Other members of the Titans team may have had cause for concern when they heard Cameron Cullen being physically sick in the changerooms before his NRL debut last Sunday but Ashley Taylor knew better.
Former teammates during their days with the Broncos under-20s, Cullen and Taylor roomed together for the trip to Cronulla last week and have once again been named in the halves for Saturday's clash with the Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium.
Surpassing Aidan Sezer and Jordan Rankin's combination in Round 9, 2012 as the most inexperienced halves pairing in the club's history, Taylor and Cullen both scored tries in the 25-20 loss to the Sharks but shared much more than try-scoring exploits.
Taylor recalled Cullen's habit for vomiting prior to each game in their days in the 20s – a trait shared by Broncos legend Allan Langer – and said that his NRL debut went precisely to plan.
"He used to spew up a lot before games and I walked into the changerooms [on Sunday] and he came out of the toilet and said, 'That's the longest one I've ever done. That was painful,'" Taylor revealed.
"It gave me a bit of a giggle and brought back memories of when I used to play with him.
"I don't know if that's his pre-game ritual – I hadn't played with him for a while – but that was it every week.
"There was one game when he ran onto the field and he spewed on the field as we were running out."
Cullen drew plenty of praise from senior members of the Titans team for the way he handled the big occasion once he made it onto the field.
The diminutive No.7 had a team-high six tackle busts and provided another kicking option to Taylor who had to take on the senior role despite being only 21 years of age and seven games into his NRL career.
It's not the first time that Cullen had to play second fiddle to Taylor. When Taylor graduated into the Broncos' under-20s team in 2013 Cullen was pushed back to the bench and used as a hooker.
The pair only got to play half a dozen games together that year due to Taylor's shoulder surgery but have shown in a short space of time that there is plenty more first grade ahead of them.
