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The raw numbers were Jason Taumalolo-like but Titans prop Jarrod Wallace says it is the praise of his teammates that means far more than any statistical output.

Waging a one-man war against a Broncos forward pack of which he was an important member the past five seasons, Wallace played all but seven minutes of Friday night's 24-22 loss at Suncorp Stadium and in the process racked up an astonishing 264 run metres from 26 whole-hearted carries.

It was a performance that dwarfs any other throughout his 80-game career to date, bettering his best of 2017 thus far by 114 metres and 80 metres better than anything he produced in 73 games for the Broncos.

"He came back [to the Titans] extremely determined," said Titans captain Ryan James, who played under-20s with Wallace on the Gold Coast.

"When you see someone put in a pre-season like that and start the season as they do you take your hat off to them.

"He's done everything he can to put himself in this position and I think he's probably been our best prop this year.

"He puts in 100 per cent every week and does the little things that people don't necessarily get a pat on the back for."‌‌

 

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Broncos coach Wayne Bennett seemed stunned that a player who had been confined to Brisbane's bench could produce such numbers but it was the high praise of James that Wallace values most.

"That makes me feel better than any number," Wallace said.

"If my teammates are saying things like that and rewarding me with little comments like that then I'd much rather that than any stat any day of the week.

"Numbers don't really mean anything, they're just another number, but if I've done what I need to I'm happy with it.

"At the end of the day if I felt like I've worked hard for the team and I know that I've done the job that I need to do I'm happy with that."

From the opening whistle it was obvious that Wallace had planned something special for his former teammates, his one-on-one battle with good mate Josh McGuire ferocious in the middle of the field.

‌Unable to crack a regular starting position in Brisbane, Wallace headed south with the lure of more minutes and admitted that there was extra motivation to lead the way for his new club as they tried to break a five-game losing streak against the Broncos.

"I wanted to come out and be the one to lead the team and get us on the front foot. It was a real personal battle for myself," said Wallace, who is averaging 140 metres and 36 tackles in 64 minutes per game in 2017.

"I definitely wanted to come up here and put on a good performance being my old club and playing against old mates.

"I knew that I could do it. I wasn't getting the opportunity [in Brisbane] to play more minutes but we had Corey Parker who played big minutes, Josh and other guys.

"So I went down to the Titans to play more minutes and off the back of that I was always going to get more metres, more tackles, things like that."

Given the injury toll the Titans have endured this season Wallace has been asked to play more minutes than otherwise would have been expected, coach Neil Henry admitting that his output has been far greater than they predicted in pre-season.

"He's certainly exceeded expectations around how long he can stay on the field and how much work he punches out," Henry said.

"He's been in great form."

 

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