2018 Squad, Signings and Rumours Thread

[DavidBouveng]

Did u just compare AJ to Locky Db?

I think a poor mans Kurt Gidley is a better example and thats a compliment btw

No he did, and i then used the same analogy but with some slight adjustments

[brennosboys17]

Did u just compare AJ to Locky Db?

I think a poor mans Kurt Gidley is a better example and thats a compliment btw

Thats a good laugh. Also i don't recall db or i saying the kid is Darren Lockyer, i said his in the mould which is referring to the potential he has to grow as a player if you're able to read between the lines. Remember his 19 years of age, he'll be playing first grade for a very long time to come.

[brennosboys17]

welcome bb17, great first post.

i agree AJ has the early glow of an elite talent, a la Locky, but maybe a touch less ball handling class but made up for with alot more physicality and toughness at the same age.

You may be right about Ryley Jacks, but he currently has 2 fullbacks beating him to a place in the storm half's. I'm not totally against him being the 6, but Ash would need to play out of his skin to make up creatively for Jacks's simpler style.

but again great first post and contribution, glad you jumped aboard.

Play out of his skin or just do what a premier halfback that is paid over 1 million dollars a year is in the team to do? As for the two fullbacks you're referring to, one is the queensland no.6? (munster) and the other is a very good talent coming through that bellamy has preferred to go to due to his x factor and running game(Hughes), hopefully i've got those two right. Not too mention melbourne have lost back to back games with these two at the helm. Jacks plays direct and you know what you're gonna get from him week in week out, which unfortunately can't be said for most of the 13.

I'd much prefer that over the t.roberts and Taylor combo that we've already seen. Sure they took us too the 8 but we wouldnt have made it that year if it wasnt for the parramatta salary cap scandal. Whose to say they can do better? The other option i guess would be the peach but i feel like he could be used better elsewhere.

cheers mate, always enjoy a chat.

[Titanic]

The irony of this is Hughes was one of ours too. You could take your pick of Hymel Hunt, Brian Kelly and Jordan Rapana to create a really awesome backline.

[teke]

No he did, and i then used the same analogy but with some slight adjustments

oh ok, i just skim read his post.

Aj is a good solid player

[Whats Doing]

Interesting article in the CM about Ash Taylor which says he has off field professionalism issues which the Titans bosses would be well aware of which need addressing. Any ideas what these may be?

[Titan68]

Sure do , What’s Doing. Ash is a sook

[JunctionBlock]

Ash Taylor is going backwards at the Gold Coast — and the club has a responsibility to support their young halfback
Peter Badel, The Courier-Mail
August 14, 2018 6:30pm
Subscriber only
ASH Taylor needs help. The Titans halfback should spend the impending off-season undertaking a serious appraisal of where he is going in the NRL and the type of player he wants to be.

Taylor’s showdown with Daly Cherry-Evans this week is as poetic as it is powerful because when the Manly halfback sensationally reneged on the Titans in 2015, Gold Coast’s frantic Plan B was signing Taylor.

Now the pair cross paths at Brookvale on Friday charting fluctuating development curves.

While Cherry-Evans has rocketed back into the State of Origin frame following his outstanding comeback to the Maroons No.7 jumper in Origin III, Taylor has stagnated and is drifting further away from a Queensland baptism.

In pre-season, Titans coach Garth Brennan challenged Taylor to take ownership of the team this season.

Taylor has failed.

And, so too, have the Titans by expecting too much too soon from an inexperienced 23-year-old playmaker who was given big bucks well before his time and is now burdened by the pressure of a hefty NRL price tag.

When Taylor signed a $3 million deal with the Titans last year, the kid from Toowoomba didn’t understand, nor deserve, the unspoken expectation attached to his rich Gold Coast contract.

The NRL’s money men must deliver titles. Simple as that. Taylor is now expected to do for the Gold Coast what Johnathan Thurston has for the Cowboys and Cooper Cronk has for the Storm.


The club has to support its young playmaker. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
The key distinction lies in age, experience and the capacity to manage internal and external expectations.

Taylor isn’t ready for such demands. He won’t be for some time.

Cronk is now lauded as a playmaking champion but it wasn’t until he turned 26, and had played 140 NRL games, that the former Storm ace made his State of Origin debut.

Thurston was a rookie passenger riding the coat-tails of senior Canterbury players when he won a premiership with the Bulldogs in 2004. It wasn’t until the age of 32, having played 268 first-grade games, that Thurston could say he steered a team to a premiership, engineering the Cowboys’ 2015 fairytale against the Broncos.

Ash Taylor has just turned 23. His clash with Cherry-Evans this week will represent his 68th first-grade game. As a developing playmaker, there are still critical gaps in his game, specifically his defensive reads, his error-rate and his offensive option-taking servicing his outside men.

But, eventually, Taylor’s natural talent means he will have to justify his salary and begin walking the walk.

The Titans must help Taylor on two fronts.

The first relates to his private life. It is not my place to explicitly detail Taylor’s lack of off-field professionalism, but Titans bosses are surely aware of it and must address it as a matter of urgency.

Taylor also needs a playmaking mentor to help him grow.

NRL Immortal Andrew Johns is constantly in demand with Sydney clubs looking to his pearls of wisdom to educate the next generation of playmakers.

Scott Prince, the Titans’ foundation halfback, lives on the Gold Coast.

He won a premiership with the Wests Tigers in 2005 and represented Queensland and Australia. Critically, he, like Taylor, is indigenous, giving him the ability to connect with the Titans young gun and detail his own turbulent, injury-riddled journey to a premiership ring.

Titans coach Brennan has every reason to expect Taylor to turn the Titans into a finals force. But without time, education and a bit of TLC, Taylor will not be the answer to replacing DCE.

[SCoast Titan]

As much as I hate to say it that is a pretty well spot on article from that grub badel. I’m guessing that is why the termite is coming back but at the same time Ash does need an older mentor. Prince is tied to the donkeys so he is out. I don’t understand why Matt Rogers isn’t asked to help out with our halves. He is a dual international and was a good half and a foundation player. He lives on the coast and loves the Titans. Surely a phone call and a pre season with Matt the Rat couldn’t do our halves any bad. He is super fit and knows what it takes and what hard work and determination is all about. I reckon they should get on it sooner rather than later

[DavidBouveng]

Interesting article in the CM about Ash Taylor which says he has off field professionalism issues which the Titans bosses would be well aware of which need addressing. Any ideas what these may be?

He loves some fast food and drinking i think, although possibly could also relate to the play station addiction someone mentioned last week.

[Dobes]

As much as I hate to say it that is a pretty well spot on article from that grub badel. I’m guessing that is why the termite is coming back but at the same time Ash does need an older mentor. Prince is tied to the donkeys so he is out. I don’t understand why Matt Rogers isn’t asked to help out with our halves. He is a dual international and was a good half and a foundation player. He lives on the coast and loves the Titans. Surely a phone call and a pre season with Matt the Rat couldn’t do our halves any bad. He is super fit and knows what it takes and what hard work and determination is all about. I reckon they should get on it sooner rather than later

It's weird though because Rogers has been saying how much he loves the Sharks of late, but seems not to mention the Titans much, if at all. If you look on his Instagram profile for example, he says on his page that his team is the Sharks, he is quite vocal about that in some of his posts. Theres literally nothing Titans related on there at all..

[Titanic]

He offered to help the Titans when the club was on its knees and in the mix he was left out of their plans.

Anybody watch Warrington v Catalan? Roberts went ok for a numpty.

[teke]

He offered to help the Titans when the club was on its knees and in the mix he was left out of their plans.

Anybody watch Warrington v Catalan? Roberts went ok for a numpty.

that match was a training run, dragons rested 10 players. Roberts will be a good back up

[Dobes]

Anyone reckon Ben Barba would be worth looking at? Probably don't need him here IMO.

[Menoitios]

Does anyone know if Garth has taken advantage of Jamie Lyon's offer to help out wherever he could?? I think Jamie would be of great value, not only working with Koni and Brenko.....but also with our halves.

I know Lyon was a specialist centre...but he also played 6 extremely well and could possibly be of great value to Ash. He would be pretty valuable in a coaching/specialist roll here, especially since he was the one to approach Garth in the first place.