured to the Titans at the end of the 2015 season with the opportunity of a settled spot in the team’s line-up after the Knights signed then-NSW halfback Trent Hodkinson.
“I had a role to play,” he said. “I felt wanted which is one of the parts of why I came here.”
However Henry earlier this month suggested Roberts could be pushed onto the bench role, pointing to his size and his ability to play as a back-up hooker.
It’s a role Roberts played largely during the Wayne Bennett era at the Knights, and he’s confident that he could still add value to the Titans there if he does miss out on the play-making role.
“I’ve been there, I’ve done it before,” Roberts said.
