Titans trio Beau Fermor, Ben Liyou and Aaron Booth were the bees knees in 2023... quite literally.
Forming a special bond in the club's rehab group together with all three having injured their ACL's in the past 12 months and their names starting with the letter B - the tight-knit forward triad leant on each other through the season to get back to full fitness and recover from their long-term injuries that kept them sidelined for the entire season.
This was incredibly important for young gun front rower Liyou, who prepares to join the Gold Coast development list in 2024 after completing a full-time train-and-trial deal after spending a number of seasons in the club's Future Titans pathways program.
"I was really grateful that I had people like Beau and Boothy who obviously did their knees as well... we actually called ourselves the B's knees because we all did our knees and our names start with B," Liyou told 9 News Gold Coast.
"They really took me under their wing and helped me along because they obviously had both done their knees before [their most recent injury] as well,
"They gave me heaps of tips about rehabbing and where I should be to try and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Back running and ready to tackle the new season now part of the Titans playing squad, the 22-year-old joined over a dozen Titans on Wednesday at Parkwood in an off-season extra session, which also included one of his B's knees gang members who has also made a full recovery after his devastation on the eve of the 2023 season opener.
"I definitely took Benny under my wing... I actually felt sorry for him, so I tore my ACL as well so we could do rehab together this year," Fermor joked.
"I've really enjoyed rehabbing with Benny this year so hopefully I get to see him out on a NRL field soon. He works really hard and it'll be good to see him get back out on the field after a long year recovering from his ACL injury.
"It's actually good to see the likes of Ben and the younger boys trying really hard and pushing their claims to get a first grade spot or into a regular Cup spot by doing extras and stuff like that."
Set to be 17 months between Liyou's last rugby league game and February's trials, the front rower can't wait for the pre-season to begin in order to earn a call-up, especially after getting a taste of first grade in 2022.
"I had a little taste last year against the Broncos and I've been chasing that feeling for a while now," he said.
"It's been a long time since I've put the Titans jersey on, so I'm really keen to get back out there."
