Waz
04-07-08, 01:14 PM
Titans are no one-man team
Mat Rogers07:00 AEST Fri Jul 4 2008Go mobile
Mat Rogers is a dual-international with a reputation for telling it straight. Now playing for the Gold Coast Titans, his WWOS column appears every Friday.
I was thinking of calling up all the boys around lunchtime on Thursday and telling them there was no point in coming to the game. From all reports and the questions being asked at training yesterday our season is over. Good bye Princey, good bye season.
I don?t think so.
I think the Titans took an enormous step forward last week without Scott Prince. Don?t get me wrong here. I?m not an idiot. Losing Princey is going to have an effect and I know we didn?t win last week but there is still a lot of football left in this side. It was a game last week that got away from us. Playing an in form St. George Illawarra and going down by a whisker showed everyone we are not a one man show.
It?s just that when Princey plays he is so good that the stars around him don?t shine so bright. That?s not to say the rest of the team is not giving their all. It?s just that Princey?s play outshines all of us. So now, it?s up to all of us to shine a little brighter now because he won?t be there and that?s the simple fact. He will not be there. There?s no point worrying, crying or even talking about it any more. We just need to go about our business as usual.
You try telling the squad their season is over. It?s a massive insult and a real slap in the face to all of us. I?m not sure if a lot of people really understand what goes into the preparation for an NRL season. It?s not something we as a group are prepared to give up on. I think as a group we owe it to Princey to get as far as we can to give him every chance to get back and playing for us this year. There will be no throwing in the towel I can assure you of that.
It?s times like these I think a club, and particularly a young club like ours, can really stand up and build some character. I?ve had some memorable moments at the Titans so far. The likes of winning the first game at the new stadium and being a part of the first win last year and those are great, but at the end of the day it?s the wins when your back?s against the wall and your mates on the field are doing things they normally wouldn?t to get you across the line. Those are the games across my career that stick in my memory the most.
It?s still nice running up big scores when everyone is fit and firing don?t get me wrong, but this is when we see the true grit come out we see who is made of what and see who is going to take the reigns. It?s more a mental battle through this period than anything. I know the boys are excited and I?m really excited. I know that may sound weird but we have some great young players who have enormous potential and are on the verge of anything. This could be the occasion that brings out the absolute best in a few of them because we?ll need it.
I?m really intrigued by reports that Manly players are considering using Actovegin, a calf blood extract to enhance performance. It just doesn?t seem right that you would put that into your body. Although if you believe Spanish Tour de France rider Jesus Manzano?s statements it certainty has an effect. What effect I don?t know. Side affect maybe. I?ll be sure to let anyone know if during a tackle I notice any of the Manly players starting to grow a set of udders.
:) Good read I thought, Matt shows a great perspective I thought. I don't expect us to win tonight, (however I'll be cheering my ass off) but I see this as a great opportunity, for the boys to build on the foundations they made last week and help to get the titans into their first final series! Good work Matty!
Mat Rogers07:00 AEST Fri Jul 4 2008Go mobile
Mat Rogers is a dual-international with a reputation for telling it straight. Now playing for the Gold Coast Titans, his WWOS column appears every Friday.
I was thinking of calling up all the boys around lunchtime on Thursday and telling them there was no point in coming to the game. From all reports and the questions being asked at training yesterday our season is over. Good bye Princey, good bye season.
I don?t think so.
I think the Titans took an enormous step forward last week without Scott Prince. Don?t get me wrong here. I?m not an idiot. Losing Princey is going to have an effect and I know we didn?t win last week but there is still a lot of football left in this side. It was a game last week that got away from us. Playing an in form St. George Illawarra and going down by a whisker showed everyone we are not a one man show.
It?s just that when Princey plays he is so good that the stars around him don?t shine so bright. That?s not to say the rest of the team is not giving their all. It?s just that Princey?s play outshines all of us. So now, it?s up to all of us to shine a little brighter now because he won?t be there and that?s the simple fact. He will not be there. There?s no point worrying, crying or even talking about it any more. We just need to go about our business as usual.
You try telling the squad their season is over. It?s a massive insult and a real slap in the face to all of us. I?m not sure if a lot of people really understand what goes into the preparation for an NRL season. It?s not something we as a group are prepared to give up on. I think as a group we owe it to Princey to get as far as we can to give him every chance to get back and playing for us this year. There will be no throwing in the towel I can assure you of that.
It?s times like these I think a club, and particularly a young club like ours, can really stand up and build some character. I?ve had some memorable moments at the Titans so far. The likes of winning the first game at the new stadium and being a part of the first win last year and those are great, but at the end of the day it?s the wins when your back?s against the wall and your mates on the field are doing things they normally wouldn?t to get you across the line. Those are the games across my career that stick in my memory the most.
It?s still nice running up big scores when everyone is fit and firing don?t get me wrong, but this is when we see the true grit come out we see who is made of what and see who is going to take the reigns. It?s more a mental battle through this period than anything. I know the boys are excited and I?m really excited. I know that may sound weird but we have some great young players who have enormous potential and are on the verge of anything. This could be the occasion that brings out the absolute best in a few of them because we?ll need it.
I?m really intrigued by reports that Manly players are considering using Actovegin, a calf blood extract to enhance performance. It just doesn?t seem right that you would put that into your body. Although if you believe Spanish Tour de France rider Jesus Manzano?s statements it certainty has an effect. What effect I don?t know. Side affect maybe. I?ll be sure to let anyone know if during a tackle I notice any of the Manly players starting to grow a set of udders.
:) Good read I thought, Matt shows a great perspective I thought. I don't expect us to win tonight, (however I'll be cheering my ass off) but I see this as a great opportunity, for the boys to build on the foundations they made last week and help to get the titans into their first final series! Good work Matty!