Tyran wishing to go from second fiddle to first choice

Tyran Wishart is used to fitting in where needed for Melbourne, but is now hoping – after a two try-performance his coach said they wouldn't have won without – to nail down a starting spot in the halves well into the future of his rugby league career.

The 24-year-old is hoping to follow in the footsteps of players such as Nicho Hynes and Nick Meaney, who took their opportunity to become regular NRL starters after first being used as utilities by Craig Bellamy in the recent past.

“Yeah, honestly, I'd always rather start having been on the bench,” he answered post-game, when asked if he had aspirations to remain permanently in the halves. 

“Being able to play all positions gave me my first start [Round 1 2022], which I’m forever grateful for but at the same time, it can be a double-edged sword in a way.”

The Gerringong Lions and St George Illawarra Dragons junior grew up playing in the halves and at a hooker, but particularly as a five-eighth, and is most familiar with having the number six on the back of his jersey.

“Being able to train there week-in, week-out helps a lot,” he explained. “Obviously, when [Cameron] Munster comes back, whatever my role is going to be, I’m happy to do it. But at the moment, I’m loving playing in the halves.”

“Being able to wear the six for the Melbourne Storm is pretty humbling.”

Wishart expressed that his running game, which saw him end the game with 122 metres from 15 carries, complements the creativity of his halves partner Jahrome Hughes, who also topped the century mark with 102 run metres.

“One of his major strengths is his kicking game, so at the moment he’s sort of taken over on that," Wishart said of his halves partner.

"His ability to put it where it needs to go and choose whatever tackle to kick on is a major strength of his, and it’s something I can learn from him too.”

Coach Craig Bellamy praised the performance of his five-eighth after the match.

“Tyran has covered the team a fair bit, especially this year. He was probably our backup hooker to Harry [Grant] earlier in the year, and then with Munster going down and Jonah [Pezet] going down, he’s filled in a few positions,” Bellamy outlined.

“I just love what he’s doing for us at the moment. He’s come up with a couple of tries against tonight, just competes hard. That’s all we want him to do, just go out there and compete hard, and play to his strengths. He’s doing exactly that.”

“[He'll be there] a couple more weeks, and then he’ll probably go back into the versatility role or utility role. We always make sure we understand what we expect of him and what we need of him and not very often he lets us down.

"He’s been great the last couple of weeks. He knows what his strengths are, and he goes out and plays to them.”