The brother of emerging NRL star Keith Titmuss who died following a training session on Monday says the Manly Sea Eagles forward had been primed for a breakthrough season in 2021.
Titmuss fell ill while stretching after a training session at the rugby league team’s North Sydney base on Monday. He was taken to hospital in an ambulance but later died.
The 20-year-old’s death has shocked the NRL, with Manly players called into a meeting on Monday afternoon to be told of the tragic news.
None will be feeling more pain than his family. His older brother Jesse Titmuss took to social media to express his grief at losing this “loving, gentle giant”.
“My rock, my best friend – you were always by side through thick and thin. I miss you so much, lil’ bro,” Jesse said in a post on Facebook.
“Keith passed on doing what he loved, living out his dream, and there is no doubt about that. The hardest-working individual I knew, with a mindset like no other. That never-give-up mentality took him to where he was. I was so proud to call Keith my lil’ bro … Keith was all I would talk about.
“Keith was just upgraded to the [Sea Eagles’] top-30 NRL squad for 2021 and was looking forward to what would have been his breakthrough season.
“We were just talking a couple of days ago about how well prepared he was physically and mentally for [the] pre-season. All of us as a family were optimistic that Keith was to make his NRL debut in 2021. Keith’s memories and legacy will live on forever.”
Titmuss had been a rising star at the Sea Eagles, having delivered the team their maiden Holden Cup title in 2017 with a try on the siren to beat Parramatta.
The play was the last in the 10-year history of the competition, with the footage of him flying over the tryline set to be repeated regularly in coming days.
The front-rower claimed the players’ player award in the Jersey Flegg Cup in 2019, and had only just been promoted to the Sea Eagles’ top-30 NRL squad for next season.
