Gold Coast Titans fullback AJ Brimson playing in honour of late mate Zae Wallace

Sunday’s NRL match against North Queensland meant so much more to Gold Coast Titans whiz kid AJ Brimson than any ordinary fixture.

SUNDAY’S NRL match against North Queensland meant so much more to Gold Coast Titans whiz kid AJ Brimson than any ordinary fixture.

The talented fullback entered the game at Cbus Super Stadium in emotional circumstances following the death of his close mate Zae Wallace on Saturday.

Wallace, 20, passed away after a six-week battle with an infection caused by the flu.

The popular hooker played under-20s for the Titans and Intrust Super Cup for the Burleigh Bears before returning to New Zealand this year.

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It was in Gold Coast colours that Brimson met Wallace.

“He flew over from New Zealand into our 20s squad so we kind of kicked it off there,” Brimson reflected.

“That was about three years ago and we ended up becoming housemates.

Zae Wallace on the Gold Coast last year. Picture: Richard Gosling

“We lived together for a while.”

Devastated by the tragic turn of events, Brimson played in honour of Wallace on Sunday night.

“I had a bit of a message of him on my arm. I was hoping I could get across (the tryline) so I could get his name out there to the camera but unfortunately I didn’t,” he said.

“But yeah I definitely wanted to get the win for him.”

Despite a 6-4 loss, Brimson did everything he could to spark the Titans, showing signs that he is returning to his best after an injury-interrupted start to the season.

The Keebra Park product had several nice touches, made a midfield burst that almost led to a try and later cut down his opposite number Jordan Kahu with a one-on-one tackle.

AJ Brimson. Picture: Getty Images

“I’m confident in myself but I’m still trying to find that consistency for 80 minutes … I wasn’t as involved as I would have wanted to be,” assessed Brimson, who had been battling a cold.

He finished the match with statistics of 166 running metres, four tackle busts, a line break and a line break assist.

On a team level, he added: “We’re disappointed.

“I know it was so close but I think we still are a bit more positive than previous weeks.

“We didn’t get off to a 16-point lead and then blow it.

“The whole match was a grind and we had opportunities to score and unfortunately we missed them by a matter of a fingertip or a couple of inches … there’s still some positives there.”

Next up for Gold Coast is a Sunday trip to Suncorp Stadium to play the Broncos.