DIEHARD
13-03-10, 01:16 PM
Titans' new strike weapons
With the new NRL season upon us, Titans star Mat Rogers sits down with Gold Coast Bulletin league writer Luke Turgeon to talk about his hopes for 2010, Greg Bird and why the Coast will be a premiership threat.
Q: Many good judges are tipping you guys as a genuine threat this season after finishing third in 2009. Is there a target on your backs this year?
A: Maybe, but it is not something we think about. We just think about playing well and we know we can play better this year than we did last year. We have got a more mature outfit. We have got a few players who had their first season in grade last year and now are starting to consider themselves first graders. We have also had the inclusion of some real talent in Joseph Tomane and Greg Bird. Without doubt we are a better side.
Q: Are you excited to be moving back to the centres or disappointed to be shifted from five-eighth?
A: I am just stoked to be in the side. I feel like it is my first year in first grade again because that is how strong the competition was to make this side. We have got a guy like Clinton Toopi playing for Burleigh and a really unfortunate situation with Esi Tonga tearing his pec. There are two left centres there who are big, strong, freakish talents.
Q: Is Greg Bird the missing piece of the puzzle that everyone is expecting him to be?
A: He is going to add value to the side, there is no doubt about that. It is just a matter of us as a side learning how to play with each other. It is not whether he is a great player or not, he has proven that. It is how we fit his talents into our side.
Q: What will he do for your left side, particularly in defence?
A: I've played outside him in a couple of trials and he's brutal on the field. He's pretty vicious, he gets right in, it certainly lifts me standing next to him and the players around him. He will add some starch there no doubt. He will get us the ball more too. He demands the ball. He tells Princey when he wants it and generally gets it, which is exciting.
Q: On the other side of the paddock is another new addition, young Joseph Tomane. What are your thoughts on him?
A: He could be anything. He is a great young player. He has got amazing footwork and is about 108kg, so he is not small. He is a freak. Something we have sort of lacked over the first few years is that real strike weapon out wide.
Q: Is it hard to believe that when you made your first grade debut with Cronulla in 1995 that he was just four-years-old?
A: Yeah, so I guess he probably didn't watch that game (laughs). I suppose if he plays for long enough he might be playing with my son.
Q: You are off-contract at the end of this year. If there is no extension with the Titans, what is the likelihood of you playing on with another NRL club?
A: I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I am just worried about playing good footy at the moment, I really am. If I am playing well enough someone will offer me a contract but if I am not, then they won't. That is the bottom line. I just want to play really well for the Titans.
Q: What are your hopes for this year, other than playing well?
A: I want to win the comp. I think we have got a good enough squad to do it. If I didn't think we did I would have retired last year.
Q: We have had guys like Will Matthews, Esi Tonga, Kevin Gordon, David Mead and Bodene Thompson burst out of the club's junior ranks. Who is your tip for the next young kid to watch for?
A: There is a young forward named Dom Walsh, who has got some great footwork and some talent. I think he is only 18 or 19 and he has got a big future ahead of him.
Q: Depth has been a problem, especially in the first two seasons more so than last year. How is that looking for 2010?
A: Our depth is a lot stronger this year. You just have to look at the outside backs alone -- guys like William Zillman, Josh Graham, Clinton Toopi, Jordan Atkins -- and it blows you away that guys like that aren't in the squad. They would be playing first grade at any other club. You would like to think we have got every base covered. But you don't really know until you get into the grind of the season and how well each person steps up to the task.
Source: http://www.titans.com.au
With the new NRL season upon us, Titans star Mat Rogers sits down with Gold Coast Bulletin league writer Luke Turgeon to talk about his hopes for 2010, Greg Bird and why the Coast will be a premiership threat.
Q: Many good judges are tipping you guys as a genuine threat this season after finishing third in 2009. Is there a target on your backs this year?
A: Maybe, but it is not something we think about. We just think about playing well and we know we can play better this year than we did last year. We have got a more mature outfit. We have got a few players who had their first season in grade last year and now are starting to consider themselves first graders. We have also had the inclusion of some real talent in Joseph Tomane and Greg Bird. Without doubt we are a better side.
Q: Are you excited to be moving back to the centres or disappointed to be shifted from five-eighth?
A: I am just stoked to be in the side. I feel like it is my first year in first grade again because that is how strong the competition was to make this side. We have got a guy like Clinton Toopi playing for Burleigh and a really unfortunate situation with Esi Tonga tearing his pec. There are two left centres there who are big, strong, freakish talents.
Q: Is Greg Bird the missing piece of the puzzle that everyone is expecting him to be?
A: He is going to add value to the side, there is no doubt about that. It is just a matter of us as a side learning how to play with each other. It is not whether he is a great player or not, he has proven that. It is how we fit his talents into our side.
Q: What will he do for your left side, particularly in defence?
A: I've played outside him in a couple of trials and he's brutal on the field. He's pretty vicious, he gets right in, it certainly lifts me standing next to him and the players around him. He will add some starch there no doubt. He will get us the ball more too. He demands the ball. He tells Princey when he wants it and generally gets it, which is exciting.
Q: On the other side of the paddock is another new addition, young Joseph Tomane. What are your thoughts on him?
A: He could be anything. He is a great young player. He has got amazing footwork and is about 108kg, so he is not small. He is a freak. Something we have sort of lacked over the first few years is that real strike weapon out wide.
Q: Is it hard to believe that when you made your first grade debut with Cronulla in 1995 that he was just four-years-old?
A: Yeah, so I guess he probably didn't watch that game (laughs). I suppose if he plays for long enough he might be playing with my son.
Q: You are off-contract at the end of this year. If there is no extension with the Titans, what is the likelihood of you playing on with another NRL club?
A: I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I am just worried about playing good footy at the moment, I really am. If I am playing well enough someone will offer me a contract but if I am not, then they won't. That is the bottom line. I just want to play really well for the Titans.
Q: What are your hopes for this year, other than playing well?
A: I want to win the comp. I think we have got a good enough squad to do it. If I didn't think we did I would have retired last year.
Q: We have had guys like Will Matthews, Esi Tonga, Kevin Gordon, David Mead and Bodene Thompson burst out of the club's junior ranks. Who is your tip for the next young kid to watch for?
A: There is a young forward named Dom Walsh, who has got some great footwork and some talent. I think he is only 18 or 19 and he has got a big future ahead of him.
Q: Depth has been a problem, especially in the first two seasons more so than last year. How is that looking for 2010?
A: Our depth is a lot stronger this year. You just have to look at the outside backs alone -- guys like William Zillman, Josh Graham, Clinton Toopi, Jordan Atkins -- and it blows you away that guys like that aren't in the squad. They would be playing first grade at any other club. You would like to think we have got every base covered. But you don't really know until you get into the grind of the season and how well each person steps up to the task.
Source: http://www.titans.com.au