Unwanted by the Sydney Roosters, Tyler Cornish could end up being the buy of the year for the Burleigh Bears and perhaps the Gold Coast Titans given his courageous performance on Friday night.
A halfback by trade, Cornish was selected at fullback, filling in for the injured Jarryd Hayne, but found himself out on the wing as injuries further bit into the Titans already depleted stocks.
“It's very out of position for me on the wing but I just did my best in that position for the boys and ended up scoring a try on the wing so it’s awesome,” Cornish said.
Part of the Roosters senior squad for the past two years, Tyler had plied his trade with feeder club Wyong in the NSW Cup before being lured north to the Gold Coast by the Bears.
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After impressing the AQUIS Titans Coaching staff during his pre-season train and trial stint, Titans Coach Neil Henry rewarded the 22-year-old with a place in the starting side for Friday night and he certainly didn’t disappoint.
“It was very physical, but it was awesome and very fast and good to get a try on debut and the crowd was awesome so it couldn’t have been better.”
Tyler saying the camaraderie and spirit shown by the injury ravaged Gold Coasters on Friday would set them up well for the rest of the season.
“When that stuff sort of happens you just need everyone to just knuckle down and just do their job and I thought the boys did really well today, they just kept fighting.”
Despite a crowd of just under 12,000 on hand to witness the upset of the season to date, Cornish said the atmosphere and extra boost delivered by the club’s loyal supporters was amazing, and it’s certainly something he’d like to experience again.
“It was awesome, when you are talking to the player right next to you, you can hardly hear them the crowd was that loud, it’s an unbelievable atmosphere and I love, it’s an awesome stadium to play in and I hope I get a few more.”
