Ahead of his 150th game this weekend (coincidently against his former club), Wallace says it was advice from Corey Parker that steered him back to the Coast.
“He (Parker) was a massive part of my upbringing at the Broncos and I’d say he has been the biggest influence on my career to date,” Wallace said.
“He was a big factor in my decision to leave the Broncos and come to the Titans – not that he told me to leave the Broncos because he was a one club man – but I had a really big chat to him and he made a few things clear for me to help me make my decision and I’ll be forever thankful to him.
“I still lean on him now for advice and go to him when I need that bit of experience that he’s had.”
It might have been Parker’s absence that gave Wallace his first NRL start, with the former out with State of Origin duty, it opened the door for a debut against the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.
“I remember we had all of our Origin players out, so it was one of those games where a few of us got the call up,” Wallace said.
“All week we were the underdogs, we were going to get pumped, but we ended up beating them (40-22) and it was cold and pouring rain.
“It’s one that I’ll always remember.”
His 150th game will come against his old team, and Wallace says he can’t wait to try and beat the Broncos for a second time this season.
“I have always seemed to play well and like playing against the Broncs, being your old team and having mates there you always want to get over the top of them.
“No matter how good a team is going, either Broncos way or Titans, it’s always a big game.
“You look at last year, I think we had only won two or three games for the whole year – similar to where the Broncos are now – and I think both games were crackers last year.
“We beat them at Suncorp and then they beat us down at Cbus Super Stadium. The local derby’s are always good.”
Wallace says his best individual performance, he thinks, came in his first local derby playing for the Titans.
“Against mates, I wanted to put a good performance on against my old team and I think that was one of the best games of my career.”
“Fingers crossed I can do that again this week for my 150th.”
Out of 149 games to date, Wallace says there is one that stands out.
“My all-time favourite game was when we played Melbourne at Suncorp (I think it was 2017) and it was the first time we had beat Melbourne in I don’t know how long.
“Big Konrad Hurrell scored in the last few minutes to win the game and I think that has to be one of the greatest games I have been a part of.
“We had an up and down year, we had injuries leading into it and then to play the way we did and to show the heart that we did, that was my favourite Titans game of all time.”
With a chance to once again take on his old team in the local derby, Wallace may have a new favourite game if the Titans are able to make it three-wins in a row as he also celebrates his milestone game.
