Titans prop Jarrod Wallace says Gold Coast fans should be excited about what fellow book-end Shannon Boyd will deliver this season after the former Kangaroos giant made an impressive return to the field in the trial against Burleigh on Friday night.
Boyd has not played for the Titans since Round 17 last year, when he badly damaged his shoulder in the game against Penrith.
The injury required surgery, ending his season and setting him up for six months of rehabilitation to get back on the field against the Bears at Pizzey Park.
Boyd was impressive in a tough 30-minute stint at the start of the game, continually hurling his 125kg frame at the Burleigh defence and delivering quick play-the-balls to get the Titans onto the front foot.
Titans vs Bears: Match Highlights
Wallace started alongside Boyd in the front row against the Bears and said the signs were good that the former Raiders prop was ready to step up to fill the void left by the long-term injury to Ryan James.
“He was really good. He hasn’t done much since his surgery, so it was a great effort for him to do that,” Wallace said.
“For him to punch out a good 25-30 minutes in the first half and then another 10 in the second, it is good signs for us because we are going to be needing him this year without ‘Dark’.
“We are going to need big minutes out of him. We need big bodies.
“I think he is in for a good year. He has stripped right down… I think he is going to be really good for us this year.”
The Titans added to their depth of middle forwards over the weekend, with the announcement that Warriors prop Sam Lisone would link with the Gold Coast this week for the 2020 season.
