After a horror run of injuries, Bond centre Tyler Campbell is relishing the opportunity to play consistent rugby and is quickly cementing himself as one of the premier backs in the Hospital Cup competition. 

Campbell scored a try in Bond’s tight 19-12 win over Norths last weekend and said he’s loving every minute of this season, despite the Bull Shark’s slowish start to the year. 

“It’s always tough travelling up to Norths and they are a much improved team this year which adds to it,” Campbell told Rugby News. 

“They were really up for it and made us work for the win. I think we made an extra 100 tackles compared to them, so we spent a lot of time in defence but found a way to grind it out. 

“It was huge for us. Sometimes you just need to get that first win to build a bit of confidence and hopefully we can build some momentum on the back of that and perform well against Jeeps this weekend.”

A schoolboy star at TSS, Campbell moved to Waikato after finishing school to study and play rugby and played his way into the NPC and eventually the Chiefs extended Super Rugby squad. 

But a broken leg slowed Campbell’s progress around the same time as Covid hit and after returning to Australia for his grandfather’s funeral, the outside back was unable to return to Waikato and linked with Bond soon after. 

In his first game for the Bull Sharks in 2020, Campbell ruptured his ACL while scoring a try in the opening minutes of the match and after 12 months of rehab, suffered the exact same injury again and spent another season on the sidelines. 

“Last year was my first full season since 2018 so it was a big relief to get through the full year,” he said. 

“I wouldn’t wish it on anyone to have the same sort of run that I had. I got through it though and I’m on the other side now and I’m hugely grateful for that. The support networks I had through Bond and my family, they really helped me get through it and deserve a lot of the credit.”

Campbell is in his final year of study as a high school teacher and recently began his first stint in the classroom and while he’s got plenty on his plate on the Gold Coast, he hasn’t ruled out chasing his rugby dream down the track. 

“At the moment, I’m just focussing on Bond. We want to fight our way into finals contention and then push deeper into the finals than we did last year. 

“If I can play well, then maybe something will pop up and I’d be extremely grateful for any opportunity I can get. I’m confident I’d take it with both hands.”

Under new coach Mick Heenan, Bond dropped their opening two matches against Sunnybank and Wests but broke through for their maiden 2024 victory against Norths last weekend. 

“We’ve been doing some good things, but overall we haven’t been playing to the standard that we want,” Campbell explained. 

“We had a big turnover of players and got a new coach and although we haven’t changed our structures massively, you still need to adapt to the little things that a new coach brings in and that’s taken a bit of time.”

On Saturday, they host a GPS side who have won three of their opening four matches and sit third on the competition ladder. 

“Jeeps are a quality side and just fell short of the finals last year. They’ve got a lot of quality with guys like Matt Gicquel and a few others. They are dominant up front and good over the ball. 

“Plus they’ve got some exciting young backs who have been pushing through over the last couple of years and now all look really comfortable in first grade.”

In the rounds other matches, Easts take on UQ, Brothers face Sunnybank and Wests play Norths. 

“A lot of teams have taken a big jump this year and anyone can beat anyone on their day,” Campbell said. 

“It makes the competition exciting because you know you need to perform at your best every Saturday and I think that brings out the best in everyone.”