Round 3: Gold Coast Titans vs Canberra Raiders

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast Titans vs Canberra Raiders


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/diehard2/NRL/titansvsraiders.jpg

[DIEHARD]

Match thread for our next game at Skilled Park this Saturday agains the Raiders.

[Blazertaser]

Going to be a good game
Guess we are going to have to wait for them to verse the donkeys tomorrow before we can get an actual opinion of their playing tactics

Blazer:thumbsup:

[DIEHARD]

Going to be a good game
Guess we are going to have to wait for them to verse the donkeys tomorrow before we can get an actual opinion of their playing tactics

Blazer:thumbsup:

True, we should all be watching to take notes on the Raiders. See what is in store and to see if there is any suspensions or injuries.

CLICK HERE TO BUY YOUR TITANS vs RAIDERS MATCH TICKETS! (http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=TITANIND10&searchId=56ae02a3-7ee6-4c22-8b86-f14430fec354)

[titansrawesome]

ok i know we haven't gelled but i predict.........
Titans win 56-4!!!!!!!!!!!

[DIEHARD]

ok i know we haven't gelled but i predict.........
Titans win 56-4!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope so. We'll all be watching the weather hoping for a dry track to get the best out of our team. That home ground support will also urge them on.

So what happens to Zillman? He surely deserves a bench position. The good thing about Bird is if we get injuries he can back into the backrow. Giving us some more options.

[matti]

I still prefer presto 6 princey 7 zillman fullback

[DIEHARD]

I still prefer presto 6 princey 7 zillman fullback

Me too, it'll be fantastic to have him back this weekend. We missed his zip against South Sydney.

[titanstattman]

Me too, it'll be fantastic to have him back this weekend. We missed his zip against South Sydney.

Yeh but in saying that he didnt run the ball once agaist the warriors he past it off after each kick. i just hope he does run it this time cause he is great to watch

[matti]

thinking of moving up there to see more games !

[titansrawesome]

zillman looked like he got his speed back on friday

[DIEHARD]

thinking of moving up there to see more games !

Love to have you and your family up here. But it's still great to have you in Sydney. We need heaps of fans down south. I'll add you to the Southern Legion mailing list, if you aren't already on it.

If you ever come up for a home game, you can sit front row with The Legion. :thumbsup:

[Adelaide Titan]

Canberra arent an easy team to beat but i get that feelin that at skilled park in front of the Titans faithful, an due for a BIG win...that the Titans may cross the line 6-7 times and win by 20+

[DIEHARD]

Not much news coming out of Canberra in relation to the Titans, because they are taking on the Broncos in tonight's Monday night footy.

Make sure you all tune in if you get a chance, check out the enemy.

[AmericanTitan]

is Preston for sure back this week? The knee he took in the first week was pretty rough.

Zillman stepped up quite nicely though.

I think if Presto is back full strength you have to find a way to get both of them on the field at the same time.

[DIEHARD]

Preston will be back for sure.

Question is, where to for Zillman? We will find out when the teams get released on tomorrow. (Tuesday)

[patskE]

is Harrison alright? saw him getting injury on the weekend?
yeh i dnt know, i was all for bird at 6, but i rkn his best footy is at 13, and it helps the team out alot with zillman and presto

[daveyk]

we better gell and click together for this game... the way canberra are playing... it could be a danger game...

[Boofhead]

Almost hope that Ashley is rested so they can shuffle Greg into Lock and see what he can do from there.

[DIEHARD]

we better gell and click together for this game... the way canberra are playing... it could be a danger game...

Yea lucky we are playing at home.But we can't let a home game let us be complacent or think the Canberra Raiders will be an easy game. They could ambush us if we are not on high alert and continue our disjointed form of the previous two rounds.

[kwigibo]

we better gell and click together for this game... the way canberra are playing... it could be a danger game...

Nah, Canberra will win this one tonight with their open game, then get complacent and conservative with the football away from home next week and our boys will run rings around them. Assuming the backs get some football.

[DIEHARD]

Assuming the backs get some football.

We didn't see too much of them last week. Hope to see them feed more ball this Saturday.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

wtf brisbane making a comeback

[daveyk]

rogerw and gordon better be on their game with defence... vito looks electric running the ball back... i think he has gotten through more times then not.

[daveyk]

just when i say that he makes a mistake under the high ball

[Blazertaser]

I think brisbane should've gotten it tonight, canberra went all out to hard in the first half, and slacked off in the second
Last 5 minutes they finally clicked that the donkeys were on the move and 4 points, but they scored in the final second to secure the win
Will be a hard game next saturday if this is how there going to play, but we come back strong in the second half and dont give up :)
Come on boys, we can make it 3 in a row :D (If we have another ridiculous ref, the games a joke)

Blazer:thumbsup:

[teke]

I favour the Titans to do a job on the Raiders this week and my multibets will revolve around this thinking. I think the backs will look sharp and both wingers will see some space.

;)

[DIEHARD]

Below-par Prince still a matchwinner

HE may still be a little way off his sizzling best but skipper Scott Prince proved that even on an average night at the office he still has the skills to silence any team in the competition.

With the game against Souths hanging in the balance, it was the Titans star No.7 who stepped up and took the game by the throat.

First he produced a pinpoint grubber to give his side a repeat set in the dying minutes, before landing the crucial penalty goal to send the game to golden point.

Prince then won the toss to head into extra-time, guaranteeing the Titans possession, before slotting the match-winning field goal much to the delight of his Gold Coast teammates.

Prince's performance against Souths perfectly sums up the Titans so far this season.

They aren't yet playing the brand of footy for which they have become known but they are finding a way to get the job done.

"You are not going to play your best every week," said Cartwright.

Source: http://www.thelegion.com.au

[AmericanTitan]

I think the headline says it all. Below-par AND STILL WINNING!

Imagine when we hit our stride?

I am going to watch the Raiders/Broncos later on today but it sounds as though Canberra is playing pretty well.

I personally believe playing at home puts us over the top.

Scotty will bounce back and the Titans will reign supreme!

[karnage]

Canberra have been dealt a massive blow with the draw for this game. We had returned home, done our recovery and probably had a day off BEFORE they had even played.

We get an 8-day turnaround to their 5.

They will have recovery today (Tuesday) and then won't begin preparing for us until Wednesday at the earliest - and then will need to throw in travel into their preparation on probably Friday.

IF we can't do a job on the Raiders this week then we will never do a job on a team. They are rubbish away from home and will have an awful preparation for this.They are ripe for the picking.

[titanstattman]

Canberra have been dealt a massive blow with the draw for this game. We had returned home, done our recovery and probably had a day off BEFORE they had even played.

We get an 8-day turnaround to their 5.

They will have recovery today (Tuesday) and then won't begin preparing for us until Wednesday at the earliest - and then will need to throw in travel into their preparation on probably Friday.

IF we can't do a job on the Raiders this week then we will never do a job on a team. They are rubbish away from home and will have an awful preparation for this.They are ripe for the picking.



Nd not only that there are playing here at 8.30pm witch means its 9.30pm they time so they are going to be tired aswell

[DIEHARD]

Canberra Raiders: Josh Dugan, James Stuart, Jarrod Crocker, Joel Thompson, Daniel Vidot, Terry Campese, Josh McCrone, David Shillington, Alan Tongue (c), Scott Logan, Joe Picker, Bronson Harrison, Shaun Fensom.

Interchange: Travis Waddell, Trevor Thurling, Troy Thompson, Dane Tilse.

[DIEHARD]

Campbell back for Raiders clash

The Jetstar Gold Coast Titans will welcome back game breaker Preston Campbell for Saturday night’s Round 3 clash against Canberra at Skilled Park.

Campbell missed last weekend’s golden-point victory over Souths due to a headknock but has been named to return at fullback for the club’s second home game for 2010.

Utility back William Zillman, who performed strongly at fullback in Campbell’s absence, has kept his spot in the Jetstar Titans’ 17-man squad on the interchange bench.

The inclusion of Zillman sees interchange utility Riley Brown drop back to the Queensland Cup this weekend for feeder club Burleigh Bears.

The Jetstar Titans will be out to protect their unbeaten record against the Raiders at Skilled Park, having defeated Canberra on both occasions the two teams have met at the Gold Coast venue since 2008.

Please note: Main game kick-off is 8.30pm (QLD TIME).

The full NRL and NYC squads are listed below.

Titans v Raiders
8.30pm (QLD TIME)
Skilled Park
Saturday, March 27

1 Preston Campbell
2 Kevin Gordon
3 Mat Rogers
4 Joseph Tomane
5 David Mead
6 Greg Bird
7 Scott Prince ?
8 Luke Bailey
9 Nathan Friend
10 Brad Meyers
11 Anthony Laffranchi
12 Mark Minichiello
13 Ashley Harrison
Interchange
14 Matthew White
15 Sam Tagataese
16 Bodene Thompson
17 William Zillman
Coach John Cartwright


NYC Titans v NYC Raiders

1 Ryan Tongia
2 Guy Borgas
3 Sam Saville
4 Jamie Dowling
5 Matthew Hundy
6 Jordan Rankin
7 Rhys Jacks
8 Ronnie Alovili
9 Matthew Srama
10 Luke Page
11 Dominic Walsh
12 Ryan James ?
13 Kurt Foggo

Interchange
14 Josh Coyle
15 Chris Bloomfield
16 Leon Taylor
17 Brody Ollard

Coach Rod Patison

Source: http://www.titans.com.au

[Boofhead]

Speculation: Will Zillman come in for Campbell at some stage or will we see a reshuffle... (Campbell 5/8, Bird Lock)

[DIEHARD]

You gotta be happy with that team.

Happy to see Preston back. Great to see two favourites in Tags and Bodene in.

[Boofhead]

Referees: Ben Cummins & Chris James

Why do we always get Jefferies as ref? He is scrub...

[patskE]

is henderson injured? how long?

[timor 2]

is henderson injured? how long?

Hi Patske, i think hendo played for Tweed Head last weekend in the Q-Cup.

Cheers Sean

[titanstattman]

Why do we always get Jefferies as ref? He is scrub...

Its his little brother......:laugh: :thumbsup:

[Adelaide Titan]

fairly strong team to get the job done. the return of Campbell is a massive boost!

[DIEHARD]

Raiders unchanged for Titans

The CFMEU Canberra Raiders will remain unchanged this week, for Saturday?s match against the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park.

The Green Machine had a big win against the Broncos at Canberra Stadium last night, with James Stuart making a successful debut on the wing for Canberra.

Raiders Coach David Furner said he expected his team to be the same for the match against the Titans on Saturday, despite Stuart picking up a slight back injury against Brisbane.

?James Stuart has a bit of a back injury but he should be fine to take his place on Saturday,? Furner said. ?I was really happy with the way the team defended last night and we needed too after dropping plenty of ball and we?ll need to complete more sets if we?re to beat the Titans.?

Rookie winger Stuart said he enjoyed the chance to make his debut at home in front of his home town supporters and said although he was a bit sore he?d be fine by Saturday.

?To make my debut at home was amazing and I really want to thank all the fans for getting behind the team last night,? Stuart said. ?My back is a bit sore today but it should be fine by the weekend. There?s so much competition for spots at the moment I don?t want to miss any footy.?

Shaun Fensom was charged for a Grade one dangerous throw, but has escaped suspension by taking an early guilty plea.

CANBERRA RAIDERS V GOLD COAST TITANS
SATURDAY MARCH 27, 8.30PM (QUEENSLAND)
SKILLED PARK

NRL

1. JOSH DUGAN
2. JAMES STUART
3. JARROD CROKER
4. JOEL THOMPSON
5. DANIEL VIDOT
6. TERRY CAMPESE
7. JOSH McCRONE
8. DAVID SHILLINGTON
9. ALAN TONGUE (C)
10. SCOTT LOGAN
11. JOE PICKER
12. BRONSON HARRISON
13. SHAUN FENSOM

14. TRAVIS WADDELL
15. TREVOR THURLING
16. TROY THOMPSON
17. DANE TILSE

COACH: DAVID FURNER

Source: http://www.raiders.com.au

[Trent083]

Should be an interesting game though, won't be heading up from Lismore for this one, not after what happened last time with the crowd (don't mean to generalise for all of you, just not a fan of the place now).

I would'nt write us off yet, I think we showed only a glimpse of what we were capable of in that game, and decided to slack off for the rest of it.

Best of luck to you all in any event :)

[DIEHARD]

You are a Raiders fan Trent?

Sorry to hear if you had any bad experiences at any games at Skilled Park. I think by and large our crowds are well behaved and good sports. None of us true fans would cop bad behaviour.

[Trent083]

Yeah mate I am :)

Skilled really is an awesome place to watch footy, the atmosphere last time I was there was brilliant.

It was only a select few who gave me **** because I was proudly wearing my colours (Im not gonna crawl into a hole after a loss, lol) but they didn't like it when I asked em how many premierships you guys had, and decided to start heckling my disabled mother instead. In any event, like I said, it was only a select few, the majority of the fans ive spoken to at games have been great :)

[DIEHARD]

That sounds sick, never seen anything like that before.

If it wasn't for fans of other clubs coming out in force and colour our crowds wouldn't be anywhere near as good and the atmosphere wouldn't be anywhere near as good.

Usually its the hangers on and not the real fans and members who support their clubs rain, hail or shine that do stupid and anti social crap like this.

But I have to say Canberra are surprisingly highly represented in my social spheres. Pretty amazing really.

[titanstattman]

Yeah mate I am :)

Skilled really is an awesome place to watch footy, the atmosphere last time I was there was brilliant.

It was only a select few who gave me **** because I was proudly wearing my colours (Im not gonna crawl into a hole after a loss, lol) but they didn't like it when I asked em how many premierships you guys had, and decided to start heckling my disabled mother instead. In any event, like I said, it was only a select few, the majority of the fans ive spoken to at games have been great :)

Titans fan or no titans fan that is un-called for.

I would have to say they are not 100% real titans fans they only there to drink piss nd look for trouble...

Im glad it didnt happen in front of us....

[AmericanTitan]

for those of us who aren't completely knowledgable about NRL (ok, just me lol) who are Canberra's top players/players we should worry about as Titan fans?

[titansrawesome]

for those of us who aren't completely knowledgable about NRL (ok, just me lol) who are Canberra's top players/players we should worry about as Titan fans?

no one, none of them hold a candle to our 17.

[kwigibo]

for those of us who aren't completely knowledgable about NRL (ok, just me lol) who are Canberra's top players/players we should worry about as Titan fans?

Campese and Tongue run the side even though McCrone is the halfback, shut one of them down and they'll lose. The rest of the side is just really young guys and a few giant props. Dugan might be trouble at fullback.

[Ryan]

Campese and Tongue run the side even though McCrone is the halfback, shut one of them down and they'll lose. The rest of the side is just really young guys and a few giant props. Dugan might be trouble at fullback.
Add Joel Thompson to that list, he looked alright Monday night. If Rogers doesn't have his defense sorted this bloke will put a few over.

Campese
Tongue
Dugan
Thompson

[Coaster]

for those of us who aren't completely knowledgable about NRL (ok, just me lol) who are Canberra's top players/players we should worry about as Titan fans?


Canberra are a big team, and they get physical. They like to play fast and come straight at you!

Titans need to match there intensity for the first 20 min, after that we can run them around and get over them. When they get matched with physicality they start to get easily aggravated, and this is the key to beating Canberra, because they start to self destruct, giving away penalties, and using too much niggle and forgetting there basic game plan.

There main players to watch IMO is Campese and Dugan, both capable, but both have flaws. The idea with Campese is pretty straight forward, get in his face all night but refuse to get involved with his dirty tactics. Dugan is best suited to playing on the back of good offloads, so this means shut there forwards down, and he stays fairly quiet.

They are a young team, and a big crowd giving them hell will not suit them, plenty of abuse from the crowd at players like Campese will get him to try to much and make mistakes.

This is a game that the Legion will help win, i have flown back from Melbourne today, so i will be there to help our boys get home.

[daveyk]

Add Joel Thompson to that list, he looked alright Monday night. If Rogers doesn't have his defense sorted this bloke will put a few over.

Campese
Tongue
Dugan
Thompson

i would even add VIDOT to that.... he was a real stand out to me on monday night... everytime he got the ball he was either busting thru tackles or making line breaks.... rogers and gordon will have their work cut out for them if he plays like that on sat IMO

[Ryan]

i would even add VIDOT to that.... he was a real stand out to me on monday night... everytime he got the ball he was either busting thru tackles or making line breaks.... rogers and gordon will have their work cut out for them if he plays like that on sat IMO
Yeh, I was gonna add him cause he has alot of speed - but then again, so does Gordon.

[daveyk]

Yeh, I was gonna add him cause he has alot of speed - but then again, so does Gordon.

i didnt think he that much speed coz i think he got run down pretty quick... he just looks very explosive returning the ball. runs it strong and was getting thru

[titansrawesome]

well anyways i expect us to march over the top of them easily.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Titans v Raiders
Skilled Park
Saturday 8.30pm (Qld time)

Can the Gold Coast remain undefeated, or will the Raiders make it two Queensland scalps in succession?

Most would answer in the Titans’ favour as they gear up to take on Canberra, but one thing about the Raiders is their unpredictability – they can knock you off a pedestal if you’re not careful.

Sure, the Titans are near unbeatable at home and will take deserved favouritism into this match but Canberra will fancy themselves against a side whose two wins are masking obvious inadequacies.

A late home win against the Warriors and a golden point win over the Rabbitohs is hardly form to write home about; the Titans will need to show improvement to keep the win column growing while the loss column contains a duck egg.

They welcome back Preston Campbell at fullback with William Zillman moving to the bench against his former club and Riley Brown missing out.

The Raiders come off a gritty 22-14 win against the Broncos, a result that lifted them from last to 12th on the ladder.

They have kept the same side for the match with the only change being David Shillington named to start for Dane Tilse after they reversed roles last Monday night.

Shaun Fensom, the young tyro second-rower has escaped suspension with an early guilty plea and will keep his place in the side.

Watch out Titans: The Raiders are sending most of their traffic to the right side in attack, so the Gold Coast’s left-side defenders better be on their games.

Six of Canberra’s seven tries scored so far this season have been on the right side of the field and the Titans have conceded four of six tries in the same area. This will be enough of an invitation for David Furner to spend the week fine-tuning his side’s plays with a focus on the right edges.

Look for the edge-running Green Machine forwards to target the fringes on the right before getting a quick-play-the-ball to hit the ‘keep going’ into the corners.

They may also opt for the ‘double shift’ – that is, send the ball far left before turning around and going far right in successive tackles to have the defenders scrambling.

Watch out Raiders: The Titans plan to launch a bombing raid should they not breach the line before the last tackle.

In the opening two matches Canberra has only successfully defused one of eight bombs launched against them, for a dismal 14 per cent success rate. With a young and inexperienced back three, the Raiders are subject to targeting and both Scott Prince and Greg Bird have the ability to hoof the ball quite high.

Preston Campbell also has an impressive bomb in his bag of tricks. Sound the air raid alarm!

Where it will be won: Possession. There is no way the Raiders will be given the luxury afforded them by Brisbane last Monday. The Broncos had 59 per cent of the ball in the match but still found a way to lose.

If Prince and co are given the same amount of time with the ball, it will be good night nurse!

A 53 per cent completion rate this week will likely turn into a 20-point loss, so error-free football is called for.

So far in 2010 the Raiders have 31 errors while the Titans are only slightly better with 28 errors. Both coaches will be stressing the basic philosophy of completions and building pressure. It’s a ploy that has worked for the Melbourne Storm for four years and the Dragons are backing up last year’s minimal-error season with another – with great early success.

The Raiders will look to target the likes of Luke Bailey to force an error (he has a loose carry), while the Titans will put plenty of pressure on the Raiders’ young players in the heat of battle.

The History: Played 6; Titans 3, Raiders 3. The two teams have split results since the Gold Coast entered the competition – but all wins have come on home turf.

Canberra are yet to beat the Titans on the holiday strip, with the average score being 25-10.

Conclusion: It would take a brave person to tip against the Titans at home – but they haven’t looked impressive this year, despite notching two wins.

Countering that, they come up against a Raiders team who have been pretty dismal in both opening games, even though they managed to win one.

Take the easy way out and tick the Gold Coast on your form – at least you know you’ll be with the majority whatever the result.

Match officials: Referees – Ben Cummins & Chris James; Sideline Officials – Grant Atkins & Luke Phillips; Video Ref – Chris Ward.

Televised: Fox Sports – Delayed 9.30pm (AEDT).

[DIEHARD]

Cartwright: Don't forget club goals

GOLD Coast Titans coach John Cartwright has urged his side to remember the necessity of reaching internal club goals 'every week' if they are to perform up to expectations in the competition.

Cartwright believes Saturday's clash with the Canberra Raiders will be the perfect example.

Canberra defeated Brisbane on Monday night but the Titans will start raging favourites against the poor travelling Raiders and Cartwright is only too aware it's a low-profile club that has given his charges trouble.

"We seem to struggle a bit against them, especially down there, but up here we've had some close games against them," he said.

Cartwright said the physicality of Canberra was often difficult to contain, but admitted the Titans now laughed when questions were raised about its pack, particularly after wins over the Warriors and Souths.

"The players treat it as a joke now when people say our pack is under size and we can't compete with them," said Cartwright.

"They don't get any bigger than the Souths pack in size or in name and we got the better of them, I admire our boys, they work hard every week ... but it's got to be every week, if you slip up it's a loss."

The Titans and Raiders are 3-3 in all-time head-to-head results.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/03/24/201411_gold-coast-titans.html

[DIEHARD]

Cartwright: Don't forget club goals

GOLD Coast Titans coach John Cartwright has urged his side to remember the necessity of reaching internal club goals 'every week' if they are to perform up to expectations in the competition.

Cartwright believes Saturday's clash with the Canberra Raiders will be the perfect example.

Canberra defeated Brisbane on Monday night but the Titans will start raging favourites against the poor travelling Raiders and Cartwright is only too aware it's a low-profile club that has given his charges trouble.

"We seem to struggle a bit against them, especially down there, but up here we've had some close games against them," he said.

Cartwright said the physicality of Canberra was often difficult to contain, but admitted the Titans now laughed when questions were raised about its pack, particularly after wins over the Warriors and Souths.

"The players treat it as a joke now when people say our pack is under size and we can't compete with them," said Cartwright.

"They don't get any bigger than the Souths pack in size or in name and we got the better of them, I admire our boys, they work hard every week ... but it's got to be every week, if you slip up it's a loss."

The Titans and Raiders are 3-3 in all-time head-to-head results.

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2010/03/24/201411_gold-coast-titans.html

[DIEHARD]

Four hopefuls but Presto's still No.1

PRESTON Campbell knows there are four players in the Gold Coast Titans' squad who could wear his famed No.1 jumper and do it justice.

With a Dally M, a premiership and more than 200 games on his tiny shoulders, there is unquestionably no need to speculate as to whether Campbell still is the king of the fullback castle.

Campbell knows it, coach John Cartwright knows it and boss Michael Searle knows it.

Despite the resume, Campbell was still asked at yesterday's media conference whether he would be able to stave off William Zillman for his spot in the starting side.

In typical down-to-earth Campbell fashion he wasn't offended and didn't turn up his nose, replying 'not yet' when asked if he knew who would wear the No.1 jumper.

Such is the humility of the man, he then went and made a case for how talented the fullbacks in the Gold Coast squad are.

"Will put in a good performance last week," he said.

"We've got potentially four people that could play (fullback), there's young Shannon Walker, David Mead said he would play there and has put his hand up, really any one of us four would do the job there."

Campbell trained strongly yesterday but will still need a clearance from club doctors before taking on the Raiders.

"It's up to the doc, obviously I'll liaise with him," he said.

"I feel all right, a lot better than last week.

"I got through the session all right today, it's just a matter of monitoring what's going on now."

Cartwright said he was looking forward to getting Campbell back in the team, but conceded he would not be prepared to risk the club's inaugural signing if he was not 100 per cent fit to play.

Campbell still has the flair of a youngster, so much so that this may be his last season or he could possibly play until he is 40. The latter is very possible. He still loves the game and would play wherever Cartwright puts him.

"It was really painful watching the boys play last week, even though they won, I just don't like sitting at home watching them play on TV, so it'd be great to get back out there," he said.

That's how much Campbell loves the game, that's why he still has 'it'.

It is the reason that, doctors pending, Campbell will definitely wear the No.1 jersey against Canberra this Saturday night.

And that's why a class act like Zillman will have to bide his time a little longer.

Campbell is still one of four.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Titans proof size does not matter

UNLIKE many of the top Gold Coast Titans forwards, not many people stood above Sam Backo on the rugby league field.

But the former Maroons forward believes the Titans pack has little to worry about despite their small stature and claims they're not big enough to push for the title.

"It's not about their size, just have a look at the size of their hearts," said Backo, the 135-game star who played seven times for Queensland.

"People will always talk it up and say you have to be big, but you're talking about some class players there who never shirk any of the tough stuff and the season still has a long way to go but they have held off two of the biggest packs in the competition."

Opening their year with back-to-back wins over the Warriors and Souths, who boast arguably the competition's biggest pack, life gets no easier with the Titans drawn to face the Raiders, Cowboys, Storm and Dragons over the next month.

And when you have a pack, which based on the sides in their opening two encounters averages about 98kg per player, it could be a little daunting especially considering the Raiders pack named to start on Saturday night carried an extra 2kg per man, including monsters David Shillington (111kgs), Dane Tilse (112kg) and Scott Logan (108kg).

But not according to Backo and his former Broncos, Queensland and Australian teammate Gene Miles.

"See how they're going half way through the season," said Backo, of the Titans' rivals.

"When some of the big guys from other clubs, who we have heard so much about, when they are out of puff the Titans will still be running around strong."

Miles, who finished his career in the forward pack after more than a decade as a wide-running centre, said the Titans had something to be envied by their rivals


"When they say they're not big, well they may not be but geez they are durable," he said.

"You have guys like (Anthony) Laffranchi, (Ashley) Harrison and (Mark) Minichiello in the back-row and they can all play 80 minutes."

"That is something you cannot coach and I think as the season goes on that durability and the versatility of the guys around them ... could be one of their real strengths."

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[AmericanTitan]

thank you everyone for the scoop on the Raiders, I appreciate it. I finished up watching their game with Brisbane, and I must say, they looked pretty solid for a good portion except when the Broncos made that charge late.

I look forward to a good game.


It seems to me that the Titans have tons of depth that we can use to our advantage. I was talking to my friend a Manly fan who asked "So who lost their spot so Zillman could step in?" When I told him Riley Brown he said "Wow, Brown would make a lot of teams 17. That speaks highly about the Gold Coast." He is really loves NRL, so I took his word for it.


Hopefully this weekend goes well for us. GO TITANS!

[DIEHARD]

More giant tasks to help Croker become great: Campese

Jarrod Croker could be one of the greatest centres in Raiders' history, says teammate Terry Campese. Photo: Getty Images

In just 23 games Jarrod Croker has done enough to convince Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese he'll be remembered as one of the Green Machine's greatest centres.

Considering the Raiders have been blessed with the likes of Queensland great Mal Meninga and 300-gamer Jason Croker, it's some rap.

But it's one Campese reckoned the laid-back 19-year-old from Goulburn thoroughly deserved.

"He's going to be up there with the greatest centres the club's seen," Campese said ahead of Saturday night's round three clash with the Gold Coast Titans.

"He's still only a young bloke and has a lot to learn and he's already playing some great football for the club.

"He's got a level head on his shoulders and improving his game."

That's the key word improvement.

By his own admission Croker has started slow out of the blocks in 2010.

In last Monday's win over the Brisbane Broncos, Croker was given a stern working over defensively.

The second-year prodigy missed six tackles in all as the Broncos ran big bopper Sam Thaiday at him all night long.

"Big Sam Thaiday, he was tough to handle," Croker said.

"Every time he got near me he kept stepping on my toe.

"I don't think it was on purpose, but he's definitely tough to handle.

"He's got a good offload, hit and spin, so he was tough."

Croker's teammates have stood by him every step of the way, none more so than Campese. The former NSW playmaker made an astounding 42 tackles in the vital 24-16 victory over the Broncos while falling off just four.

Croker is yet to open his tryscoring account for the season, a hunger he's craving to satisfy this weekend."I haven't had a lot of ball really, I need to get more involved," he said."My defence has been sort of solid, but it's got room for improvement as well.

"Hopefully get some more ball and get some meat pies on board."

Every week Croker has faced a formidable direct opponent.

In the four games so far, two of which were pre-season trials, he's already given away size and strength to Jamal Idris, Michael Jennings and Israel Folau.

The task doesn't get any easier this week against a bulked-up Joseph Tomane.

Tipping the scales at an imposing 101kg, the Titans recruit often took two or three South Sydney defenders with him in an impressive display last Friday.

The pair had previously met in the National Youth Competition when Tomane was at the Storm.

"It's another big one, he's put on a lot of weight over the off-season," Croker said.

Meanwhile, former Queensland representative Adam Mogg was yesterday a step closer to rejoining the Raiders after the club confirmed he had been released from his contract with the Catalans Dragons.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner hoped to have the 32-year-old signed for the rest of the season by the end of the week.

The Raiders had extra reason to celebrate, with membership numbers passing the 6000-barrier for the first time.

That easily eclipses the previous best of 4815 set last year.

Canberra Times

[titansrawesome]

umm jarod croker won't be one of the best centres of all time unless he puts inglis and folou and tomane on their ****s.

[DIEHARD]

Titans v Raiders Preview
Skilled Park - Saturday 8.30pm (Qld time)

Can the Gold Coast remain undefeated, or will the Raiders make it two Queensland scalps in succession?

Most would answer in the Titans? favour as they gear up to take on Canberra, but one thing about the Raiders is their unpredictability ? they can knock you off a pedestal if you?re not careful.

Sure, the Titans are near unbeatable at home and will take deserved favouritism into this match but Canberra will fancy themselves against a side whose two wins are masking obvious inadequacies.

A late home win against the Warriors and a golden point win over the Rabbitohs is hardly form to write home about; the Titans will need to show improvement to keep the win column growing while the loss column contains a duck egg.

They welcome back Preston Campbell at fullback with William Zillman moving to the bench against his former club and Riley Brown missing out.

The Raiders come off a gritty 22-14 win against the Broncos, a result that lifted them from last to 12th on the ladder.

They have kept the same side for the match with the only change being David Shillington named to start for Dane Tilse after they reversed roles last Monday night.

Shaun Fensom, the young tyro second-rower has escaped suspension with an early guilty plea and will keep his place in the side.

Watch out Titans: The Raiders are sending most of their traffic to the right side in attack, so the Gold Coast?s left-side defenders better be on their games.

Six of Canberra?s seven tries scored so far this season have been on the right side of the field and the Titans have conceded four of six tries in the same area. This will be enough of an invitation for David Furner to spend the week fine-tuning his side?s plays with a focus on the right edges.

Look for the edge-running Green Machine forwards to target the fringes on the right before getting a quick-play-the-ball to hit the ?keep going? into the corners.

They may also opt for the ?double shift? ? that is, send the ball far left before turning around and going far right in successive tackles to have the defenders scrambling.

Watch out Raiders: The Titans plan to launch a bombing raid should they not breach the line before the last tackle.

In the opening two matches Canberra has only successfully defused one of eight bombs launched against them, for a dismal 14 per cent success rate. With a young and inexperienced back three, the Raiders are subject to targeting and both Scott Prince and Greg Bird have the ability to hoof the ball quite high.

Preston Campbell also has an impressive bomb in his bag of tricks. Sound the air raid alarm!

Where it will be won: Possession. There is no way the Raiders will be given the luxury afforded them by Brisbane last Monday. The Broncos had 59 per cent of the ball in the match but still found a way to lose.

If Prince and co are given the same amount of time with the ball, it will be good night nurse!

A 53 per cent completion rate this week will likely turn into a 20-point loss, so error-free football is called for.

So far in 2010 the Raiders have 31 errors while the Titans are only slightly better with 28 errors. Both coaches will be stressing the basic philosophy of completions and building pressure. It?s a ploy that has worked for the Melbourne Storm for four years and the Dragons are backing up last year?s minimal-error season with another ? with great early success.

The Raiders will look to target the likes of Luke Bailey to force an error (he has a loose carry), while the Titans will put plenty of pressure on the Raiders? young players in the heat of battle.

The History: Played 6; Titans 3, Raiders 3. The two teams have split results since the Gold Coast entered the competition ? but all wins have come on home turf.

Canberra are yet to beat the Titans on the holiday strip, with the average score being 25-10.

Conclusion: It would take a brave person to tip against the Titans at home ? but they haven?t looked impressive this year, despite notching two wins.

Countering that, they come up against a Raiders team who have been pretty dismal in both opening games, even though they managed to win one.

Take the easy way out and tick the Gold Coast on your form ? at least you know you?ll be with the majority whatever the result.

Match officials: Referees ? Ben Cummins & Chris James; Sideline Officials ? Grant Atkins & Luke Phillips; Video Ref ? Chris Ward.

Televised: Fox Sports ? Delayed 9.30pm (AEDT).

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[DIEHARD]

Titans want 80 minute effort against Raiders
Adam Gardini

Jetstar Gold Coast Titans centre Mat Rogers has called on his side to replace ?patchy? football with a sustained 80 minute effort in Saturday night?s clash against Canberra at Skilled Park.

The Jetstar Titans have scored two narrow wins over Souths and the Warriors to open their account for 2010 despite not playing at their best during the first two rounds.

However, Rogers said his side could not afford to keep playing patchy football and would have to produce an 80 minute effort if they wanted to keep their unbeaten record in-tact to start 2010 against a dangerous Raiders outfit.

?It?s not about doing it for the first 20 minutes, it?s about doing it for the whole 80,?? said Rogers.

?You can?t play patchy football and expect to win. We?ve got away with a couple but we know if we continue to play like that we?re not going to figure too much when the whips are cracking.

?We know what we need to do ? we?re not going to go out there and play for 20 minutes and hope that?s enough. We?ve just got to do it for the entire game.??

The Raiders head into the match full of confidence having scored a 22-14 win over the Brisbane Broncos last Monday night.

Rogers said with Canberra halfback Josh McCrone and fullback Josh Dugan firing on all cylinders, the Titans would have to be on their guard against the visitors.

?Canberra played really well on Monday night. They can do anything with the ball and can beat anyone on their night,?? he said.

?I think they?re confident, they had a good win last week and they?re going to want to prove all the pundits wrong about their away record and I think it?s going to be a real tight match.''

Rogers will again line-up in the centres against the Raiders and the dual-international said he was determined to atone for what he described as a below par defensive effort against the Rabbitohs last weekend.

?I was pretty ordinary last week but we?ll get it right this week,?? he said.

?Just some basic fundamental errors on my behalf is what let a couple of tries in last week so I?m definitely looking to make amends on that.

?I just missed a couple of tackles last week ? if I make those tackles we win comfortably.??

Rogers? partner in crime in the Titans? three-quarter line Joseph Tomane has been quick to make an impact at his new club, with two tries in as many games including a man-of-the-match performance against the Rabbitohs.

Veteran Rogers said 20-year-old Tomane had the potential ?to be anything?.

?He?s a big boy, he?s 108kg, and he can move like the best of them that I?ve seen ? his footwork is pretty special,?? he said.

?Doing some opposed stuff with him at training it certainly keeps you on your toes.

?He?s just an exciting player of the future I think. I know Melbourne would have been very disappointed to lose him but we?ve got him and he?s doing some great things at the minute.??

http://www.titans.com.au/

[quinn loves titans]

OMG TOMANE IS AWESOME GONNA CHANGE MY SIGNITURE TO MAKE IT TO TOMANE

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

so your ditching gordon now....good on ya.....

[Tamwelg]

OMG TOMANE IS AWESOME GONNA CHANGE MY SIGNITURE TO MAKE IT TO TOMANE

Haha yeah, I've been looking for a decent photo to play around with a Tomane Sig, but I'm not ready to drop my friend sig.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Gotta wake up at 5.15am to get ready to catch a bus to the airport at 6:00am plane leaves at 8:45am arrives at golld coast 9:10am get to hotel 10:00am...Sleep till 4pm head to skilled park for gates at 6:00 Watch The titans smack the crap out of the nations capital canberra raiders......See you all there

[DIEHARD]

Return of the cavalry: Learoyd-Lahrs, Mogg, Milne back on Raiders' radar

At full-flight Tom Learoyd-Lahrs is one of the most damaging edge runners in the NRL. But the bullocking Canberra back-rower is unlikely to show that against the Gold Coast tonight, with coach David Furner leaning towards easing him back via the Queensland Cup.

Learoyd-Lahrs brushed off concerns about his injured left knee to participate in the Raiders' captain's run yesterday before travelling with his teammates.

But while Furner admitted Learoyd-Lahrs would be a handy addition, he said the NSW forward probably wasn't quite ready to return.

''He still hasn't had a full week of training,'' Furner said. ''He might be someone that needs a little bit of game time and a bit of confidence.

''He might get a little bit of game time for Souths Logan, they play on the Sunday. It's been a bit stop-start for him at the start of the year and Tommy is someone that needs to be on the field. He's such a powerful player that he needs game time to improve.''

If Learoyd-Lahrs plays he won't start the match. Joe Picker and Bronson Harrison trained in the back row yesterday after putting in solid performances during Monday's defeat of Brisbane.

Both will need to be at their best against the Titans' mobile forward unit, which took care of South Sydney's heavyweight pack last week.

''They mightn't have the size that we have, but they countered that last week against Souths,'' Furner said. ''They're very dangerous around the ball and very aggressive in defence.''

The Raiders have lost all three of their games on the Gold Coast since the Titans joined the NRL in 2007.

Furner said his team's completion rate would need to be much higher than the abysmal 54 per cent it dished up against the Broncos.

Meanwhile, former Queensland winger Adam Mogg will rejoin the Raiders on Monday, a day after fellow outside back David Milne returns to the field after nine months out.

The return of the experienced duo will give Furner a welcomed selection headache after his back line had been rocked by injuries to star duo Joel Monaghan and Justin Carney.

Mogg has finally gained a release from French club Catalans.

Raiders chief executive Don Furner said the addition of Mogg was a welcome boost to a back line high on talent but low on experience.

The 32-year-old played 81 games for the Raiders between 2003 and 2006 before linking with Catalans.

He scored three tries in two appearances for Queensland in 2006.

''He spent a lot of time here before, he knows a lot of the guys, he's a professional and he's very experienced,'' Furner said.

''We lost him as a State of Origin player and we did not want to lose him. He went for the lifestyle and probably a better financial package over there. He's had that, he's had two children over there and he thinks Canberra is a great place to bring up kids so he is happy to move back here.''

The Raiders have only signed Mogg until the end of the season. He provides ideal cover for Monaghan, whose broken thumb will keep him out until at least round 10, and Carney, who is sidelined indefinitely as he attempts to recover from the badly broken leg he suffered last year.

Furner said the Raiders would be open to extending Mogg's stay providing he produced.

''If he is keen and he plays well I'm sure Dave will sit down and have a chat to him about another year,'' he said.

''But that will be up to him. For now he's just happy to get back to Australia, but [extending his contract] is definitely a possibility.''

Milne has overcome a chronic groin injury that had prevented him from playing since last June.

The 24-year-old will line up at fullback for Souths Logan tomorrow and is hopeful he can force his way back into the Raiders' top side.

Milne has played the majority of his 45 NRL games at fullback, but with Josh Dugan a permanent fixture in the Raiders' No.1 jersey his best chance of returning to the team is on the wing.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/

[DIEHARD]

Titans threatened by 'freakish' Raiders

Gold Coast have dismissed their hot favourites tag, labelling Saturday night's youthful rivals Canberra a team with some freakish attacking players.

Canberra overcame an ordinary completion rate to outplay Brisbane 22-14 on Monday night and veteran centre Mat Rogers and coach John Cartwright both believe they are a side capable of beating anyone on their day.

Even with inspirational Preston Campbell returning from a head knock, Rogers said the Raiders, who have never won at Skilled Park, pose a genuine threat to the Titans' unbeaten start to 2010.

Rogers is wary of players like lightning quick 19-year-old fullback Josh Dugan, halfback Josh McCrone, utility Joel Thompson and Kiwi international Bronson Harrison, running off creative five-eighth David Campese.

"Canberra can do anything with the ball, they can beat anyone on their night, we know that," said Rogers.

"I see we're red hot favourites, but we don't feel like that.

"The likes of Campese and Thompson on my edge, (Bronson) Harrison, they're just playing some really great football.

"Campo is a freak of a player, he can do anything.

"McCrone is a great young halfback, they've got a number of players that can do anything, including their young fullback Dugan, he's a great talent.

"They're playing with a youthful exuberance and that can be as dangerous as anybody."

Rogers, who scored the match-winning try in the corresponding fixture at Skilled Park last year, bagged himself for fundamental errors that let in a few tries against Souths last weekend in the Titans' 19-18 win.

"I was pretty ordinary (defensively) last week," said the dual international.

"I let a couple of tries in last week and I'm definitely looking to make amends for that.

"If I make those tackles, we win the game comfortably."

Rogers said it would be great having Campbell back on deck against the dangerous Raiders.

"He's super, he's been bouncing around at training all week," he said of the livewire fullback.

"We're all looking forward to having him back out on the field, he's just such an inspiration for all of us."

Cartwright said his side couldn't afford to drop off in any department against the Raiders.

"We're not a side who can drop the ball in any area, we're a team of grafters and whenever we don't do the little things well, we struggle no matter who we play," he said.

He also said too much was being expected of halfback Scott Prince every week.

"Prance is probably someone we expect too much from," he said.

"Everyone compares him to (Johnathan) Thurston but he's a totally different player to Thurston.

"We play with a bit more structure and if that structure's not there we look to him and say why?

"He's got a lot of pressure on his shoulders."

http://www.news.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Harrison says control the answer for Raiders

Raiders back rower Bronson Harrison says ball control is the key to securing a win against the Titans, when they take them on at Skilled Park on Saturday night.

After a sloppy second half against the Broncos on Monday night the Raiders will be looking to make sure they complete more sets with the ball this week and get themselves into better attacking position.

Harrison said the Titans have yet to play their best footy this season and expects a tough contest, but said the Raiders will be up to the challenge.

“They’ve got a very good team and they’ve been winning games without playing at their best and if they put it together it will be a tough game, but we’re confident and it should be a good game.”

The Raiders will be looking to get themselves more opportunity with the ball in hand against the Titans and Harrison said ball control and the short turn around from Monday will present the biggest challenges.

“We need to work on our ball control, last week against the Broncos we made 100 more tackles than them and it can hurt you when you’re trying to conserve energy for attack,” he said. “Everyone’s fine though from Monday, there are a few bumps and bruises but we’ll get through it and hopefully we’ll be able to win.”

The Green Machine looked at their best against the Broncos when they threw the ball around early in the contest and Harrison said he expects more of the same if the Raiders big men lay the same platform they have been.

“Our big forwards in the middle have done the job for us in the first two games and that allows us to get some second phase play and create some space out wide,” he said. “Hopefully we can hold the ball and complete our sets and that can see us get some better chances with the ball.”

http://www.raiders.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Titans out to get Campese in clash

Gold Coast captain Scott Prince believes shutting down the multi-faceted game of Raiders five-eighth Terry Campese will go a long way to the Titans recording their third-straight win of the NRL season tomorrow night.

The Raiders are out to claim their second win of the season and first at Skilled Park, but it will be a tough task against the undefeated Titans.

Prince looms as the danger man for the Raiders, after he slotted the winning field goal during the Titans' 19-18 golden-point extra-time victory against South Sydney last week.

The crafty halfback said his team was wary of the attacking influence of Campese, who he roomed with during Australia's 2008 World Cup campaign. Prince said the Titans couldn't afford to ''play [Campese] into form''.

''Campo is a danger man in any team and especially for the Raiders,'' Prince said.

''He's playing reasonably confident at the moment and we just don't want to play him into form.

''He's a big guy, he's hard to handle, he can throw a long pass and he's got a very good kicking game as well.

''I think our back three is going to have to be on their toes, hopefully stopping some 40/20s, which I know Campo loves having a crack at.

''Even in our defensive line, he's big enough that we're going to have to be on our toes to stop him because he's over 100kg.''

Campese has had a solid start to the season.

He made an impressive 42 tackles during Monday night's tough 22-14 win against the Brisbane Broncos.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/

[quinn loves titans]

nup not ditching gordon hes still my favourite but ....
ok im gonna make a song for the best player of the round

[DIEHARD]

Titans must stop trend of slow starts

DUAL international Mat Rogers believes it is crucial the Gold Coast Titans stem the flow of slow starts if they are to pose any genuine threat to the 2010 premiership.

In a worrying trend, the Gold Coast have picked up where they left off at the end of last season by being forced to play catch-up footy to win matches after struggling to find points early.

In each of the final six games last season, including playoff matches against the Broncos and Eels, the Titans trailed after the first 20 minutes.

It was the same against the Warriors in Round 1 a fortnight ago. Last week against Souths, the Bunnies burst out of the blocks with the opening try nine minutes in before the Titans hit back to level by quarter-time.

The Titans were lucky a bit of Preston Campbell magic got them out of jail in the last 10 minutes of the clash with New Zealand, while they had to rely on a field goal in extra-time to beat the Rabbitohs.

"You can't play patchy football and expect to win," said Rogers.

"We have got away with a couple. But we know if we continue to play like that, we are not going to figure too much when the whips are cracking.

"Every team wants to get away to a good start, you want to get ahead on the scoreboard and play consistent football for the entire game. But sometimes it doesn't happen. Mistakes happen.

"But we are not overly concerned. It is not panic stations at the moment."

Of the 26 games they played last season, the Titans were in front or level after the opening 20 minutes just 10 times.

By contrast, premiers Melbourne were level or led after the first 20 minutes in 21 of 27 games.

"We know what we need to do to win," said Rogers.

"The football comes pretty naturally to guys like Princey, Birdy and Presto.

"The football is there, we don't really have to think too much about that. Defence and fundamentals are the key for us."

Unbeaten this season and hunting their third straight win against the Raiders at Robina tonight, Titans coach John Cartwright was not overly concerned by his side's start to their campaign.

"If a couple of balls stick last week and we go 20 points in front, we are probably all going to be talking about how good we are playing," he said.

"But you turn a ball over at a crucial time and get a guy sin binned and they come back into the game, and (critics) say we are not playing that well.

"Form is a week-to-week thing -- as long as your attitude is good and your defensive line is good and you are doing the little things well, I am sure form is a by-product of that."

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Titans plan bomb blitz

THE Gold Coast Titans are planning an aerial ambush against the Raiders as they aim to bomb the Green Machine's rookie back three into oblivion at Skilled Park tonight.

Statistics obtained by The Bulletin show Canberra have managed to defuse just one of the eight bombs fired at their line in the opening two rounds of the 2010 season.

The reconnaissance has not gone unnoticed by Gold Coast coach John Cartwright, who yesterday hinted Canberra's 19-year-old fullback Josh Dugan, 21-year-old winger James Stuart and 20-year-old fellow flyer Daniel Vidot could be in for a rough night.

Asked if the inexperienced Raiders -- who boast just 25 NRL games between them -- should expect to be tested, Cartwright replied: "You want the rest of the game plan too? We have done our homework on the Raiders and like anyone else they will get attacked where we think we can get most benefit."

The Titans are not known for regularly going to the air to score tries and have somewhat shelved the practice since jumping winger Jordan Rapana left to serve his Mormon mission last season.

But with the addition of new recruit Greg Bird -- who has a mean-looking spiral bomb in his ****nal -- and with young wingers Kevin Gordon and David Mead now finding their feet in first grade, the tactic looks set to be revived.

While the composure of the Raiders' back three under the high ball has been exposed as a weakness, Titans centre Mat Rogers believes the dynamic young trio also present their share of challenges.

"They are playing with that youthful exuberance," said Rogers.

"They are fearless and they can be as dangerous as anybody.

"I don't think they are a weakness at all to be honest.

"They are going to rely on those guys to get out of trouble and get on the front foot. We are going to have our hands full, there is no doubt about it."

Rogers found himself a target of the Rabbitohs last week, missing six tackles on his left side of the defensive line. He is expecting Canberra to direct much of their traffic towards his edge but warned the Raiders he would be prepared.

"Some basic fundamental errors on my behalf let a couple of tries in last week, so I am definitely looking to make amends for that," said Rogers.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast 'grafters' could miscue: Cartwright

Punters' favourites Gold Coast are only a couple of miscues away from their first defeat of the season when the Canberra Raiders visit Skilled Park tonight, says Titans coach John Cartwright.

The home team was yesterday a $1.35 favourite to send the southerners home empty handed but Cartwright said the Titans were paying the Raiders more respect than the punters were.

"It's nice to know that people think that of us, but we're not a side that can drop the ball in any area,'' he said.

"We're a team of grafters. We work hard and do the little things well. Whenever we don't do that, we struggle no matter who we play.

"So that's something we've just got to keep ramming home. Sometimes you get a reminder of that. (We got) a little reminder of that in patches last week (against the Rabbitohs). We've got to try to limit the amount of times that happens.''

Among the guilty last week was centre Mat Rogers, whose defensive lapses cost the Titans two tries and led to an overtime thriller, which the Titans eventually won on a Scott Prince field goal.

After training yesterday, Rogers put his hand up and said he was keen to atone for the errors, but he conceded the energetic Raiders would not make life easy for him tonight.

"I was pretty ordinary,'' he said. "Just basic, fundamental errors on my behalf was what let a couple of tries in last week.

"I'm looking to make amends on that. I know that centre runs a great line and with (Bronson) Harrison down our edge as well we're going to have our hands full.

"I just missed a couple of tackles last week and if I make those we win the game comfortably.''

The Titans will welcome back fullback Preston Campbell, who sat out last week's game after suffering a head knock in the season opener against the Warriors.

Campbell's inclusion gives the Titans another option in attack and the Gold Coast could need all the firepower they can muster.

Fuelled by youth and a victory over the Brisbane Broncos on Monday night, the Raiders, led by five-eighth Terry Campese, could fancy themselves in a potential gunfight at Robina.

And Rogers said the confidence of youth made playmakers like halfback Josh McCrone and fullback Josh Dugan particularly dangerous.

"They're fearless. They can be as dangerous as anybody,'' he said.

"I don't think (youth) is a weakness at all. I think it's a strength because they are going to rely on those guys to get on the front foot and we are going to have our hands full, there's no doubt about it. They're confident, they had a good win last week.

"(McCrone) is a great young halfback. He's confident. A couple of tries last week, so he's going to bounce into this game full of energy and enthusiasm.

"They've got a number of players that can do anything. Their fullback Dugan, he's a great talent as well, so we have to keep our eyes on a lot of players.''

Cartwright said speculation homesick Coast native Ben Hannant could come to the Titans as part of a player swap was "typical of blowing something out of proportion.''

The coach didn't rule out the Bulldogs forward joining the Titans next year, but said a mid-season move was out of the question.

"If the man does a deal with us next year, that's next year,'' he said. "Player swaps and all that sort of rubbish are not going to happen.''

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/

[Boonarga]

Wow! 25 in and the boys are playing awesome.

[titansrawesome]

i almost want the titans to lose, are they brain damaged give it to TOMANE

[titansrawesome]

mead should have passed it, titans dont know how to use the backline, its getting ridiculous

[patskE]

mead is fast and stuff, but lacks that footy brain i rkn, look at gordon's try. he jsut did an simple in and away allowing him to score, where as mead just gunned it and went for it... all he needed to do was stand him up for a sec and he had him, but yeh, should of passed

[titansrawesome]

wasn't impressed again tonight, bird to lock for next game and more ball to backs especially tomane with 3 tries in 3 games.

[Boonarga]

Why was Sam off for so long? He was brilliant.

[Coaster]

Jesus you mob are hard to please, how bout you fork out your hard earned cash and get to the game before bagging a performance like that

[DIEHARD]

Just got home at 12:05am Sunday. Well happy with how the boys played, vast improvement. Also alot of things didnt fall our way. And hopefully we can rub out those mistakes and we will improve further.

Shame we let that try in but we showed tremendous defence throughout the match. I havent seen a replay but didnt believe they deserved the new set of 6 on which they scored.

I banked the points from Mead's break. Well done to Duggan for running him down, next time look for support.

[amaline]

Jesus you mob are hard to please, how bout you fork out your hard earned cash and get to the game before bagging a performance like that

Just thinking the exact same thing!!

[teke]

mead is fast and stuff, but lacks that footy brain i rkn, look at gordon's try. he jsut did an simple in and away allowing him to score, where as mead just gunned it and went for it... all he needed to do was stand him up for a sec and he had him, but yeh, should of passedLook at Gordons try compared to meads? 20 mtrs compared to length of the field. Mead did the absolute right thing gunning it, he had him for pace easy and was only just cut down. He looked around and by the time Prince would have got there it would have been way too late. Watch the reply and you will see. Rogers has told Mead that if he gets into space to gun it and back himself.

Titans are on song for a great year, it is evident that team work is coming together nicely.

[DIEHARD]

Also this was the first time in our club's history we have started the season THREE WINS IN A ROW. :clap: :clap:

[teke]

Also this was the first time in our club's history we have started the season THREE WINS IN A ROW. :clap: :clap:Minor Premiers :thumbsup:

[DIEHARD]

Yea Teke, you can't really blame a winger for backing himself and pinning his ears back. More often than not we complain that they don't. Luck will go Mead's way next time. It was unfortunate.

[DIEHARD]

Titans make it perfect three against Raiders
Mitchell Craig & Adam Gardini

The Jestar Gold Coast Titans have made it three wins on the trot by defeating the Canberra Raiders in a grinding 24-4 victory in front of a crowd of 11,521 at Skilled Park this evening.

In a match that was as scrappy as it was entertaining at times, the Jetstar Titans led 24-nil before a late try to Canberra took some of the gloss off the result.

The win keeps the Jetstar Titans up the top of the NRL after three rounds of the competition ahead of next week's Queensland derby against North Queensland in Townsville.

Outside backs Joseph Tomane, Kevin Gordon and David Mead were all rewarded with tries while some strong individual efforts by Greg Bird and Nathan Friend late in the second half helped the Jetstar Titans over the line.

“We weren’t as clinical in attack as we’d like to be but defensively we were very good,” said Titans coach John Cartwright.

“A couple of things didn’t go our way but we competed all night.

“We played better with the ball and in all the little areas of the game that the boys pride themselves in which was good.”

Jetstar Titans captain Scott Prince said the intensity of the performance was the key for the Gold Coast.

“We had a good week at training with minimal drop ball,” said Prince.

“There was a bit of drop ball tonight but the intensity was there which was pleasing.

“We got a lot repeat sets and broke the Raiders down to the point where it was just a matter of them running out of juice late in the second half.”

The Titans showed some glimpsed of their usual attacking flare as flamboyant wingers Gordon and Mead scored a try a piece within minutes of each other.

The first came from a clever Nathan Friend penalty tap that got the Titans in ideal field position as two plays later a sneaky short side play saw second rower Mark Minichiello throw a beautiful pass to Gordon to score in the corner.

The free flowing style of attack continued as Mead found himself in the perfect position taking a pop pass from Tomane just minutes later to further the Titans lead.

The Raiders got into the contest too late as winger Daniel Vidot scored conciliation try in the corner in the final moments of play.

Earlier the Titans opened their account through a Scott Prince penalty kick in the 6th minute giving the Titans a 2-0 lead.

They did well in the opening exchanges as lock Ashley Harrison was a late withdrawal with a back injury in the warm up.

His replacement had an immediate impact as big Sam Tagataese led well up front with some enterprising carries and solid defence.

The Titans were dynamic in attack for the opening 20 minutes with a try coming from some good go forward and slick ball skills as Prince crashed over.

He converted his own try giving the Titans an 8-0 lead, in the 19th minute.

The Titans eventually muscled up as a brilliant cut out pass from five-eighth Greg Bird saw centre Joseph Tomane score a try out wide, with Prince converting to extend the lead to 14-0, in the 58th minute.

Gold Coast Titans 24(S Prince, J Tomane, K Gordon, D Mead tries; Prince 4 goals) defeated the Canberra Raiders 4 (D Vidot try)

Source: http://www.titans.com.au

[shamus]

Look at Gordons try compared to meads? 20 mtrs compared to length of the field. Mead did the absolute right thing gunning it, he had him for pace easy and was only just cut down. He looked around and by the time Prince would have got there it would have been way too late. Watch the reply and you will see. Rogers has told Mead that if he gets into space to gun it and back himself.

Titans are on song for a great year, it is evident that team work is coming together nicely.

Sorry to disagree, Mead could have passed it. He should have headed down the middle and drew the raiders fullback. Prince was there. It happened in front of me. Even heading toward the sideline he could have thrown it inside to Prince. But I ain't bagging the guy, he thought he could beat the fullback and he was wrong. Sh1t happens...On another note, I thought we played the best 40 minutes I have seen for a long time (first 30 anyways)..Very very entertaining.

I do agree about us being on song for a great year. Some stuff was gelling out there for sure and can only get better.

[DIEHARD]

He was well supported, would have been a certain try. Hopefully David will next time because he is going to get a stack more opportunities. But I have to admit, I backed him and didn't think Dugan would pursue him with such speed and vigor. A big play.

[teke]

Yea Teke, you can't really blame a winger for backing himself and pinning his ears back. More often than not we complain that they don't. Luck will go Mead's way next time. It was unfortunate.As soon as we saw him into gap our house went crazy. Big crowds want sizzling stuff. Jennings, Inglis, Matty Bowen and our wingers to name a few bring the crowds to their feet when they touch the ball. Kevvy and Divvy should always back themselves.

[teke]

Sorry to disagree, Mead could have passed it. He should have headed down the middle and drew the raiders fullback. Prince was there. It happened in front of me. Even heading toward the sideline he could have thrown it inside to Prince. But I ain't bagging the guy, he thought he could beat the fullback and he was wrong. Sh1t happens...On another note, I thought we played the best 40 minutes I have seen for a long time (first 30 anyways)..Very very entertaining.

I do agree about us being on song for a great year. Some stuff was gelling out there for sure and can only get better.Yeah I know you aint bagging him. The whole passage of play was great.

[TITAN PETE]

wasn't impressed again tonight, bird to lock for next game and more ball to backs especially tomane with 3 tries in 3 games.

In your dreams.... he is just starting to click with Prince & the backs give him a few more games & they'll be classed as the best halves combo in the NRL ;)

Watch the game again & u will see Taga put in the clear off a great pass from Bird & Tomane scored of a Bird cutout pass ... not really a locks play :D

I'll give Mathews a bit of a rap too , last year i thought he was no where near a 1st grader but this season he looks right at home :thumbsup:

[Coaster]

I'll give Mathews a bit of a rap too , last year i thought he was no where near a 1st grader but this season he looks right at home :thumbsup:

Agree totally Mathews was great for us, some of the stuff he did off the ball will go unnoticed to many, but the coach sure as hell wont miss it, good stuff :thumbsup:

[helcam4]

Jesus you mob are hard to please, how bout you fork out your hard earned cash and get to the game before bagging a performance like that
here here , i`m getting sick of all these armchair critics that u never see at a game,get of ur ****s and get to the game and scream and shout and support the boys.

[kwigibo]

Agree totally Mathews was great for us, some of the stuff he did off the ball will go unnoticed to many, but the coach sure as hell wont miss it, good stuff :thumbsup:

He did some good cover defence too, people forget how quick he is. I recall him going length of the field to score in the u20's, against Newcastle I believe.

[Trent083]

Can't say im really suprised by that result to be honest...I thought we might have been in with a shot after that first half, but....lol, man it's going to be a long season for us.

Well done guys :)

[daveyk]

i am very suprised by the result.. i should've been MUCH MUCH more

[titansrawesome]

here here , i`m getting sick of all these armchair critics that u never see at a game,get of ur ****s and get to the game and scream and shout and support the boys.

well unfortunately i can't get to EVERY game and i have a HD tv, i will however try to get to the storm,broncos and roosters games this year.

[teke]

Meyers had a massive game, made almost 180mtrs going forward.

[Tamwelg]

Jesus you mob are hard to please, how bout you fork out your hard earned cash and get to the game before bagging a performance like that

Like the other I agree.


Rogers has told Mead that if he gets into space to gun it and back himself.

And good on him for giving it a crack. I always love to see wingers back themselves even if it doesn't work out every time. I thought he was round him there for a second. It was very close.


Kevvy and Divvy should always back themselves.

Agreed


In your dreams.... he is just starting to click with Prince & the backs give him a few more games & they'll be classed as the best halves combo in the NRL ;)

Watch the game again & u will see Taga put in the clear off a great pass from Bird & Tomane scored of a Bird cutout pass ... not really a locks play :D


I thought Bird was awesome as well and is starting to warm into the 5/8 spot at the Titans quite nicely.

[quinn loves titans]

ill give him 2 games to see where bird will play hes looking better but
next against cowboys their coming off big loss so theyll have somthing to prove but titans have a little more with a great team starting to gel and a time for revenge from big preseason loss and especially our home game loss to them will be big inspiration i can see us coming from behind to win in a close one

[quinn loves titans]

and bailey wont get pulled up
1. he didnt make contact
2. he obviously fell over
3. and i paid the judiacary

[teke]

I can tell you guys that Taga will most probably throughout the season like he was against the Raiders. He is not the fittest guy in the team but what he does is cause major headaches in defence and attack in short explosive periods.

If you get to see the Titans/Rabbits game again you can clearly see him hunting Burgess down wanting to put on a massive shot :laugh: :laugh:

Last night was the same, he went out there to destroy blokes and it was working. What a beast. Some teammates call him avatar :laugh: :laugh:

[DIEHARD]

From what I remember I thought Meyers had a blinder and yea I thought Bird had a good one too. Still gotta see a replay.

We should have piled on more points with all the pressure we were putting on in the first half. But we are definitely getting better.

[Coaster]

We won the game in the first 20 min

and we scored the points in the last 20

There was nothing wrong IMO with how we won that game, Canberra defended well, but it was what we did in that first 20min that won the game.

[titansrawesome]

i feel just our attack sucks, last year we were scoring trys out from anywhere and anywhere, now prince can't even get it out their, BTW i didnt know tomane could leap like folou he must have learned it from him in melbourne and from slater and inglis.

[Ryan]

i feel just our attack sucks, last year we were scoring trys out from anywhere and anywhere, now prince can't even get it out their, BTW i didnt know tomane could leap like folou he must have learned it from him in melbourne and from slater and inglis.

What makes you say that> I don't understand????

Our backs got plenty of ball last night. Our wingers made about 130mts each off 12 & 17 receives. Our centers got 10 tackle breaks and 2 try assists. Not to mention all of our tries came from......................... drumroll...................... OUR BACKS!

We won that game well. Our forwards absolutely rolled them, our defenders bashed the crap out of them and our fancy men put the points on the board. The team looks very balanced, each player improving on their own roles each game and are all coming together nicely as a team. Nothing to complain about, nothing and nobody needs changing!

[TITAN PETE]

We won the game in the first 20 min

and we scored the points in the last 20

There was nothing wrong IMO with how we won that game, Canberra defended well, but it was what we did in that first 20min that won the game.

I thought the Raiders defence was pretty awesome & they held our boys very well for the amount of repeat sets we had :doh:

Another thing to remember about our start to the year is we have beaten the teams generally regarded as the 3 Biggest Packs in the comp :thumbsup:

[DIEHARD]

I too think Canberra did defend well, but their fans are inconsolable right now.

Great to see our outside backs being fed some ball with results!

[titansrawesome]

i mean it feels like we struggle to set up an attacking play any time we attack, look at the warriors vs broncos today, warriors played awesome and fluent in attack, thats what we should be. plus i think bird should go to lock.

[DIEHARD]

Three from three for gutsy Jetstar Titans

The Jetstar Gold Coast Titans have made it three wins on the trot by defeating the Canberra Raiders in a grinding 24-4 victory in front of a crowd of 11,521 at Skilled Park this evening.

In a match that was as scrappy as it was entertaining at times, the Jetstar Titans led 24-nil before a late try to Canberra took some of the gloss off the result.

The win keeps the Jetstar Titans up the top of the NRL after three rounds of the competition ahead of next week's Queensland derby against North Queensland in Townsville.
Captains and Coaches from both teams spoke about the torrid Skilled Park encounter just moments after the full time whistle had blown.

Watch the post match press conference now.

http://www.titans.com.au/default.aspx?s=titans-tv&vid=3743

[Coaster]

look at the warriors vs broncos today, warriors played awesome and fluent in attack, thats what we should be.

I am not sure i understand,

we beat the Warriors 2 weeks ago, and Canberra beat the Broncos just last Monday, if anything those teams would be wishing they played like us, not the other way around.

you need to get to the game, and stop listening to commentators, last nights game had 3 commentators, 2 had played nearly there whole life at Canberra, and the other bags the crap out of us every time we play. Every play they called was either what Canberra should have done, or what went against them for it to happen.

As a Titans supporter anyone would walk away after listening to that thinking we played poorly. The fact is we smashed them from pillar to post for 79 min. They never even looked like scoring, and we put 24 on them with 2 other trys disallowed. Our forwards dominated the much bigger Canberra pack, and after all the hard work was done, we scored some great tries.

[kwigibo]

There were some Brut big hit contenders too. Bird and Taga hit hard we know, but Tomane and Bodene are putting some shots on too. Bodene broke Waddell's jaw with a real hard legal hit (I remember when Bodene broke his in a head clash in '08 at skilled, the biggest collision I've seen)

[Blazertaser]

look at the warriors vs broncos today, warriors played awesome and fluent in attack, thats what we should be.

Warriors didnt play extremely well IMO, they scored probably 70% of their trys down the left hand side of the field, which is where folau defends. If you noticed, as folau came off, they scored nearly 2 tries straight in a row on his right hand side.
Plus to add onto that, they have injuries taking down there whole team. To name a few of their better players with injuries, Justin Hodges (He's a brute attacker and would've gotten the broncos up), Jharal yoh yeh (Extremely fast up and comer for the broncos, he is used very well), Israel folau (Do i even have to explain how good he is, he scored the first try in todays game and he nearly scored one from a superman jump when he injured himself), Corey parker (One of the games top kickers atm) and they are only the high profile players.
Simon mannering was injured for the warriors, but the biggest blow was manu vatevai. Yet still proved to be a tough team.
So as you can see, if it wasnt for this injury ravaged side, they would've performed to a better degree, im not saying that the final result of the warriors winning wouldve been different, but the scores wouldve been much closer and it definetly wouldve been a good game.

Blazer:thumbsup:

[teke]

i mean it feels like we struggle to set up an attacking play any time we attack, look at the warriors vs broncos today, warriors played awesome and fluent in attack, thats what we should be. plus i think bird should go to lock.Warriors today were not fluent at all, they had no structure to their play. Today the plan was to get the offloads away so that their 2nd phase play would tire the Broncos team out and it worked a treat.

Broncs could not contain the ball carrier from getting the passes away.

There was nothing wrong at all with how the Titans played imo, Ive only really seen one team play the PERFECT game at the perfect time in the last 5 or so years. That was the 2008 Grand Final where Manly played perfection.

[teke]

There were some Brut big hit contenders too. Bird and Taga hit hard we know, but Tomane and Bodene are putting some shots on too. Bodene broke Waddell's jaw with a real hard legal hit (I remember when Bodene broke his in a head clash in '08 at skilled, the biggest collision I've seen)Bodene loves the big contact but he is going visit the judiciary a few times in the future for the way he tackles. He did the same type of tackle for Tweed last year and it cost him weeks.

[kwigibo]

Bodene loves the big contact but he is going visit the judiciary a few times in the future for the way he tackles. He did the same type of tackle for Tweed last year and it cost him weeks.

Yeah, but I'd rather they get done for that than the stuff our guys usually get done for. Bailey might get a week for slipping over the judiciary are that idiotic.

[teke]

Yeah, but I'd rather they get done for that than the stuff our guys usually get done for. Bailey might get a week for slipping over the judiciary are that idiotic.Yeah agree, keep dropping em Bodene :D

[AmericanTitan]

so frustrating watching the first half and see us go through set after set without any points to show for it even though we were very much dominating the game.

The goose-egg on the board at the end would have been nice, but a 20 point victory is nothing to be sad about, haha.


I thought the defense played great, obviously and the outside guys on the team (Mead, Tomane, Gordon, etc.) are playing really really well. Bird is stepping it up too.


How about Kevin Gordon knocking the ball back into play on the Raiders penalty where they tried to kick it into touch? Great athletic play!

[curly_11]

Wow i agree some people are hard to please. I to was a little dissapointed with attack in the first few weeks but last year we hit our straps to early this year we are building. It takes time to get combinations going and i think Bird is starting to settle in the team. He was really good last night!

The game was an absolute joy to watch, i have to say that Canberra defended extremely well on their line but ultimately it cost them because they got tired and wore out.

Also glad to see others start to appreciate Matthews and his work ethic, he is still young and has true potential! As for the mead issue, yeah he could have passed but if he didnt back himself he wouldnt have been in that situation. Hes a great player! Just because they are professional doesnt mean they wont make the odd mistake or decision. Im going to put $5 on him to score first try this week.

Just heard on the radio Prince broke his thumb and will be out for 4-6weeks, i dont remember seeing anything in the game so i wonder how he did it?

[Trent083]

There were some Brut big hit contenders too. Bird and Taga hit hard we know, but Tomane and Bodene are putting some shots on too. Bodene broke Waddell's jaw with a real hard legal hit (I remember when Bodene broke his in a head clash in '08 at skilled, the biggest collision I've seen)

Can't say the judiciary thought the same way mate, 3 game ban with an early guilty plea, and 4 game ban if he fights it and loses, and after seeing Thompsons shoulder make contact with Waddells jaw, I can hardly disagree with it.

[DIEHARD]

Im still waiting to see a replay of the match.

[titanstattman]

here here , i`m getting sick of all these armchair critics that u never see at a game,get of ur ****s and get to the game and scream and shout and support the boys.

U got that right every week so far even tho we hav had a cpl tough weeks..

Give the guys a break FM its only weeks in

[amaline]

Im still waiting to see a replay of the match.

Game Analyser on NRL.com is pretty good. Got a bunch of bookmarks to skip to tries, big hits, penalties etc.

[titansrawesome]

im sure john cartwright would be saying every week that they played perfect, its called constructive critism to help them.

[Mushi]

I got to watch the last 5 mins of the game on fox the other day and just wanted to say how awesome the crowd and the drum sounded when the raiders were right up near their line on the opposite end of field to legion - good to see it carries so well across the ground :)

[DIEHARD]

Game Analyser on NRL.com is pretty good. Got a bunch of bookmarks to skip to tries, big hits, penalties etc.

Ah yes I forgot about the game analyser, it was awesome last yar. Thanks Amaline!

[titansrawesome]

when is the nrl.com ladder predictor back up?

[titanstattman]

when is the nrl.com ladder predictor back up?

is it down.

Dragons 3 3 0 0 6
Titans 3 3 0 0 6
Storm 3 3 0 0 6
Warriors 3 2 1 0 4
Tigers 3 2 1 0 4
Roosters 3 2 1 0 4
Bulldogs 3 1 2 0 2
Sea Eagles 3 1 2 0 2
Panthers 3 1 2 0 2
Rabbitohs 3 1 2 0 2
Eels 3 1 2 0 2
Cowboys 3 1 2 0 2
Knights 3 1 2 0 2
Raiders 3 1 2 0 2
Broncos 3 1 2 0 2
Sharks

[daveyk]

ladder predictor... not the actual ladder