North Queensland Toyota Cowboys middle forward Jason Taumalolo says he’s feeling refreshed and re-energised after the bye week as the young dynamo eyes an explosive second half of the 2017 National Rugby League season.
Having churned through nearly 200m a game and making just shy of 30 tackles across nine appearances this season, it’d be fair to say that Taumalolo is doing his fair share for a team sitting in seventh place with a 6-5 win-loss record through 12 rounds.
Having enjoyed the weekend off – and having his team benefit from the automatic two points that comes with the bye – Taumalolo is ready to fire against the Titans in front of his home crowd this weekend.
“As one of a handful of boys who played in that rep round earlier this month, it’s fair to say the body was a little tired, but we had a full four days off training so we’ll come into this week of training refreshed and ready to best prepare for the Titans,” Taumalolo said.
A New Zealand representative and an incumbent Dally M Medallist, Taumalolo is now accustomed to playing consistently at a high level.
And it's an opposition player with similarly impressive recent form who has caught the eye of the hard-running Taumalolo, who says the team will need to be wary of Titans big man Jarrod Wallace at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday night.
Wallace was rewarded for his strong form with selection as Queensland’s 18th man in Wednesday’s State of Origin opener at Suncorp Stadium.
“We’ll definitely have to watch Jarrod, and also Ryan James,” Taumalolo said. “[Wallace] has been playing very well for them and would be full of confidence after spending time in the Maroons’ camp."
Saturday’s game kicks off at 7.30pm.
