Round 10: Gold Coast Titans vs Bulldogs

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast Titans vs Canterbury Bulldogs

7:30pm Fri 16 May, Skilled Park

Gold Coast Titans

1. Brenton Bowen
2. Ben Jeffery
3. Luke O'Dwyer
4. Brett Delaney
5. Smith Samau
6. Ash Harrison
7. Scott Prince
8. Luke Bailey
9. Nathan Friend
10. Michael Hodgson
11. Brad Meyers
12. Mark Minichiello
13. Daniel Conn

14. Aaron Cannings
15. James Stosic
16. Josh Graham
17. Gavin Cooper

Bulldogs

1. Luke Patten
2. Heka Nanai
3. Tim Winitana
4. Cameron Phelps
5. Matt Utai
6. Ben Roberts
7. Daniel Holdsworth
8. Jarrad Hickey
9. Corey Hughes
10. Chris Armit
11. Sonny Bill Williams
12. Andrew Ryan (c)
13. Reni Maitua

14. Lee Te Maari
15. Nick Kouparitsas
17, Michael Sullivan
19. Brad Morrin

[Boofhead]

El Titan De Goa.

[Airlie Beach Titan]

Had withdrawal this week from the bye. I'm up here in North Queensland so while you guys have the weekly ritual of getting dressed up and going to the game, we have the weekly ritual of getting kitted up, getting a skin full of piss and watching the game.

It's back!

Hoping to see some more of Brenton Bowen this week, but I also hear that Atkins is back this week..?

[lonegull]

hopefully the bull gets the all clear, intresting to see if henderson gets a run this week or maybe cross they have been going great guns in Queensland cup, Bowen will get sideshows wing spot, the bench needs a change though stosic to make way for either henderson or cross, walker could be a shock selection on the bench

[goldcoastitans]

i cannot wait for this game we even missing mums bday for this game ...might have to make her a happy birthday banner :D

[titanstattman]

Had withdrawal this week from the bye. I'm up here in North Queensland so while you guys have the weekly ritual of getting dressed up and going to the game, we have the weekly ritual of getting kitted up, getting a skin full of piss and watching the game.

It's back!

Hoping to see some more of Brenton Bowen this week, but I also hear that Atkins is back this week..?

Its abit windy up here atm thu dont u thi nk im in townsvill for a week

[TITAN PETE]

I hope the Bull is back as we take on the wounded Dogs who should be at full strength & may be looking for a fill in halfback for this match so maybe Josh Lewis will get a start at 7 :surprise:

[Tamwelg]

I hope the Bull is back as we take on the wounded Dogs who should be at full strength & may be looking for a fill in halfback for this match so maybe Josh Lewis will get a start at 7 :surprise:

Presto to 7 Walker to 1 if Prince is selected, but that looks like it aint going to happen.

[TITAN PETE]

The team has just been named & Presto's ankle must be still a problem :nope:

1.BOWEN
2.JEFFRYS
3.ODYWER
4.DELANEY
5.SAMAU
6.HARRISON
7.PRINCE (?????)
8.BULL --WELCOME BACK
9.FRIEND
10.HODGSON
11.MEYERS
12.MINNICHELLO
13.CONN

14.CANNINGS
15.STOSIC
16.GRAHAM
17.COOPER

[Steve]

Damn, I'd have taken Walker or Rapana over Samau I think. Although fingers crossed he's improved over last year.

[Tamwelg]

1
7.PRINCE (?????)


QLD must have selected their team, but not announced it.

[Tamwelg]

Damn, I'd have taken Walker or Rapana over Samau I think. Although fingers crossed he's improved over last year.

I was just about to post that exact same comment. Maybe he has improved a heap this year.

[Steve]

I was just about to post that exact same comment. Maybe he has improved a heap this year.

I know the guy has potential, he always looked more like someone not doing as much as he could rather than someone out of his depth, so it'll be interesting to see how he's come along.

I guess the thing with Walker and Rapana is they have great attacking flare, but you do notice them making a lot of wrong choices in games too, which is probably why they haven't been brought into the top grade yet.

[lonegull]

Samau is safe but gee would be good to blood walker or rapana, Samau form in the queensland cup has been ordinary nothing outstanding, gee if princey gets picked hopefully lewis will step up because we are lacking some attacking flair

[amaline]

I was just about to post that exact same comment. Maybe he has improved a heap this year.

I've heard he has improved a lot, but with all the injury trouble the dogs are going through, I thought this week would be a great opportunity to give Rappana or Walker a run.

[kwigibo]

Cartwright's master plan to slowly rid the backline of any penetration whatsoever. It's bloody lucky Prince didn't get selected now, because they'll be lucky to score a point without him.

[TITAN PETE]

Cartwright's master plan to slowly rid the backline of any penetration whatsoever. It's bloody lucky Prince didn't get selected now, because they'll be lucky to score a point without him.


Bowen will grab his chance with both hands & score a double :thumbsup:

[kwigibo]

Bowen will grab his chance with both hands & score a double :thumbsup:

He looked more threatening in his 10 minutes against the Warriors than O'Dwyer has all year. Without Preston laying groundwork though, Scotty's gonna have precious little to work with.

[jenwood]

With no Preston I reckon Ash Harrison will step up! He is a very talented player and I believe he is yet to show what he is capable of.!!

[TITAN PETE]

I think there may be Smokey on the bench as there hasn't been an 18th man picked yet ;)
Rapana or Walker maybe :)

[patskE]

argh no campbell :(
how did samau get the nod...
he aint safe i dont rkn
hopefully his better this year
this round is a good round to introduce new blood due to origin
good to see conn bak

[craigyd]

yeah,its a bit strange too see Bowen and Samau in the team,considering we havent seen there names in the 17 players named each week very often let alone the starting 13.But we bought bowen for this reason and he will step up.Samau im not so sure on,hope he proves me wrong.I was under the impression Rogers could play this week?he got a 4 week ban in round five,has sat out rounds 6,7,8,9 is that not 4 weeks?
Thanks god Baileys back and i think Harrison will have a blinder this week with the dogs halves being short of ordinary.

[TitansFan]

I was under the impression Rogers could play this week?he got a 4 week ban in round five,has sat out rounds 6,7,8,9 is that not 4 weeks?

His suspension was 4 games. Round 9 was a bye, so he has missed 3 so far

[craigyd]

His suspension was 4 games. Round 9 was a bye, so he has missed 3 so far

Thanks,i thought it was done by weeks not games

[Paul]

I kinda feel sorry for the dogs

Princey is going to have the game of his life this Friday and will blow them off the park just to prove to the australian and Quensland selectors what a bunch of tools they are

[Titanium_BD1103]

Here's the Bulldogs side.. but I expect changes AGAIN.. some of our players are on a week to week basis of passing fitness tests.. but TBH, who can replace them... we're running out of troops... :(

From: www.bulldogs.com.au

1. Luke Patten
2. Heka Nanai
3. Tim Winitana
4. Cameron Phelps
5. Matt Utai
6. Ben Roberts
7. Daniel Holdsworth
8. Jarrad Hickey
9. Corey Hughes
10. Chris Armit
11. Sonny Bill Williams
12. Andrew Ryan (c)
13. Reni Maitua

Interchange:
14. Lee Te Maari
15. Nick Kouparitsas
17, Michael Sullivan
19. Brad Morrin

[TITAN PETE]

Here's the Bulldogs side.. but I expect changes AGAIN.. some of our players are on a week to week basis of passing fitness tests.. but TBH, who can replace them... we're running out of troops... :(

From: www.bulldogs.com.au

1. Luke Patten
2. Heka Nanai
3. Tim Winitana
4. Cameron Phelps
5. Matt Utai
6. Ben Roberts
7. Daniel Holdsworth
8. Jarrad Hickey
9. Corey Hughes
10. Chris Armit
11. Sonny Bill Williams
12. Andrew Ryan (c)
13. Reni Maitua

Interchange:
14. Lee Te Maari
15. Nick Kouparitsas
17, Michael Sullivan
19. Brad Morrin

The Dogs must be in trouble if the Oxygen thief Holdsworth is still in 1st grade :nope:

[Titanium_BD1103]

The Dogs must be in trouble if the Oxygen thief Holdsworth is still in 1st grade :nope:

We are in some real issues ATM... not just form wise, but injury wise as well.

DJ is still there as the other option, Aaron Groom has been struggling with defense and fitness in NSW Cup... he did alright from reports last weekend, but considering our club and certain fans ATM, I wouldn't want him there anyway, he'd be like lamb to the wolves... :nope:

As for the rest, I just hope Patten plays this weekend, as otherwise, we don't really have another fullback option, 1st Choice replacement Crisp is out with a back problem till at least Round 15, 2nd Choice replacement El Masri is out with a hamstring issue.... I think the next player is someone from Toyota Cup.

We are really running out of troops, there is a rumour Danny Williams is being fasttracked into the squad as Brad Morrin is under an injury cloud... ATM as a Doggies fan, I'm just taking it as it comes.. there's nothing you can do but smile, have a laugh and try to deal with it all as best as you can.

[patskE]

use to play with Nick Kouparitsas at sat arvo touch down with gorup of mates
good player watch out for him

[CanberraTitan]

Does anybody know how much longer atkins is out for??

surely samau couldn't have been picked in front of him???

[TITAN PETE]

Does anybody know how much longer atkins is out for??

surely samau couldn't have been picked in front of him???

I saw him on crutches 2 weeks ago so it may be a couple more weeks yet :(

[DIEHARD]

Tickets are selling fast, so get them fast. Looks like another huge crowd in store for Friday.

[craigyd]

Im now 34,and a titans supporter for 2 years.before that a dogs supporter since 4 years old.I still have a love for the dogs and its sad too see them going through so many changes,but all clubs have to deal with it and buy wisely for the next year,which dogs will have to start doing.
Still i hope Titans beat them by 50 on Friday.

[Blunt_Beno]

interesting to see how bowen goes under the high balls, they seem to swirl alot in this stadium. i reckon rapana should be there instead of samau, but im sure he will do the job at hand.

[dee13]

I saw him on crutches 2 weeks ago so it may be a couple more weeks yet :(

I said Hi to him today down at Burleigh and it was only afterwards that I thought I should ask when he will be back.:dizzy:

[titanstattman]

Dose any1 know wat happen to pesto? i just saw titans line up here in townsvill and its got bowen at number 1??????

[TITAN PETE]

Dose any1 know wat happen to pesto? i just saw titans line up here in townsvill and its got bowen at number 1??????

He hurt his ankle against The Knights & hasn't recovered in time but will be back next week :doh:

Remember mate he was hurt by "You Ass Holes :surprise:

[patskE]

he did well in the trail bowen did
but yeh, hopefully samau has improved

[Steve]

Just checking the train times to the game.
Gates open at 5:15.

There's a train from Brisbane at 3:54, Helensvale 5:04, and getting into Robina at 5:15.
The earlier option is Birbsnae 3:24, Helensvale 4:29 and getting into Robina at 4:45.

I'll probably try to make the earlier one if possible, gotta get in early for our front row seats!

[Big J]

This game concerns me a lot. The dogs are playing like busted a**es and copping an absolute hammering in the media which can only fire them up.

On top of that we have no Boof, no Petersen, no Presto and all of a sudden our backline looks extremely inexperienced and to be honest doesn't instill a great deal of confidence in me. Not to mention that the Bull is making his comeback from a decent layoff and the bench contains three players hardly setting the world on fire in Cooper, Stosic and Graham.

Sounds negative even for me so I will finish by saying that Prince, Mini, Friend and Harrison will have blinders and the titans will sneak home by 6....

[patskE]

and i hate to say it
i dont think prince will preform
u could see the test selection hurt his game vs newcastle
now with the SOO dogging

[DIEHARD]

Titans V Bulldogs Preview

Skilled Park - Friday 7.45pm


http://www.nrl.com/portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/Round_Ten/Titans_V_Bulldogs_Rd10_320.jpg

TITANS’ fans are certainly riding the wave at the moment as their side sits in second place on the NRL ladder, behind only Melbourne on percentages.

Fresh off the bye they battle a Bulldogs’ side battered by injuries in recent weeks but who are bringing back a few stars in the hope they can arrest their poor form that has seen them lose four of their past five matches.

Currently languishing in 12th position on the NRL ladder the Bulldogs are fully aware they need to start getting some wins on the board if they are to be part of a premiership assault.

Luke Patten has been named to return at fullback, while Ben Roberts and Sonny Bill Williams are also due to return from the side hammered by Penrith last week.

That sees Brent Crisp and Justin Tsoulos make way (the pair is injured anyway) and also sees Gary Warburton go back a grade. The return of Brad Morrin to the top grade has also seen last week’s debutant Lorenzo Ma’afu head back to Toyota Cup.

The Titans come into the first representative-affected round (where players involved in Origin are pulled from club games) with less disruption than they may have anticipated – which only spells more trouble for the ’Dogs.

Scott Prince has been sensationally overlooked by the Maroons and Luke Bailey is only just returning form a thumb injury meaning only Anthony Laffranchi is missing from their line-up on Origin duties.

Sadly, Preston Campbell has succumbed to an ankle injury; he’ll be replaced by former Cowboy Brenton Bowen at fullback. Smith Samau comes onto the wing now that Matt Petersen is in Wakefield while Bailey’s return pushes Brad Meyers to the back row to cover for Laffranchi.

In the other change, Daniel Conn comes into the side to start at lock which sees Josh Graham go to the bench and Richard Swain miss out.

It will be a special game for Bulldogs’ hooker Corey Hughes as he joins the 200-games club.

Watch out Titans: Sonny Bill is fuming. Underneath the calm exterior is a man ready to explode into a huge performance. Last weekend he produced a lacklustre first half in the Test match for New Zealand and saw his side facing certain defeat before turning it around in the second 40 to dominate the match.

Sure the Kiwis still lost but without Sonny the scoreline would have been much worse and the reality was he was one of only a few guys in black jerseys causing any headaches.

Already hurting from the loss to the Aussies, Williams then was forced to sit out the Bulldogs’ inept display against Penrith. Losing doesn’t sit well with this man and you can guarantee he’ll be out to pummel everything and anything in a Titans’ jersey. Look for plenty of offloads in attack.

Watch out Bulldogs: Scott Prince is a shattered man after missing Queensland selection but he isn’t one to dwell on it and carry on like a pork chop. What is more likely is he will produce the game of his life to stick a big literal “up yours” to the Maroons’ selectors.

He already leads the NRL in try assists, with 11 to his name, and is also fourth in the NRL for line-break assists, so the Bulldogs can expect a busy game from the talented no.7. If Prince keeps his head and fires, the Bulldogs are next to no chance of leaving Skilled Park victorious.

Where it will be won: Attitude. Just how affected will Prince be following the disappointment of Origin selections? If it plagues his mind at all the Titans will be in trouble, as Campbell and Matt Rogers are missing and can’t take up any slack.

For the Bulldogs it is also all about attitude. At times last weekend it appeared they couldn’t care less as Penrith ran riot. They looked devoid of ideas and devoid of the determination to try anything. If they are to be a serious threat in 2008 they need to get back to the Bulldogs of old; that is they need to be prepared to play for each other, tackle their guts out and not look for any short cuts.

The History: Played 2; Titans 0, Bulldogs 2. The Gold Coast have only scored 18 points while conceding 58 in their only two encounters with the Bulldogs.

But the Gold Coast outfit is still undefeated at their new home ground of Skilled Park, now shooting for their sixth successive win at the venue.

Conclusion: With Prince still in the side and Bailey coming back it’s hard to go against the home side at their fortress. But any side with Williams, Andrew Ryan and Reni Maitua in the back row can’t be discounted. They can pull off an upset if the Titans are rusty from the break.

Match officials: Referee – Jason Robinson; Sideline Officials – Steve Lyons & Gerard Sutton; Video ref – Tim Mander.

Televised: Channel Nine – Live Qld 7.30pm, Delayed NSW 9.30pm; FoxSports 2 – Delayed 4.30am.

Source: http://www.NRL.com

[DIEHARD]

Heard on the news they are forcasting showers for the Gold Coast.

I hope it doesn't rain, I really hate it. We have gotten out fair share of wet ones at games already.

[kwigibo]

Heard on the news they are forcasting showers for the Gold Coast.

I hope it doesn't rain, I really hate it. We have gotten out fair share of wet ones at games already.

Yeah, we go three weeks or so with barely a drop during an away game and a bye week. Why can't it rain every day but game day?

[goldcoastitans]

i am getting excited boys and girls dunno about everyone else....
ps what time is everyone getting down there??

[TITAN PETE]

[
In the other change, Daniel Conn comes into the side to start at lock which sees Josh Graham go to the bench and Richard Swain miss out.


I didn't know Richard was back playing never mind in the Titans Roster :laugh:

[Paul]

Oh FFS, Not rain again. I'm sick of being drenched every week

[kwigibo]

i am getting excited boys and girls dunno about everyone else....
ps what time is everyone getting down there??

I'm going to get the 4:29 from Helensvale. Didn't get there at gates open last game and had to chase warriors fans out of the front of bay 30, don't want to have to do that with dogs fans.

[Steve]

I'm going to get the 4:29 from Helensvale. Didn't get there at gates open last game and had to chase warriors fans out of the front of bay 30, don't want to have to do that with dogs fans.

I'm gonna aim for the same train, I think DIEHARD is too.

It'll mean leaving work early, but no one is in anyhow... Damn. I shoulda hit the bottle shop before coming in. ;)

[kwigibo]

I'm gonna aim for the same train, I think DIEHARD is too.

It'll mean leaving work early, but no one is in anyhow... Damn. I shoulda hit the bottle shop before coming in. ;)

You want drinks? What's QR's stance on B.Y.O?

[Steve]

You want drinks? What's QR's stance on B.Y.O?

No drinking on trains I believe. ;)

I was going to have some here at work! :P

[kwigibo]

No drinking on trains I believe. ;)


All aboard the last train to squaresville.

[patskE]

hate to say it
i got a bad feeling on this one :S
jsut with williams making his debut for the club, i ythink they will step up :S

[Dragons]

I'm watching the game on Nine and they keep calling the ground the Fortress and Graveyard. Where the (deleted) did this come from?

[eelectrica]

Man the Titans made it hard on themselves. All the dropped balls and that looked like they could have won by 50 at one stage.
Arr well it's good to knock over the doggies anyway. Tites have some improvement to go yet though.

[C-Whiz]

As Titan Pete reliably informed me (and watching the replay tonight at home) Daniel Conn not only made a try saving tackle, but it was the match winning tackle that allowed the Titans to snatch their first ever victory against the Doggies.
I cannot stress enough how important, selfless and totally commited Daniel was in saving a certain try and certain defeat with his miraculous tackle. There is no doubt in my mind that our first ever victory was provided by Daniel Conn in those dying minutes, by denying the Dogs what should have been a last minute victory.

Daniel Conn, we salute you! :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute:

[kwigibo]

As Titan Pete reliably informed me (and watching the replay tonight at home) Daniel Conn not only made a try saving tackle, but it was the match winning tackle that allowed the Titans to snatch their first ever victory against the Doggies.
I cannot stress enough how important, selfless and totally commited Daniel was in saving a certain try and certain defeat with his miraculous tackle. There is no doubt in my mind that our first ever victory was provided by Daniel Conn in those dying minutes, by denying the Dogs what should have been a last minute victory.

Daniel Conn, we salute you! :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute: :salute:

I guess they'll regret losing him now.

[Kelvinator]

Actually Conn didn't stop him, he did get the ball down. Luckily the Ref had already called a forward pass

[Titanium_BD1103]

What can I say about this match but... WELL DONE BULLDOGS....:clap: :clap:

Yes I know the Titans won, and this is a Titans forum... but after the performance last week, I was expecting to be beaten by 50.

The boys however came up with a really Bulldogs like performance, never gave up, never gave in, gave their all and it was a joy to watch on replay... especially Jaza running down field, simply awesome... :D

DJ played really well at 6, that's his position IMO... Groom debut solidly at number 7 and showed some nice touches that will become better as the weeks go on and Maitua stood up and showed some classic touches... it was great to see... :)

The rest of the boys played hard and went well, and it was great to see them being hit to the canvas only to come back and fight on.

For the Titans awesome work by Scotty, he won the game with his vision and play, great to see Bull return strongly as well..:thumbsup:

The GC however were sloppy at times last night and if they want to be a top 4 team, as I think the Titans will be, the ball control needs to improve, because against a full strength Melbourne, chances like that will see them get destroyed.

In saying that though, it was still a very solid Titans effort, and a great game all round... :)

[Cowboy Titan]

Actually Conn didn't stop him, he did get the ball down. Luckily the Ref had already called a forward passWhat the commentators totally overlooked though was that the Dogs shouldn't have even had the ball at that stage. The strip penalty leading up to it was a joke. SBW was getting up to play the ball, bumped his hand on a Titan's leg and let go of the ball. The Titan's player was standing up with his hands in the air and nowhere near the ball.

We all would have been filthy on the ref if the Dogs did score and a blatant refereeing error would have cost the Titans the game. Luckily it didn't become an issue.

Well done to the Titans on their first victory against the Dogs on the back of a typically brilliant performance by Scott Prince. Bull was amazing upon his return. To play 71 minutes staight after a long break is a great effort from a front rower.

[Ryan]

I agree with TBD, Titans got pretty sloppy. Samau and Bowen looked to be s@#ting themselves, but I think Bowen got better with confidence towards the end of the game and will get better with more game time.

I would have liked to have seen Bowen go to wing and Walker to Fullback and done this change at 50min mark. I just wanted to see one kick return from Walker, he didn't get much ball and when he did he had no where to go. He didn't look as nervous as the other two either.

Delaney was a stand out with his running and so was Meyers. Minni made some really good runs and alot of meters but those dropped balls were killing me!

[Ryan]

.........And I would like to know what was said between Prince and Patten.
A little shove in the back when taking the ball dead doesn't usually get taken to heart?

[TITAN PETE]

It was a great win but not a great game as there were far too many mistakes & as Titanium_BD1103 has said we would've been belted against the Storm but lt's nice to get the 2 points when you don't play your best :thumbsup:
I don't agree with comments on Samau not playing well i thought he had a strong game & he had to take almost all of the kick offs & probably would've stopped Matua where as Walker had no chance.

On a lighter note i want to say well done to my son Dylan who won the Jetstar halftime prize of a trip to any away match for 2 & for those who missed it he said "This is Big D from Mudgee & the Jetstar Gold Coast Titans are going to SMASH the Bulldogs" :fist: , he was right :D

[kwigibo]

It was a great win but not a great game as there were far too many mistakes & as Titanium_BD1103 has said we would've been belted against the Storm but lt's nice to get the 2 points when you don't play your best :thumbsup:
I don't agree with comments on Samau not playing well i thought he had a strong game & he had to take almost all of the kick offs & probably would've stopped Matua where as Walker had no chance.

On a lighter note i want to say well done to my son Dylan who won the Jetstar halftime prize of a trip to any away match for 2 & for those who missed it he said "This is Big D from Mudgee & the Jetstar Gold Coast Titans are going to SMASH the Bulldogs" :fist: , he was right :D

I'll admit Samau played better than I expected him to. He did cough up the ball on that kick return, and those two dogs tries in the 1st half down his side didn't make him look good.

And Matuia looked to have put his foot into touch on that try. That said, the defense should have put all of him over the sideline.

[C-Whiz]

I don't agree with comments on Samau not playing well i thought he had a strong game & he had to take almost all of the kick offs & probably would've stopped Matua where as Walker had no chance.
Are you serious? Maybe you're pining for Jake Webster too? :p

What Samau could "probably" do is not the same as what he did do, which is drop the ball bringing it back off his goal line, and rushing up out of the defensive line and coming in off his wing twice allowing 2 direct tries to be scored around him. Being weak in defence is one thing, but being dumb at playing the wing position is another. I'm sure he will learn, but is leaking tries on your wing the place to do it?

Don't get me started on certain tries not being scored by the Titans because they didn't have the confidence to throw it out to him with an open line.............

Anyway, well done to Big D. Looks like D and Dad are starters at the Cowboys game!

[Steve]

It may have been a sloppy win, but this was most definitely NOT the same dogs who lost the game to Penrith (I wouldn't go so far as to say they were beaten by Penrith, it was just a matter of who played worse).

It was probably the most changed team we've had all year, and I think it showed. I was hoping Samau had improved over last year, but it seems he still hasn't found the sort of form he is capable of.

Bowen... I'd much prefer him on the wing for reasons we saw last night. Had seen it plenty of times at the Cowboys, so it was something that had me worried coming into the game.

I don't think I've seen Prince as fired up. Normally he looks like he's out there to have fun. This time he was out there to kick some ass, and he did it in fine style. I swear he just has more time than other players. If they made a movie about him they'd do a lot of slow-mo scenes. Every pass looked dangerous, which probably is what opened up the defence for his own try.

I think Delaney would like an origin spot too. He's been one of the top metre getters all year which got him a spot in the city/country game, but he really started looking dangerous last night.

[patskE]

mini and cannings keep droping the ball :S they had bad games
conn was a stand out in defensive
hard choice for carty when rogers is back if to knock conn from his 13.
tbh, i want to see new wingers
walker n bowen with campbell at the back, or atkins n bown if carty dont think walker is ready enough
samau just had nothing, bad reads in defensive. jeffery aswell, i dont feel safe at all when them to at the bak, jeffery aint even that quick. bowen was shakey at the start, but in 2nd half he started to chime in well with soem good balls
our centers played great, delaney esp
walker didnt have a chace to show his stuff, but tbh looked good in defensive, he had faith in his inside man only coming in to help when he thoguh he had to, which he did well, one time mantuia just to strong hehe
good game for the bull 1st game back
rogers back next week? prob put him at 5/8 but conn or harrison? i would have to say conn tbh
with harrison, meyers, grahman, some new forward given a go.


anyone remembers walkers 2nd touch? bowen got the kick returns, prince gave it to walkers formt he play the ball, n he jsut did one of his light foot steps, didnt work casue the line was bunch, but even my gf who i was wlaking it with, so got no idea about footy was like WOW WTF WAS THAT!

[kwigibo]

I think Delaney would like an origin spot too. He's been one of the top metre getters all year which got him a spot in the city/country game, but he really started looking dangerous last night.

He gets a lot of crap about not being a real centre, but damn does he run well. He's a better performer than Matt Cooper certainly.

[kwigibo]

mini and cannings keep droping the ball :S they had bad games
conn was a stand out in defensive
hard choice for carty when rogers is back if to knock conn from his 13.
tbh, i want to see new wingers
walker n bowen with campbell at the back, or atkins n bown if carty dont think walker is ready enough
samau just had nothing, bad reads in defensive. jeffery aswell, i dont feel safe at all when them to at the bak, jeffery aint even that quick. bowen was shakey at the start, but in 2nd half he started to chime in well with soem good balls
our centers played great, delaney esp
walker didnt have a chace to show his stuff, but tbh looked good in defensive, he had faith in his inside man only coming in to help when he thoguh he had to, which he did well, one time mantuia just to strong hehe
good game for the bull 1st game back
rogers back next week? prob put him at 5/8 but conn or harrison? i would have to say conn tbh
with harrison, meyers, grahman, some new forward given a go.


anyone remembers walkers 2nd touch? bowen got the kick returns, prince gave it to walkers formt he play the ball, n he jsut did one of his light foot steps, didnt work casue the line was bunch, but even my gf who i was wlaking it with, so got no idea about footy was like WOW WTF WAS THAT!

Team I would like to see next week

Walker
Bowen
Rogers
Delaney
Atkins (week after next maybe)
Campbell
Prince
Bailey
Friend
Meyers
Laffranchi
Minichiello
Harrison

Hodgson
Graham
Conn
Cannings/Cross

Team we will see

Campbell
Jeffrey
O'dwyer
Delaney
Bowen
Rogers
Prince
Bailey
Friend
Meyers
Laffranchi
Minichiello
Harrison

Cannings
Hodgson
Graham
Conn

[patskE]

campbell
walker
rogers
delaney
bowen
harrison
prince
bull
friend
hogdeson
laff
mini
conn
meyers
grahman
odwyer
grahman
cannings/cross

[Paul]

Team I would like to see next week

Walker
Bowen
Rogers
Delaney
Atkins (week after next maybe)
Campbell
Prince
Bailey
Friend
Meyers
Laffranchi
Minichiello
Harrison


Oooooooh I freakin love that team although I think Jeffery and O'Dwyer have been fine.I know I can't convince you about O'Dwyer though:D

[kwigibo]

Oooooooh I freakin love that team although I think Jeffery and O'Dwyer have been fine.I know I can't convince you about O'Dwyer though:D

I'm actually not as down on Jeffrey and O'Dwyer as I was a month or so ago, although i do think I was lied to about Jeffrey having any speed. But that is a backline I would like to see, and with Prince leading them around that team should be able to capitalise better on an early 16-0 lead.

[TITAN PETE]

If you wonder why SBW was not as dangerous as would be in other games watch how many times Odwyer made a tackle on him 1 on 1 :thumbsup: , Rogers will be back next week but there's no chance he'll be playing centre the only headache Carty will have is who will play on the Empty wing spot :surprise: , my money is on Bowen ;)

[jenwood]

Once again I agree with all you are saying Pete! (better stop making a habit of that-cant be seen to be siding with a Blue can i !). SBW was well and truly contained especially by Nathan Friend who hit him hard and low in every tackle!

[Airlie Beach Titan]

I haven't seen SBW that contained by defense in a long time, the little blokes did well taking him down at the knees.

[TITAN PETE]

Once again I agree with all you are saying Pete! (better stop making a habit of that-cant be seen to be siding with a Blue can i !). SBW was well and truly contained especially by Nathan Friend who hit him hard and low in every tackle!

I think you would look Great in a Blues jersey :D

[Titan Dave]

hey

i just heard on the footy show at 11am that mini might have a broken hand and nathan friend might have a broken finger.. aint good!! hopefully whoever replaces them can keep up the good work...

[jenwood]

I think you would look Great in a Blues jersey :D

Sorry Pete-the closest I will ever come to wearing a blue jersey is the heritage one!

[bigjim]

As Carty said, that was the worst game the team has played all year, and a game they would have lost last year.

Good to get the 2 points and get back on top.

I thought Prince had an inspirational game, Delaney and Bull were unstoppable. Walker's first experience in the top team was needless to say, a bit shaky. He will have more impact in future games, now he's got that one out of the way. Bowen looked a little uncomfortable at the back, but will come good when he finds his place.

All in all, a good team effort but they will have to learn how to put teams to the sword, particularly when they are 16 nil up.

[Big J]

After the first 20 minutes I thought I was looking at a blow out but some disgraceful ball control made it closer than it should ever of been. Scott Prince was again the difference (closely followed by our 2nd best player Daniel Holdsworth....).

I thought Minichiello's first 55 minutes were outstanding and then quickly damaged by his contribution to the handling woes, Friend 57 tackles no more needs to be said and Delaney just seems to be beating defenders week in week out with consumate ease.

With Samau out to a long term knee injury I really hope Atkins and Presto are back soon because a back 3 of Bowen, Walker and Jeffery although exciting as it sounds seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Bowen couldn't even catch the normal kicks to him on Fri night, whats going to happen if Inglis or Anasta decide its time for the aerial siren to sound on those towering bombs??

Anyway a well fought out win and the Titans sitting atop the ladder is fine by me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Even if that last pass was not even close to forward and the dogs were probably slightly unlucky)

[craigyd]

yeah,it was a strange game.
Prince was amazing,as was Delaney,Bull and Conn.I was happy with bowen once he settled down and played footy.I will be glad to never see Samau play another game for Titans,just not good enough.And i was also under the impression that Jeffreys had amazing speed,i certainly havent seen it.
I hate too say it even though we have plenty of players that can play wing but,i would love to see us purchase a big,fast winger.All our players suitable for that position apart from Atkins are neither fast or large.

[C-Whiz]

I hate too say it even though we have plenty of players that can play wing but,i would love to see us purchase a big,fast winger.All our players suitable for that position apart from Atkins are neither fast or large.

Matt Peterson and Chris Walker? You can only buy so much talent. You can't crystal ball everything.

[curly_11]

It was a strange game...few positives came out of it though. Mostly our defence! With defence like we have had over the last few weeks it will help us win on the road where we struggled last year.

I think Conn had his best game so far and it was good to see the Bull play 70 minutes in his first game back! As for Walker, i think the nerves came through and didnt really have a solid start. He will definitely play a role later on the season i think. I think he will be converted into a winger or a centre but whats stopping him from playing now is his defensive problems. Hes amazing in attack but not all that good in defence,but Carty and the team are working on that!

As for Samau, in my opinion apart from his first carry he was okay! Compared to last season he has improved heaps and i dont know what hes been eating but hes put some serious weight on, hes not a twig anymore. I think he played better than Jeffries and i cant stop wondering why Jefferies is in the starting line up.....he has not done anything all that good for the team, hes defensively weak, we are yet to see his "blistering pace" and he crap on the high ball. When atkins returns i think we could see a reshuffle hopefully putting bowen on the left wing!

Good to see Rogers back this week and Friend and Mino cleared to play against the Tigers....going to be a tough game but thing we will pull through!

[kwigibo]

If you wonder why SBW was not as dangerous as would be in other games watch how many times Odwyer made a tackle on him 1 on 1 :thumbsup:

I just watched the replay this afternoon and O'Dwyer only tackled SBW 1 on 1 twice, and one was a nothing cover tackle. He did not mark him let alone tackle him in the first 60 minutes of the game. Mr 54 tackles Nathan Friend however, did tackle SBW at least 8 times, about 3 of those one on one and I think all preventing an offload. From the replay it's clear that Friend, with a bit of Bailey and some other forwards shut down SBW in this game. O'Dwyer was there in defense, nothing more.

Oh, he was tackled by SBW about 3 times. And he stuffed up a certain try by playing piggy in the middle with Harrison's overhead pass to a completely unmarked Jeffrey.

Is that enough to keep him on the field? If there is a viable alternative, drop him.

[TITAN PETE]

I just watched the replay this afternoon and O'Dwyer only tackled SBW 1 on 1 .


Well that would be 2 times more than Ingliss made on Gaz lastnight :laugh:

You are kidding yourself if you think he should be dropped :nope: , only Injury will keep him out of the Top side:fist:

[kwigibo]

Well that would be 2 times more than Ingliss made on Gaz lastnight :laugh:

You are kidding yourself if you think he should be dropped :nope: , only Injury will keep him out of the Top side:fist:

You're the one imagining his outstanding defensive performance. He's not one of the best 2 centres the Titans have, he shouldn't be 1st choice, that's only too obvious.

[TITAN PETE]

You're the one imagining his outstanding defensive performance. He's not one of the best 2 centres the Titans have, he shouldn't be 1st choice, that's only too obvious.

So when do you take over as assistant coach :dizzy:

[kwigibo]

So when do you take over as assistant coach :dizzy:

I'm not sure I could have said it in a more detached way, but if that's how you feel, by the same token, when do you?

[TITAN PETE]

I'm not sure I could have said it in a more detached way, but if that's how you feel, by the same token, when do you?

We'll agree to disagree then :thumbsup:

GO U TITANS

[kwigibo]

GO U TITANS

Well I certainly don't disagree with this ^

[curly_11]

Well im a fan of O'dwyer! Hes definitly a first choice in my books. You can judge him on one game. Who would you say our best defensive player is? I would say friend because of his size he has an advantage to wrestle down to the floor even Matt Rogers said hes a "freak" at it! Besides this it might have been a game plan from Carty. Overall watch his perfomances over the season and im sure you will come to the conclusion hes a great player! :gossip:

[kwigibo]

Well im a fan of O'dwyer! Hes definitly a first choice in my books. You can judge him on one game. Who would you say our best defensive player is? I would say friend because of his size he has an advantage to wrestle down to the floor even Matt Rogers said hes a "freak" at it! Besides this it might have been a game plan from Carty. Overall watch his perfomances over the season and im sure you will come to the conclusion hes a great player! :gossip:

Oh, I've been critical of him since last season. I watch every game very closely and I don't think he's a great player. I won't say he doesn't have the potential to be a better player, but he offers little to the team the way he plays now.

I would say in work rate Friend is by far the best defensive player at the club, and it's quality work even by a bigger player's standards. Laffranchi is very good as well, as is Bailey. There aren't a lot of big hitters fielded at the Titans, but there's nothing wrong with putting your priority on effective defense at the expense of the highlight reel, it still clearly wins you games.

[daveyk]

Well I certainly don't disagree with this ^


We'll agree to disagree then :thumbsup:

GO U TITANS

you guys are funny.... LOL