Round 4: North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans

[DIEHARD]

North Queensland Cowboys vs Gold Coast Titans

Saturday 3 April 2010 - 6:30pm QLD TIME - Dairy Farmers Stadium

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/diehard2/cowboysvstitans.jpg

COWBOYS

TBA

TITANS

TBA

[DIEHARD]

Time to rip and tear into the Cowboys this coming Saturday.

They are in crisis but if they ever turn it around it'll be against their southern brothers at home.

We gotta win this. For the two points and the QLD pride!

[Coaster]

This is a scary game for us, Thurston always has a blinder against us.

I hope we have learnt from past mistakes against the Cowboys, and come up with a game plan to suppress the Prince v thurston angle.

[titansrawesome]

we should win, 33-8 they lost to dragons....

[DIEHARD]

This is a scary game for us, Thurston always has a blinder against us.

I hope we have learnt from past mistakes against the Cowboys, and come up with a game plan to suppress the Prince v thurston angle.

Too right Coaster. I think we have alot more strings to our bow this year. I can see Bird smashing Thurston. :laugh:

But we need to avenge our loss to them at home... our only regular season loss. It hurt bad.

[DIEHARD]

Ash Graham, Grant Rovelli face chop as Cowboys prepare for Titans

ASHLEY Graham and Grant Rovelli face the chop as the North Queensland Cowboys look to regroup after Friday night's belting from St George Illawarra.

Coach Neil Henry had remained loyal to his troops after two shoddy first-half performances in the opening rounds but his patience has worn thin.

The Cowboys were prepared for what Wayne Bennett and the home side would throw at them, but the north Queenslanders let themselves down with many defensive errors, particularly on their right side.

That spells trouble for Graham and Rovelli who were exposed by fullback Darius Boyd and centre Matt Cooper.

"I'll look at the make-up of the edges and possibly make some changes," Henry said.

"You've got to have players make those one-on-one tackles and good defensive decisions."

Aaron Payne was again a frustrated man after hyperextending his knee but the Cowboys hooker, Willie Mason (ankle) and Matt Scott (neck) are expected to be fit for next Saturday's clash with the Titans in Townsville.

North Queensland may be on the lookout for a new fullback for the derby, with Ty Williams (ankle and bicep tendon) injured in the 33-8 loss.

Assistant coach Mick Crawley will be at today's Queensland Cup game at Redcliffe between feeder club Mackay and the Dolphins.

Big performances from fullback Shannon Gallant and centre Donald Malone could push them into the Cowboys' 17. Likewise, under-20s stars Ray Thompson and Will Tupou could come into the frame after strong starts to the Toyota Cup season.

Tupou was close to an NRL debut against the Broncos and Henry may be tempted to give him a chance at centre, or off the bench against the Titans.

"We've got nine out of 10 players who are consistent," Henry said.

"But you need 17 firing to win in this competition and that's what the Dragons have got at the moment.

"You can't have 10 or 11 being consistent and the other six coming up with errors. It's not good enough to beat the top six sides."

Utility Anthony Watts again gave the Cowboys plenty of spark and spirit and could be in line for a starting berth.

Henry was reluctant to say the Dragons were a better side than last season's model but agreed they are the form team of the competition.

"People say they're methodical and boring. I beg to differ," he argued.

"Look at how often they shifted it, and the players they had in support."

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

[Ryan]

Titans have been building nicely the first 3 rounds - not perfect and mistake free, but improving steadily in each area of the game. I think they will get confidence and momentum out of last nights game.

Cowboys are at allsorts atm. Thurston is good, but he can't win a game on his own. Titans got them at home last year and are in good position to do it again.

[DIEHARD]

Titans sweating on Harrison, Bailey

THE Gold Coast Titans are sweating on the fitness of Ash Harrison and a report hanging over star prop Luke Bailey during last night's 24-4 win over the Canberra Raiders.

Harrison warmed up with the side but suffered a back injury and took no part, his place being taken by Sam Tagataese.

Bailey was put on report for what appeared to be a trip on Raider Shaun Fensom in the first half.

...

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

[daveyk]

i really do hope that bird breaks thurston in half and that scotty just focuses on his game and not trying to outplay thurston... coz no doubt the media are going to promote the game as prince v thurston with origin coming up.

it surely will be a close game but i am very confidant we can get over the line and come home with another 2 pts in the bag :thumbsup:

[TITAN PETE]

i really do hope that bird breaks thurston in half and that scotty just focuses on his game and not trying to outplay thurston... coz no doubt the media are going to promote the game as prince v thurston with origin coming up.

it surely will be a close game but i am very confidant we can get over the line and come home with another 2 pts in the bag :thumbsup:

Spot on Davey, Bird is primed to hurt someone & this is where it should be :fight: .... The Prince needs to concentrate on his own game & not the other no7 on the park as that will bring him undone :doh:

Big Taga to put Willie on his **** :fist:

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Watch out for me and ant on television....Hopefully theres more than two of us up in townsville....Ive always admired birds ability and he had a great match against the raiders hopefullly he can smash some cowboys....Prince vs Thurston...Who will get the number 7 for state of origon

[daveyk]

Watch out for me and ant on television....Hopefully theres more than two of us up in townsville....Ive always admired birds ability and he had a great match against the raiders hopefullly he can smash some cowboys....Prince vs Thurston...Who will get the number 7 for state of origon

its not prince vs thurston!!!!!!!

thats the pressure that prince doesnt need going into this one...

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

ok sorry davey just gonna be awsome first time up to dairy farmers....In my head ill be watching the 7's closely

[patskE]

i think everyone knows thurston is the halfback for qld, unless lockyer dnt play, prince will prob know that...

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

omg thurston is the most over rated player followed by paul gallen...thurston is garbage how come he only plays well in rep matchs and not nrl standards...didnt see the cowboys in the top 8 last year except saw the titans in the top 4...does that say much

[DIEHARD]

Thurston is all class and he single handedly carries the Cowpats.

But if we can draw as much attentiona way from the battle of the 7, the better.

Hopefully Tag and Bird will be roving assassins.

[patskE]

i rkn... dnt u watch the cowboys game....
pretty much him and i would say bolton are the only guys playing for em...
they are both didnt type of players, prince is all class, where as thurston is more show and go type thing, instinct player.

s2 tag

[AmericanTitan]

I look forward to watching this one, because of how much good things I've heard about Thurston.

Hopefully Bird lays him out though!!! :-)

I think the Titans win here on the back of solid defense and a smart attack.

[titansrawesome]

omg thurston is the most over rated player followed by paul gallen...thurston is garbage how come he only plays well in rep matchs and not nrl standards...didnt see the cowboys in the top 8 last year except saw the titans in the top 4...does that say much

gallen and thurston are excellent, hence why they play origin and rep and both should be captains right now if cronulla didnt screw up.

[curly_11]

Just heard on the radio that Prince has broken his thumb and will go into surgery today. Will be out for 4-6 weeks :nope:

Interesting to see how the team will line up now, i think presto into the 7 and zillman to 1 with Riley brown to come onto the bench....

[amaline]

Just heard on the radio that Prince has broken his thumb and will go into surgery today. Will be out for 4-6 weeks :nope:

Interesting to see how the team will line up now, i think presto into the 7 and zillman to 1 with Riley brown to come onto the bench....

Someone at work just told me. I was hoping they got him mixed up with Folou. I'd say we'll see Rogers in 5/8 at some point during the game too.

[Mushi]

Well it won't be a prince vs thurston showdown then!!!! We can still win it - they did it last year without princey and they can do it again. Bugger about losing princey to injury again though :(

[matti]

rankin to come in i think

[Tamwelg]

rankin to come in i think

My money is on Presto 7 and Zilly 1 and maybe give Rankin a run of the bench.

[Boofhead]

Preston should just slide into the halfback roll, has been done in the past. Might be a reasonable option to replace Prince in my Fantasy team.

[Ryan]

Preston to #7 and Zillman to #1 is the obvious - and I would have Riley Brown on the bench. That gives us good forward rotation aswell as a utility backup.

[matti]

what about zilly at 7? or no expierance in that possi, rankin need to learn how first grade is take on horsehead

[Boofhead]

what about zilly at 7? or no expierance in that possi, rankin need to learn how first grade is take on horsehead

Zillman can play 5/8 but is best suited playing at fullback. Luckily we have a previous Dally M winner to slide into the 7. ;)

[amaline]

How about Lawton off the bench?

[Tamwelg]

How about Lawton off the bench?

Is Lawton injured?

[TITAN PETE]

Preston to #7 and Zillman to #1 is the obvious - and I would have Riley Brown on the bench. That gives us good forward rotation aswell as a utility backup.

I would definatley go with this option :thumbsup:

[daveyk]

they always promote this game with the 7's now with princey out i dont think thurston will do anything special, he seems only to do it when the spotlight is on him... over rated for sure!!!

the loss of our skipper is a blow for the team but its not as bad as in previous years... presto to #7 and zilly to the #1 woulod be the likely choice and like curly said bring riley back in off the bench.

with thos options i dont think that we will lose all that much in attack... presto is a freak of a player and will leave the cowgirls gasping.

its just a shame to lose princey when he and bird were just starting to gel well... hurry back general

[DIEHARD]

Zillman to 1. Preston to 7 and Brown to bench for sure. We did well last year minus Prince and now we have Bird and I think Zillman has matured more.

Preston will lead us to glory!

Devastating to lose Prince though, unexpected!

[patskE]

thing is, bird aint an genuine 5/8 which could casue us some harm without an proper halfback, maybe have rainkin on the bench to blood him an bit late in the game i rkn, with presto at 7.

[Ryan]

thing is, bird aint an genuine 5/8

Since when?

[DIEHARD]

And how many GENUINE 5/8ths are there in the NRL right now? Not many.

[kwigibo]

Preston to 7, but Rogers to take a lot of the 5th tackle kicks. Or they just make sure they never end a set outside the opposition's 20 and a long kicking game is unnecessary.

[patskE]

since his played most of his nrl in the back row... talking about mainly the long kicking game, think rogers will have to step up and take charge

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

I hope bird captains the side on saturday night....i know i will expect alot of critism for me thinking this but he use to captain his old super league team and it will take alot of pressure of preston and rogers being captain in the centres proberley wont work...Preston will need to focus in his halfback position and rogers kicking...i can see bird getting captain

[Blazertaser]

I hope bird captains the side on saturday night....i know i will expect alot of critism for me thinking this but he use to captain his old super league team and it will take alot of pressure of preston and rogers being captain in the centres proberley wont work...Preston will need to focus in his halfback position and rogers kicking...i can see bird getting captain

I personally would give it to rogers. He may be getting older and might not be the "best" player in the titans, but the amount of years he has been playing rugby and the amount of years he most likely has left, he deserves the captaincy as princey is away.
My personal opinion :)

Blazer:thumbsup:

[amaline]

I hope bird captains the side on saturday night....i know i will expect alot of critism for me thinking this but he use to captain his old super league team and it will take alot of pressure of preston and rogers being captain in the centres proberley wont work...Preston will need to focus in his halfback position and rogers kicking...i can see bird getting captain

What about Bailey?

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

I personally would give it to rogers. He may be getting older and might not be the "best" player in the titans, but the amount of years he has been playing rugby and the amount of years he most likely has left, he deserves the captaincy as princey is away.
My personal opinion :)

Blazer:thumbsup:

i know but its pretty hard to be captain being out on one side of the field


What about Bailey?

He has been co captain and my opinion is you need somebody who is on the field for the whole 80 minutes....

So in my opinion it will be presto or big bird

[daveyk]

i think u will see either presto or bailey captain the side....

i guess we will all know by this time tuesday

[amaline]

i know but its pretty hard to be captain being out on one side of the field



He has been co captain and my opinion is you need somebody who is on the field for the whole 80 minutes....

So in my opinion it will be presto or big bird

Good point. Bird or Presto are probably the best bets. Tomane kicking for goal?

[Blazertaser]

Good point. Bird or Presto are probably the best bets. Tomane kicking for goal?

Have we seen bird kick for goal? I recall seeing him at the sharks kicking some fairly good field goals, could he covert that to goal kicking?

Blazer:thumbsup:

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

just looked on google not a thing on greg bird goal kicking

[DIEHARD]

Players Id give captaincy to over Bird...

Bailey
Rogers
Preston
Ashley

[Blazertaser]

just looked on google not a thing on greg bird goal kicking

Could matt rogers take on his fathers trait in goal kicking? Havnt seen it yet because of princes ability, but could they give him a try?

They'll give everyone a go in training this week, so we'll know by thursday night most likely

Blazer:thumbsup:

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

who kicked last season up in townsville when princey was out i thought it was campbell

[Blazertaser]

who kicked last season up in townsville when princey was out i thought it was campbell

"Breaking point-scoring records (1,112 points from 75 tries and 406 goals) but without winning a title before crossing over to union in 2002" http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/league/mat-the-rat-sniffs-a-grand-final-20090827-f10e.html

Give matty a go if he can prove to have this ability?

Blazer:thumbsup:

[DIEHARD]

We certainly aren't light on for kicking ability.

Tomane, Rogers, Preston.

[Mushi]

I thought Rogers did goal kicking last year when Princey was out???

[DIEHARD]

The guys on the MNF after show are going biserk arguing over the Thompson charge. Freeman for and Tallis against.

[AmericanTitan]

I think the C should probably be Presto. He'll probably be the 7 and will be touching the footy a lot.

As far as kicking, I'm not sure. Who did it last season when Princey was out?

[DIEHARD]

Prince role for Presto

PRESTON Campbell is the man who will be handed the task of going head-to-head with Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston after Gold Coast Titans skipper Scott Prince was yesterday ruled out for up to six weeks with a broken thumb.

In a huge blow for the Gold Coast, Prince had a screw inserted in his right hand during an operation in Brisbane yesterday.

While Titans officials said last night they were pleased with success of the operation, the injury is expected to sideline Prince for at least the next month.

The news came as a shock to the Titans who were confident the injury he sustained in the first half of Saturday's 24-4 victory over the Raiders at Skilled Park was nothing more than soft-tissue damage.

"I will check on Presto and make sure he is confident to be able to run the team around but at this stage we will probably go that way," said Titans coach John Cartwright of plans to shift Campbell to the halves and start William Zillman at fullback.

"It is a big role and he is used to playing fullback.

"Your halfback is the brains of the team and has to get us around the park.

"But he has done it before. He won the Dally M as a halfback and I am sure he will be able to handle it.

"The game won't change, it will just be a different bloke in the No. 7."

Prince sought treatment from team medical staff at half-time on Saturday before returning to the field to finish the game.


After the match Prince was confident there was no major damage and even at the Sunday recovery session at North Burleigh, the club was hopeful he would be fit to play against the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday.

Scans yesterday revealed the fracture.

With salary cap allegations continuing to hang over his head, Prince turned in his finest performance of the season against the Raiders.

His absence now comes as a huge blow for the Gold Coast side.

Cartwright said Prince was bitterly disappointed to be missing out on the chance to test his skills against Cowboys arch-rival Thurston.

The injury also hurts Prince's chance to push for a State of Origin recall, with the star playmaker likely to return just two weeks before the opening game in Sydney on May 26.

"I know Princey is very disappointed with that," said Cartwright.

"There is no better stage than against the bloke who has got the job at the moment but he has played the game long enough and has had experience with injuries.

"He will be patient and be back in plenty of time to force his way into the side."

http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Carty is confident

GOLD Coast Titans coach John Cartwright believes the club proved last season they can survive without skipper Scott Prince despite statistics showing they struggle without their star playmaker.

Of the 12 games the Gold Coast have played without Prince since joining the competition in 2007, the Titans have managed to win just four.

But crucially, two of those four wins came last season with Preston Campbell as the replacement No.7.

Campbell filled in at halfback in Rounds 3 and 4 last year while Prince was sidelined with a hamstring strain.

The inspirational Indigenous All Stars captain piloted the side to consecutive victories over the Bulldogs at Robina and eventual premiers the Storm in Melbourne.

"We lost him at this stage last year and we did pretty well," said Cartwright.

"Our depth is probably better than it was last year and we have experienced playing without him before. Everyone is still really confident."

Cartwright will name his side today but hinted strongly yesterday that Campbell will assume control of the side to take on the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday.

Cartwright conceded Prince would leave a hole but was confident his side could adapt.

"We are playing a different style of game due to a couple of new players, we have got different strengths that we didn't have last year," said Cartwright.

"We are still feeling our way to how we use those strengths best.

"The weekend was definitely Prince's best game of the year.

"It is disappointing for him but it is a long season and we will have him back with plenty of time to go."

http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[curly_11]

Rogers will most likely take over the kicking duties. As for captain i think its nothing more than dealing with the referees these days! Thats why the titans and other clubs have leadership groups...it eases the pressure on one person and offers more flexibility and ideas!

I love NRL on Fox and MNF with all the arguing lately... Freeman and Tallis secretly hate each other i swear..ROFL

[DIEHARD]

I love NRL on Fox and MNF with all the arguing lately... Freeman and Tallis secretly hate each other i swear..ROFL

It was great telly. Looked like they were about to go each other. I think Freeman will try and press Gordie's buttons even more in future.

[Tamwelg]

North Queensland Cowboys: Ty Williams, John Williams, Ashley Graham, Willie Tonga, Will Tupou, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matthew Scott, Aaron Payne, Antonio Kaufusi, Scott Bolton, Steve Rapira, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange from: Anthony Watts, James Tamou, Willie Mason, Carl Webb, Leeson Ah Mau.

Gold Coast Titans: William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Mat Rogers, Joseph Tomane, David Mead, Greg Bird, Preston Campbell, Luke Bailey, Nathan Friend, Brad Meyers, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange from: Matt White, Sam Tagataese, Will Matthews, Riley Brown, Michael Henderson.

Thanks to Boofhead

[Ryan]

No surprises to the named side ;)

Still very strong side without Prince, perfect time to remind everyone we are still not a one-man-band.

[Cowboy Titan]

Good to see a couple of promising young players coming into the Cowboys (Thompson & Tupou).

If I was Carty, I'd have Tomane attaching our right side (Graham & Williams). They've been weak for 12 months but Henry keeps sticking with them. Tomane is going to be a star from what I've seen so far.

[kwigibo]

I gotta say, this year and last Prince is not the player they can least afford to lose, Friend is. Watching the replay now, and it would take 3 other players to make up for the things Friend does on a football field, just the cleaning up alone.

As long as Friend is there they'll cope.

[daveyk]

I gotta say, this year and last Prince is not the player they can least afford to lose, Friend is. Watching the replay now, and it would take 3 other players to make up for the things Friend does on a football field, just the cleaning up alone.

As long as Friend is there they'll cope.

i think ur spot on there.. he is an absolute work horse...

like i have said i dont think we will be losing too much...

[Tamwelg]

I gotta say, this year and last Prince is not the player they can least afford to lose, Friend is. Watching the replay now, and it would take 3 other players to make up for the things Friend does on a football field, just the cleaning up alone.

As long as Friend is there they'll cope.

Couldn't agree more.

[titansrawesome]

i think tomane should be given a shot at kicking, he wasnt bad last year.

[DIEHARD]

I agree, Friend is the heart of our team. And its great to see him gettng recognition.

[DIEHARD]

Titans prop suspended, Bird injured

The Titans are not too worried about the fitness of Greg Bird (c). (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris, file photo)
Map: Robina 4226

Gold Coast Titans prop Bodene Thompson will miss three NRL games after entering an early guilty plea to a careless high tackle.

Thompson was charged with a grade five offence in Saturday night's match against the Canberra Raiders.

His tackle broke the jaw of Canberra's Travis Waddell.

His early guilty plea will save him a trip to the NRL judiciary in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile Titans coach John Cartwright has downplayed an injury to five-eighth Greg Bird ahead of this Saturday night's clash against North Queensland.

The former Test player left training early this morning to receive treatment on a neck injury, but Cartwright has dismissed suggestions Bird will not be fit to play the Cowboys.

Cartwright has indicated Preston Campbell will replace injured skipper Scott Prince at half-back and William Zillman will start at full-back.

Prince has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a broken thumb.

http://www.abc.net.au/

[titanstattman]

Titans prop suspended, Bird injured

The Titans are not too worried about the fitness of Greg Bird (c). (Getty Images: Bradley Kanaris, file photo)
Map: Robina 4226

Gold Coast Titans prop Bodene Thompson will miss three NRL games after entering an early guilty plea to a careless high tackle.

Thompson was charged with a grade five offence in Saturday night's match against the Canberra Raiders.

His tackle broke the jaw of Canberra's Travis Waddell.

His early guilty plea will save him a trip to the NRL judiciary in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile Titans coach John Cartwright has downplayed an injury to five-eighth Greg Bird ahead of this Saturday night's clash against North Queensland.

The former Test player left training early this morning to receive treatment on a neck injury, but Cartwright has dismissed suggestions Bird will not be fit to play the Cowboys.

Cartwright has indicated Preston Campbell will replace injured skipper Scott Prince at half-back and William Zillman will start at full-back.

Prince has been ruled out for four to six weeks with a broken thumb.

http://www.abc.net.au/

Dont tell me he is the capt for this game

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

source nrl.com
Cowboys put faith in youth

North Queensland coach Neil Henry has taken a punt on youth with teenagers Ray Thompson and Will Tupou handed their NRL starting debuts for Saturday's clash with Gold Coast at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

After three average games, Henry has sacked first-choice five-eighth Grant Rovelli and given 19-year-old Thompson his big opportunity in a daunting clash against the representative No.6 Greg Bird.

Tupou, who is also 19 and a member of the Cowboys unbeaten under 20s side, has been selected on the wing.

Thompson, who has plenty of admirers, played 20 minutes of NRL football for the Cowboys against the Roosters in the final round of 2009.

"Ray is still learning so we'll give him a bit of time," Henry said.

"(But if) Rav's (Rovelli) goes back to the Queensland Cup and is dominant then he stakes his claim straight away.

"I'm not saying Ray is the long-term answer, but he certainly gets his chance and he's a player of the future.

"JT (Johnathan Thurston) commands most of the ball, but he'll need to be a foil for him.

"We've got every confidence in Ray. He's a very good defence player, he's got a nice touch with his kick and the emphasis we've really got is to defend on that edge.

"He's got a job do to there, he'll have (Greg) Bird hovering around so it's a big ask."

The Titans have also been forced to makes changes at the scrum base with pint-sized Preston Campbell pulling on the No.7 for Scott Prince (thumb) No.7 jumper and William Zillman playing fullback.

Bird, suffering from general soreness after a tough clash with Canberra, failed to complete training on he Gold Coast

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Dont tell me he is the capt for this game

YES GREG BIRD AS CAPTAIN BRAD YOU OWE ME 10BUCKS HAHA

[amaline]

Dont tell me he is the capt for this game

Pretty sure that is just the caption for the photo, indicating which position Bird is in that photo, which is centre.

[amaline]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-teams-four-round-four/story-e6frexnr-1225847633883


NTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS v GOLD COAST TITANS at Dairy Farmers Stadium, 7.30pm

COWBOYS: Ty Williams, John Williams, Ashley Graham, Willie Tonga, Will Tupou, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (capt), Matthew Scott, Aaron Payne, Antonio Kaufusi, Scott Bolton, Steve Rapira, Luke O'Donnell. Interchange: Anthony Watts, James Tamou, Willie Mason, Carl Webb, Leeson Ah Mau (one to be omitted)

TITANS: William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Mat Rogers, Joseph Tomane, David Mead, Greg Bird, Preston Campbell, Luke Bailey (capt), Nathan Friend, Brad Meyers, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matt White, Sam Tagataese, Will Matthews, Riley Brown, Michael Henderson (one to be omitted)

[DIEHARD]

Captain Bull!

[DIEHARD]

YES GREG BIRD AS CAPTAIN BRAD YOU OWE ME 10BUCKS HAHA

No you owe me! You nutter.

[Blazertaser]

YES GREG BIRD AS CAPTAIN BRAD YOU OWE ME 10BUCKS HAHA

Bird wont be captain, i couldnt think of a more absurd claim.
Bird has only been with the titans since the beginning of the year, how is it possible that a newcomer to the titans (Not saying he's a bad player in the slightest) can outbeat the likes on rogers/presto/friend/bailey and that just to name a few.
Yes, greg bird is a great player with a lot of great attributes, but he doesnt deserve captaincy over such other loyal players.

Blazer:thumbsup:

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

What does the daily telegraph no....Absolute bull!!!

[DIEHARD]

You blockhead.

[daveyk]

the team lists on nrl.com dont state a capt at all

[teke]

Ive been browsing the Cowboys Forum and they are bickering like mad about the backline of their team poor fellas. Its not surprising when you have a look at it :laugh: :laugh:

[bigjim]

My tipping has picked up where last season left off, frustrating and confusing.

I'm trying to tip with my head and not my heart this week, but I just don't know who to pick in this game with the Titans minus Princey and playing in Townsville.

In my opinion, even without Prince we are a better team man for man but if Thurston fires we could be in trouble. The Cowboys feed of him and his enthusiasm. :ugh:

[DIEHARD]

Prince backs Titans pals

SCOTT Prince walked out of hospital yesterday and, with his good hand, hit the reboot button.

"What else can you do?" he asked, nursing a broken thumb that will keep the Titans captain out of action for at least four weeks.

"Let's face it, it is not the end of the world. I'd rather not be injured, but if I had to be then this is the time for it to happen.

"We are three-zip. So I would prefer it happen now rather than when the pressure games come around."

Prince had two pins inserted at the base of his right thumb in an operation in Brisbane on Monday night. The surgery went to plan and the inspirational halfback was back home on the Gold Coast by mid-morning yesterday.

It has ended a tumultuous few days for Prince. Last Friday he was at the centre of salary cap rorting accusations made by disgruntled builder and former Titans sponsor Alex Simpson.

On Saturday night he orchestrated the Coast's 24-4 hometown win over the Raiders and by Monday his season had been put on hold with the injury.

Prince strenuously denies the cap allegations and yesterday was taking a philosophical approach to the on and off-field pain.

"Things happen for a reason," he said.

"The injury hurts that little bit more because I was really looking forward to this Saturday night's clash with the Cowboys (in Townsville) and coming up against JT (Jonathan Thurston).


"When you are up against the world's best it is an exciting challenge and something you lift for. But injuries are just part of the game. I certainly know that."

Prince, 30, has made comebacks from breaking his leg on two occasions and considers the broken thumb a minor hiccup.

He also has plenty of confidence the Titans have shaken the 'can't win without Prince bogey' and the strength of the squad will show.

"The boys have been down this road before," he said.

"This is far from a one-man band and it's just another challenge. Presto (Preston Campbell) will come in and do a great job. There is great depth in this club.

"Of course I am disappointed and of course Carty (coach John Cartwright) is disappointed, but the team is in a good position at the moment."

Prince said he injured his hand tackling Raiders fullback Josh Dugan about 30 minutes into Saturday night's game.

"I think I hit his elbow and I knew I had done something," he said.

"It is the same thumb I dislocated about nine years ago. I had it strapped at half-time. It was sore after the game but by the next morning it was swollen and just didn't improve."

The prognosis remains at four to six weeks out of the game. In that time the Titans play the Cowboys (away), Storm (home), Dragons (h), Sea Eagles (a), Panthers (h) and Knights (a).

The injury means he will be unavailable for the Australia v New Zealand Test match on May 7 and places him in jeopardy for the opening Origin clash in Sydney on May 26.

Prince has a burning passion to add to his representative credentials and hopes to have proven his fitness before Origin 1 this year.

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

[AmericanTitan]

I agree, the team even without Prince is very very good.

I think, as a previous poster said, these next few weeks will prove we aren't a one-man-band. Presto and the gang will be able to do it. Hopefully Bird is ok though. We could use his physical presense.


And I also agree about Friend. The shear amount of tackles he has makes him invaluable.

[DIEHARD]

Me, Goatus and Steve are going to Crushers Leagues to watch the game.

Any other fans in Brisbane are more than welcome to join in!

[DIEHARD]

Audio Link to Coach Neil Henry.
http://www.cowboys.com.au/site/_content/Audio/00000357-source.mp3

Audio to Cowboys player Steve Rapira
http://www.cowboys.com.au/site/_content/Audio/00000358-source.mp3

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Cut bird some slack says friend
nrl.com

Hooker Nathan Friend says the Gold Coast's perfect start to the NRL season should silence those criticising Greg Bird and the Titans' forwards.

Friend also believes Preston Campbell will slot into Scott Prince's halfback boots without a drama against Cowboys star Johnathan Thurston at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.

Former Test and NSW representative Bird hasn't produced his best form in three games for the Gold Coast.

But given he was out of the NRL for a season and has a new set of teammates to get to know, Friend believes the ex-Cronulla star deserves to be cut a bit of slack.

"Just having his presence around the place makes a big difference," he said.

"I'm not sure what you guys (media) are searching for from him but he's a quality player who certainly does the little things that we require from him.

"If he scores a couple of tries then you guys might think he's had a wow of a game, but we all know he's doing his job.

"He produces some line speed and aggression in defence that we've probably lacked in the backs in the last couple of years."

Gold Coast have won both their matches at Dairy Farmers Stadium, including last year's 14-10 effort when Campbell played at No.7 in place of Prince.

Friend said little would change without their skipper.

"We'll have no problems at all and we're extremely confident with Presto there," he said. "Everyone knows he's a great player and that position is certainly not going to worry him at all.

"I'm more excited than anything to have the great man there."

Cowboys coach Neil Henry identified the joint danger of Campbell and Bird in the halves but queried whether the Titans could cover the loss of Prince's quality kicking game.

North Queensland have dropped Carl Webb off their interchange bench to give him much-needed match time with the Cairns Pride in the Queensland Cup.

Webb has been struggling with calf injuries to both legs and Henry has opted to promote 20-year-old former NZ Warrior Leeson Ah Mau on to the bench.

Fullback Ty Williams (biceps) underwent a Friday morning fitness test but is expected to line up.

St George-Illawarra carved up the Cowboys right-side defence in Wollongong last week, and rookie five-eighth Ray Thompson will have his work cut out to help fix their communication problems.

The Titans viewed some video of Thompson but all eyes will be on Johnathan Thurston and his "show and go" dummy play.

"We played them (Cowboys) in the trials and they beat us convincingly," said Friend.

"They're very dangerous around the middle with Thurston and Aaron Payne and they've got a large pack."

[RichOs69]

ok ..lotsa talk about presto replacing prince .....but whos gonna take the full back spot, im guessing probly zillman but does anyone have a better idea

[AmericanTitan]

ok ..lotsa talk about presto replacing prince .....but whos gonna take the full back spot, im guessing probly zillman but does anyone have a better idea


Zillman will be taking the 1. He played well when he was in for Presto when he was injured.

[titansrawesome]

all i can say is 18-6 titans over storm olympic park 2009 - minus prince

[Cowboy Titan]

Carl Webb is out for the Cowboys and Leeson Ah Mau is in. That leaves us with 2 debutants for the Cowboys and one who has only played 20 minutes in the NRL last year.

Looking forward to seeing how they go.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

With the dragons lost today....Titans win tommorow will secure us TOP OF THE TABLE....CMON YOU MIGHTY TITANS TAKE IT TO THE TOP

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast Titans shrug off salary cap drama ahead of Cowboys clash ?

THE salary cap storm swirling around the Titans shows no sign of abating but coach John Cartwright says the mental fortitude of his side will ensure they are not blown off course.

The NRL intensified its investigation into allegations of salary cap breaches made by disgruntled builder and former sponsor Alex Simpson this week as auditor Ian Schubert flew into the Coast to meet with both Simpson and Titans CEO Michael Searle.

To make matters worse, the man at the centre of the allegations, skipper Scott Prince, was sidelined with a broken thumb. But if people are expecting the unbeaten Titans to crack, Cartwright says they have badly under-sold the character of his team.

"I am very proud of the players the way they have handled themselves, very professional," Cartwright said.

"They have just got on with the job.

"The club has been great as well. Michael (Searle) and his team have kept us informed of everything that is going on and what has been going on in the papers isn't a concern.

Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
"It is very easy to make big statements in a paper, but we are confident time will prove who is right and who is wrong and in the meantime we have to get on with it and play good football.

"We know where we stand. We have total faith and confidence in Michael and his team."

Cartwright expects that same resolve to be on show tonight when the Titans play the Cowboys in Townsville.

While much has been made of Prince's absence, Cartwright points to the fact that his team won both games they played without Prince in 2009 and there will be no room for excuses against the Johnathan Thurston-led Cowboys.

"We have trained really well and we're enthusiastic about our chances," Cartwright said.

"There is a lot of people saying we can't win, and the more they say it the more we like it."

The Cowboys are set to unleash a host of promising rookies, headlined by five-eighth Ray Thompson, but Cartwright said targeting the youngster was not part of his game plan.

"We don't pay too much attention to the opposition," Cartwright said.

"We concentrate on what we have to do."

Asked about what he knew of Thompson's abilities, Cartwright said: "He looks promising. He's a bit Preston Campbell-like actually, he's a young Aboriginal boy, very nippy on his feet and they've obviously got a high opinion of him."

Cowboys coach Neil Henry said he expected Thompson to handle the step up in grade from Toyota Cup.

"He is a confident kid, he is used to doing that role back in the under-20s and JT has been very good with him this week," Henry said.

"They get together to have a talk and he guided him through a few things when we did ballwork yesterday.

"I expect him just to step up and do the job."

http://www.couriermail.com.au

[DIEHARD]

North Queensland Cowboys coach Neil Henry looks to ignite his team's campaign

The North Queensland Cowboys cull continued on Friday, with former Origin forward Carl Webb the latest player to be sent packing to Queensland Cup as coach Neil Henry looks to ignite his team's campaign.

While a calf injury hampered Webb's hopes of staying in the top grade, the promotion of Ray Thompson, Will Tupou and James Tamou in place of Grant Rovelli, Michael Bani and Steve Southern, together with the addition of Leeson Ah Mau, is a clear sign Henry wants to energise his side with youthful enthusiasm.

"Carl Webb will play for the Northern Pride this week," Henry said.

"He needs to get a bit more game time. He had an injury early in the week and didn't train. We thought he might need the week off, but to his credit he wanted to play, so he'll go north and we'll hopefully get him 60 minutes."

Ah Mau was signed by the Cowboys from the Warriors in the off-season, together with older brother Isaak, who had been contracted to Brisbane Broncos.

"Leeson has been training really well and playing Queensland Cup down at the Cutters and been one of their best forwards, getting plenty of time on the field," Henry said.

"He gets an opportunity. He has good footwork, a bit of an off-load and he's a solid defender. He's been a handful in the Queensland Cup, getting a lot of line breaks and he's quick on his feet.

"I'm very happy with his work rate, his fitness levels have come right up, I'm looking forward to seeing him step up."

After a sluggish start to the season, with a dramatic comeback against Penrith standing as their only win in the opening three rounds, Henry has challenged his team to lift its intensity against a Gold Coast Titans side missing injured skipper Scott Prince.

"They (the Titans) haven't lost here (in Townsville) . . . we have a chance to change that statistic tomorrow night," said Henry, who highlighted Greg Bird and Preston Campbell as the danger men in Prince's absence

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

[DIEHARD]

Tomane event as centres eye state spots

RED-HOT Gold Coast Titans recruit Joseph Tomane has emerged a serious bolter for the Maroons in this year's State of Origin series.

The hulking centre, whose size, speed and ability to break the opposition defence is reminiscent to that of Queensland coach Mal Meninga, looms as a likely replacement for injured Broncos and Test star Justin Hodges, despite having played just 21 NRL games.

With incumbent Hodges to miss this year's series and doubts over the fitness of Broncos teammate Israel Folau, Tomane has thrust himself in to the frame for selection after a mind-blowing start to the season since joining the Titans from Melbourne during the off-season.

Most eyes will again be centred on the 20-year-old in Townsville tonight when he squares off against another possible replacement for Hodges -- Cowboys excitement machine Willie Tonga.

Impressed by his efforts in the opening three rounds, Queensland chairman of selectors Des Morris said Tomane was certainly in the mix for the Maroons, who will attempt to create history by sealing a fifth consecutive Origin series victory this year.

And with a battle royal looming on the right-hand edge with Tonga tonight, Tomane can expect a showdown of epic proportions in front of a packed house at Dairy Farmers Stadium.

"Obviously we think a fair bit of him to have him in the Emerging Origin squad," said Morris.

"There is no doubt he is going well and making the most of his opportunities but it will come back down to what our options are when the time comes to select a side."

Refusing to be drawn into speculation on the Queensland squad, Morris said the next seven rounds would be telling.

Despite boasting the strongest depth in recent memory, Morris said injury could quickly decimate Queensland's ranks.


"We have more depth at the moment than we have had in the last few years but in saying that, we have (Broncos) Folau, Hodges and Corey Parker out at the moment and that's just to name one club," he said.

"Over these next four or five weeks it will be interesting to see who is left standing and that's why we don't get carried away because we know it's a long campaign.

"If we have all the guys available we know we will be in a good position and if we have a lot of injuries to certain players, it knocks us around a bit.

"(Joseph) will certainly be considered but form and availability are going to be the big driving points."

Amazed by his skill, power and speed, Titans fullback William Zillman had no doubt Tomane would continue to terrorise opposition defences.

"Joey's been on fire and the rest of the backs have been going great, defending well and hopefully that can be the key for us this year," said Zillman.

"He has had a great pre-season, he is a big boy but at the same time he can move like lightning.

"He has had a great start to the season and hopefully he can keep it up."

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

[DIEHARD]

Zillman out to keep No.1 jersey

WILLIAM Zillman is taking nothing for granted.

With captain Scott Prince expected to be on the sidelines for up to six weeks nursing a broken thumb, everyone expects Zillman to lock down his position as fullback.

That is, everyone except the 23-year-old, who concedes his position as custodian is far from secure.

"With Princey being out for the period he is, I think it's a good opportunity for me," said Zillman of pushing his case to coach John Cartwright.

"But at the same time I still need to play good football because there are guys that are pushing me that can step up as well."

Squeezed out of the top 17 for the season opener with the Warriors, Zillman showed his talent in the Queensland Cup for Ipswich, scoring three tries in a man-of-the-match performance.

Elevated to the top squad when injury forced Preston Campbell out of the Round 2 victory against Souths, Zillman was among the Titans' best, keeping his spot in the No.1 jersey against former club Canberra last weekend.

But with Campbell shifted to halfback to fill the void left by Prince, Zillman will again start at the back in Townsville against a Cowboys squad trying to find some form after some indifferent performances on the road.

"Obviously it was tough to go back down to play reserve grade but the last few weeks I've been back in the mix and hopefully I can string a few games together," said Zillman, who was looking forward to playing in front of his family, who will travel from Proserpine to watch the clash.

And while his ability to tear apart the defence from the back is what he is known for, Zillman is ready to put his hand up to take on extra responsibility in attack and help ease some of the pressure from Campbell and five-eighth Greg Bird.

"I've spoken to Presto and said that I'm an option for him," he said.

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

[DIEHARD]

Bird won't home in on baby Cowboy

GOLD Coast coach John Cartwright has played down suggestions that powerful pivot Greg Bird will be out to destroy his rookie opposite when they collide with the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday.

North Queensland coach Neil Henry has named untested 20-year-old Ray Thompson at five-eighth after running out of patience with Grant Rovelli as skipper Johnathan Thurston's halves partner.

At just 172cm tall and 80kg, Thompson is a lightweight compared with Gold Coast enforcer Bird, who at 183cm and 100kg is one of the biggest playmakers in the competition.

Henry has confirmed that Thompson, who has a solid defensive game, had been called up from the Toyota Cup to help the Cowboys contain Bird on their right edge.

But Cartwright moved swiftly to quash talk of a looming showdown yesterday.

"They might wear the same number, but it doesn't mean they are going to come across each other too much," said Cartwright.

"They are undefeated so far in the under-20s and he (Thompson) played against us in the trial.

"He is a bit Preston like actually, very nippy on his feet.

"They have got a high opinion of him."

The former Cronulla Shark is shaping as a handful for young Thompson.


But Cartwright said the Titans would not be directing any more traffic in his direction than they usually would.

"Where he defends on the field, he is going to get lots of traffic anyway," said Cartwright.

"You can take away from your won strengths when you go out of your way to get at someone.

"He is in an area of the field where you do a lot of defence, so he is going to get the same traffic as Rovelli would have got."

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

[DIEHARD]

Rapira play security on leaking right side

HE packs a huge wallop and Kiwi tackling machine Steve Rapira has been charged with the task of playing bodyguard for young five-eighth Ray Thompson tonight.

The entire right side has been changed up as coach Neil Henry looks to arrest the alarming volume of tries run through it, with Rapira to earn his first starting jersey of the season.

Thompson will play alongside him in the place of Grant Rovelli while noted defender Will Tupou will line up on the right wing alongside Ash Graham with John Williams to shift to the left.

Rapira said communication would be vital tonight with the Gold Coast certain to attempt to plunder points down that side of the field.

''Lately we have been struggling on the right side a bit with defence,'' he said. ''There's been a couple of changes there and it's going to be a big test for us but we've been training well.

''Communication and trusting the player beside you, that's what we've been working on a lot. I feel confident with the players around me and I think they'll do the job.''

Rapira will try to take some of the pressure off 20-year-old Thompson who is playing just his second NRL game.

While the North Queensland product only stands at 172cm and 80kg, Rapira has no doubt he will need little protection with Thompson having proved to be a real asset in defence at under-20s level.

'He's been really, really good,'' Rapira said.

''He's been given a shot this week and he's been training up a storm this week.

''He's a solid defender for a little bloke, he's got a bit of whack in him so I feel comfortable with him there.

''I trust him, I think he'll do the job.''

Rapira could barely hide his excitement at the prospect of running out in his first starting jersey at home tonight and is hoping he can do enough to hold his position.

Tonight's clash is extremely important to the Cowboys who have won just once in their opening three games but have their next two games at home.

Rapira said it was vital to lock in both home wins and get back on track, and is relishing the prospect of matching up against the quality Titans pack.
''We've definitely got to pick up our performance this week, especially being at home,'' he said.

''We've just got to get the win, get the two points.

''They've got some big boys out there, they've got a good back row out there too.

''It's just another challenge and I'm looking forward to it.

''It's been an honour to get the starting jersey, I just hope I get to keep it.''

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

[DIEHARD]

Young guns to get job done for Cowboys

HIGHLY rated Kiwi enforcer Leeson Ah Mau will make his debut for the Cowboys tonight and coach Neil Henry is confident he will make an impact in his new-look team.

The former Warrior joins winger Will Tupou as first-gamers while Ray Thompson will partner Johnathan Thurston in the halves in just his second NRL game.

Ah Mau earned his call-up after Carl Webb was ruled out following on-going calf issues which ruled him out of training for most of this week.

After running the broom through an outfit that was hammered by St George Illawarra last week, Henry backed the young guns to stand up - especially Ah Mau.

''That's why they've been picked, they've been picked to get the job done,'' he said.

''(Ah Mau) has been a handful, he's certainly getting a lot of line breaks there (in the Queensland Cup).

''He's quick on his feet and he's got an offload so I've been very happy with his workrate.

''His fitness levels have come right up and he's a good trainer (and) his footwork is a real asset to us and his ability to offload the ball.''

Webb has travelled to Cairns and will play for the Pride against Tweed Heads tonight after passing a fitness test on his aching legs on Thursday.

Henry had planned on resting the 29-year-old, but Webb was desperate to take to the park in a bid to improve his match fitness.

''Carl's right to go but he'll play for the Pride so he definitely won't be playing for us,'' Henry said.

''He needs to get a bit more game time, he had an injury earlier in the week and couldn't train until later in the week.

''We thought he would have to have a week off but he's keen to play to his credit.

''He'll go north and they'll hopefully be able to give him 60 minutes up there.''
Ty Williams also looks to have overcome ankle and bicep complaints and trained yesterday morning with Shannon Gallant likely to remain 18th man.
Despite the absence of representative halfback Scott Prince, the Titans still pose a real threat to the Cowboys on the back of three consecutive wins to open their 2010 campaign.

The Gold Coast club has beaten the Cowboys both times in their two meetings at Dairy Farmers Stadium and Henry said they would still pack plenty of punch with Preston Campbell at halfback and William Zillman at fullback.

''They're a very good side, they're coming here with some confidence because they've had three wins on the back of their forwards being very good as well,'' he said.

''They won't lose much with Zillman at the back there, he's a very good player and Presto is dangerous in the front line.

''He's played that role as a pivot before anyway and even when he's playing fullback he comes up and gets his hands on the ball as a first receiver a few times.

''Greg Bird looks as though he's starting to find his feet, he had a bit of criticism early with a couple of mistakes but he was very strong last week, a dangerous carrier of the ball and a very solid defender. They've got a lot to be happy about in their start to the season and they'll certainly come up here with some confidence.''

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

[DIEHARD]

Im about to head into Crushers Leagues Club to watch the game. Anyone else in Brisbane is welcome.

Hopefully I will see the rest of you back here after the game, hopefully in the wash up we will be disecting a strong victory.

[Tamwelg]

Just heard on ABC radio that Ty Williams is out. No word on his replacement, possibly Gallant.

[Cowboy Titan]

Apparently Laffranchi is out for the Titans, been replaced by Henderson.

Shannon Gallant will come in for Ty Williams.

[Tamwelg]

Apparently Laffranchi is out for the Titans, been replaced by Henderson.

Shannon Gallant will come in for Ty Williams.

Yep Laffranchi out (no sure why) Taga to starting 2nd row and Hendo to bench.

[Ryan]

Yep Laffranchi out (no sure why) Taga to starting 2nd row and Hendo to bench.
There goes my fantasy league captain.....

[Tamwelg]

Hurry up and get better Princey, Presto was non existent that half. Too many errors and missed tackle by everyone. Come on boys lift.

[TITAN PETE]

Presto had a shocker hopefully he's carrying an injury or we will be flogged in the next few weeks.
Tomane better stop reading about himself as he was shown up a few times
& even though Mini scored 2 tries he was 2nd rate tonight :nope:

I think we missed Boof's defence around the ruck tonight more than anything ...

Luckily we get to play again next week :thumbsup:

[Mushi]

Def not the prettiest game to watch. Way too much dropped ball and mistakes. If we could have held onto the ball we may have gotten there in the end but an error riddled game by us :( Now I have to face my cowboys loving cousins tomorrow for an easter get together oh bugger :( Onto bigger and better things next week!

[teke]

Joey Tomane :doh:

Opposition with footwork was my biggest doubt over him and it was correct, he was shown up badly most of the night. Terrible game to watch as a Titan fan.

Dust storm next week :) :)

[karnage]

Awful...

Unless we pick up in EVERY area quick smart our 3-0 start is odds on to be 3-3 in 2 weeks with games against the Storm and Dragons to come.

We were there to beaten in each of our first 2 games where we got away with them late and maybe last week flattered us considering we really were up against nothing.

After that, motivation should not be hard to come up with next Friday.

[squirrell]

presto looked nervous.we lacked direction..thats the crux of our performance,ive been denying were a 1 man team all day..now lost all my bets..grrrrrrrrrr very average and im nervous about the next 2 fridays....

[Steelers]

I must say thanks to the Titans for further adding to my football woes this week. I am now 0 from 4 from this weeks tips.

[Cowboy Titan]

Presto will improve with more time in the role but it'll be tough in the next 2 weeks against the toughest of opposition.

I was surprised by Tomane tonight. He's had a great start to the season but he needs alot of work on his defence.

The line up changes for the Cowboys worked a treat. Gallant's runs were something that the Cowboys have been sadly missing whenever Bowen has been out over the past couple of years.

[titansrawesome]

tomane probably read the papers about him in the origin mix and got nervous against tonga, another week another bad performance

[GCT_07]

I will say something...... even up to the last few seconds of the game they didnt give up

The only thing I can put it down to is a cloudy head. Mini was over trying with some really scrappy handling but also with 2 tries. He did step it up....... but to many of his plays didnt come off........ I just think that all this off field rubbish is fogging them up a bit.

Oh well...... the only good thing is that we get to put this behind us and look towards next week. Hopefully carty will use this week as the lessons for next week.

[zanerwilson@yahoo.com.au]

I have watched David Mead play for about 12 weeks now and am sick and tired of him letting our team down in defence and lack of confidence.

I thought cartwright would have learnt with lalea paea after he cost us winning our first few games in the competition.

For some reason Cartwright kept picking and he would only make the same mistakes. Now he is doing the same thing with mead and week in week out Mead keeps making the same defensive mistakes and in attack he hasn't got the confidence to come up with the winning play.

David Mead has incredible speed and has obviously got heaps of ability, but until he has confidence in his own play, he is not ready for first grade. The longer cartwright leaves him in first grade the less chance he has of ever playing A grade NRL.

Where is Lalea Paea these days!!! He cant even make it in the French Rugby League.

David Mead will one day be a great player, but only if he is given time to find his feet in the QRL. I DONT CARE WHAT HE DOES AT TRAINING HE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR A-GRADE FOOTBALL. NOT YET ANYWAY.

I checked the amount of mistakes that Mead had apparentlly made this year, and apparentlly it was 1. That can only mean that missing tackles and letting in tries don't count as mistakes.

The problem with Meads defence is that he puts massive amounts of pressure on the players around him because they know he won't make that tackle.

Com on Carty. He is letting the whole team down, because you can't make a tough decision.
And it shouldn't even be tough.

Over Mead you have had Zillman And Tagatesse on the bench!!!!!!!Q
It makes no sense.

He just isnt ready>

How many tries does he have to let in before someone in the coaching ranks can identify this. I AM NOT A GENIUS!!!!!!!!
IT IS OBVIOUS!!!!!!!!

Dont ruin his carrer by letting him ruin our season!!!!!

Your number One Fan
Who Does Know Something About This Great Game!

[zanerwilson@yahoo.com.au]

And I know that we were behind tonight, but the only time we looked a chance to change that Mead dropped it on the first Tackle for no reason and they scored and took away all our mementom.

And his missed tackle that let Tonga in was the worst I have seen in A-Grade Football.

It was PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND HE SHOULD BE DROPPPED FOR THAT ALONE!!

I HAVE SEEN 16 YEAR OLDS Defend Better Than That.

SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DIEHARD]

He is still one of my favourite players. He will come good, it'll just make him a better player.

He has my full support.

BTW - Comments moved to Cowboys v Titans thread.

[DIEHARD]

Just got back from Crushers Leagues Club, saw the game with Goatus and Steve.

Hard to isolate any player at being particularly good or bad, which an over all lackluster display.

Preston did go missing, but I hope he isn't too hard on himself. We need him primed for Friday. Especially now they have an inform Cronk back.

Lots of errors all around, everyone had a go at making an error. Completion rate was woeful. We will get murdered if we continue to play like that.

Our team needs to rally and the fans need to get out to Skilled Park to support our team. Make sure you are there!

[Steve]

Can't really blame one player for the loss, no one turned up tonight.

We'll see a lot more hat tricks down that one side if they don't tighten up the defence out there though. That's not why we lost though, it was all the dropped ball, with the amount of ball we handed over we were never gonna be in it.

[DIEHARD]

Lack of field position as well.

[DIEHARD]

Gold Coast Titans suffer first loss

GOLD Coast Titans suffered their first loss of the 2010 NRL season tonight, going down 32-18 to the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville.

Melbourne Storm are now the only undefeated team left but the Titans will be more concerned with their handling and defence than with the ladder placings.

The Titans coughed up more ball in one game than they had in the previous three games of the 2010 season.

Chief offender was forward Mark Minichiello who dropped the ball five times, but ironically enough was the Titans' only try-scorer, crossing the line twice.

The Cowboys were led, as ever, by inspirational halfback Johnathan Thurston who thrived in the absence of his Gold Coast counterpart and arch rival Scott Prince, who missed the game with a thumb injury.

Also missing for the Titans was Anthony Laffranchi whose lower back strain, suffered during warm-up last week, kept off the park again.

Willie Tonga made the most of some weak left side defence from the Titans, scoring a hat-trick of tries, all in the corner, in a powerhouse performance.

After the game Titans forward Ashley Harrison summed up the team's disappointment.

"We came here with a few goals and one was to hold on to the footy," he said.

"We didn't do that and we made it a lot easier for the Cowboys."

Titans now face the undefeated Melbourne Storm at Skilled Park at Robina on Friday night.

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

[DIEHARD]

North Queensland Cowboys defeat Gold Coast Titans in NRL clash

North Queensland Cowboys hammer Gold Coast Titans 32-18 at Dairy Farmers Stadium thanks to a masterful display by Johnathan Thurston and a Willie Tonga hat-trick.

Neil Henry's youth policy paid off for the Cowboys after he made four changes to the side after an indifferent start to the 2010 season.

Experienced campaigners Steve Southern, Grant Rovelli and Carl Webb were omitted along with Michael Bani while Ty Williams was a late scratching with ankle and biceps complaints.

Centre Will Tupou, prop Leeson Ah Mau and fullback Shannon Gallant all made their debuts for the Cowboys while Ray Thompson played just his second NRL fixture.

Gold Coast had their own concerns, with representative playmaker Scott Prince (thumb) not making the trip and former international Anthony Laffranchi ruled out late with a lower back injury.

After failing to score a try in the first half in any of their games this season, the Cowboys broke the shackles early and scored three tries in the opening exchanges to set up a commanding lead.

Tonga scored two on the way to his hat-trick, while 20-year-old five-eighth Thompson lived up to his hype with a sweet flick pass to Luke O'Donnell who dragged three defenders over the line.

The Titans struck first through Mark Minichiello, who waltzed through some soft defence, and a tearaway Joseph Tomane would have scored if not for a desperate ankle tap from Thurston.

Ash Graham was denied by video referee Chris Ward in the 54th minute when his elbow hit the sideline a fraction before he grounded the ball but Tonga put the game beyond doubt in the next set, scoring his third of the night following a Minichiello knock-on.

Ward was called into action again in the 69th minute when Minichiello crossed for his second, the crowd screaming for a knock-on from Preston Campbell in the lead-up with his fumble ruled to have gone backwards.

Thurston rubber-stamped his good form in the 73rd-minute when he scooted past Tomane to score under the sticks while some desperate last-ditch defence from John Williams and Tonga prevented a David Mead four-pointer with five minutes left on the clock.

Titans skipper Luke Bailey refused to blame the loss on the absence of Prince, instead pointing to the error count as the reason.

"To be honest I think you could have put God in the No.7 out there tonight and we still would have lost," he said.

"We crucified ourselves with so much dropped ball, we didn't give ourselves a chance."

Cowboys coach Neil Henry was relieved his side broke the cycle of slow starts which has been critical in securing just one win and two losses before this clash.

"It was a long time coming, three weeks is a long time in footy," he said.

"It was good to get out to a bit of a lead and score some points.

"(And) I was very happy with all the boys on debut."

http://www.foxsports.com.au

[Supergoose]

Very hard to get a read on our team when we can't hold the ball. Every time we turned the ball over the cowboys to their credit really punished us with large metres and tries. Minichiello has hands like feet when he's away from home. He must forget to pack them or something. The difference in the game was that the cowboys capitalized on our mistakes and the titans just couldn't return the favour. Tomane got ankle tapped on his way to the line and zillman mis-kicked straight into gallant's hands when he tried a Billy slater move which backfired. If these couple of plays come off, who knows what happens. I don't know that presto was a lone soldier in not having a great game. We certainly missed laffranchi. Bird was quiet too. I really thought we needed Rogers closer to the action.
So I think we shouldn't go too hard on the boys. The cowboys scored most of their points against the run of play. Our attack needs to be better. Apart from the raiders game we have turned over way too much ball and put unneccessary pressure on our defensive line. Big games coming up - if we can start holding the ball we're a good chance if not, it's time to dig deep as suppoters and show out colours when the boys need to see them most.

[DIEHARD]

CLICK TO VIEW MATCH STATS ON NRLSTATS.COM (http://live.nrlstats.com/matches/nrl/match3127.html)

[DIEHARD]

Tonga steps up to show youngster who's boss

AFTER reading that his opposite number may not just keep him out of Origin this year but was also the ''new Mal Meninga'', North Queensland's Willie Tonga last night ran rings around hapless youngster Joseph Tomane.

The 26-year-old Tonga led the NRL for line-breaks before taking the field for last night's Dairy Farmers Stadium clash with Gold Coast, but was still not rated a certainty to be Justin Hodges' replacement in the Queensland side should Israel Folau be fit.

Regardless of whether the former Australian international intended to prove a point against his 20-year-old rival, he certainly did in the Cowboys' 32-18 win.

But the score that completed the veteran's second career hat-trick underlined the result of the personal duel as he handed rugby union convert Tomane a forceful fend in the face before also disposing of Preston Campbell's challenge on the way to the line.

Without injured captain Scott Prince, the previously undefeated Titans managed to come back to 20-10 and 26-18 down in the second session but the Cowboys - and captain Johnathan Thurston in particular - always had their measure.

And it was Tomane that halfback Thurston beat when he strolled over for the clincher - approved by video referee Chris Ward - with seven minutes to go. The pair had collided early in the match, Thurston's ankle-tap preventing Tomane making it six tries in as many games.

Thurston also managed to keep his perfect goalkicking record for the year alive with another superlative six-from-six display.

The result leaves Melbourne alone at the top of the NRL as the only unbeaten side after four rounds.

Both sides had early scoring chances which they blew - which was characteristic of a North Queensland side which had failed to post a first-half try all season.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 32 (W Tonga 3 L O'Donnell J Thurston tries J Thurston 6 goals) bt GOLD COAST 18 (M Minichiello 2 S Tagataese tries M Rogers 3 goals) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: Steve Lyons, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 15,551.

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

[teke]

I have watched David Mead play for about 12 weeks now and am sick and tired of him letting our team down in defence and lack of confidence.

I thought cartwright would have learnt with lalea paea after he cost us winning our first few games in the competition.

For some reason Cartwright kept picking and he would only make the same mistakes. Now he is doing the same thing with mead and week in week out Mead keeps making the same defensive mistakes and in attack he hasn't got the confidence to come up with the winning play.

David Mead has incredible speed and has obviously got heaps of ability, but until he has confidence in his own play, he is not ready for first grade. The longer cartwright leaves him in first grade the less chance he has of ever playing A grade NRL.

Where is Lalea Paea these days!!! He cant even make it in the French Rugby League.

David Mead will one day be a great player, but only if he is given time to find his feet in the QRL. I DONT CARE WHAT HE DOES AT TRAINING HE IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR A-GRADE FOOTBALL. NOT YET ANYWAY.

I checked the amount of mistakes that Mead had apparentlly made this year, and apparentlly it was 1. That can only mean that missing tackles and letting in tries don't count as mistakes.

The problem with Meads defence is that he puts massive amounts of pressure on the players around him because they know he won't make that tackle.

Com on Carty. He is letting the whole team down, because you can't make a tough decision.
And it shouldn't even be tough.

Over Mead you have had Zillman And Tagatesse on the bench!!!!!!!Q
It makes no sense.

He just isnt ready>

How many tries does he have to let in before someone in the coaching ranks can identify this. I AM NOT A GENIUS!!!!!!!!
IT IS OBVIOUS!!!!!!!!

Dont ruin his carrer by letting him ruin our season!!!!!

Your number One Fan
Who Does Know Something About This Great Game!Holy Dooley this is a rant :D . Im Meads biggest supporter and to stick the blame on him tonight when Presto and Tomane were getting pumped is beyond harsh. He was 1 man on 2 for alot of game time tonight. Lack of confidence was warranted tonight when his inside men were getting blitzed terribly. I am glad you are not in the coaching staff cause you would drop the outside back with the most punch through the defensive line..

[titansrawesome]

Tonga steps up to show youngster who's boss

AFTER reading that his opposite number may not just keep him out of Origin this year but was also the ''new Mal Meninga'', North Queensland's Willie Tonga last night ran rings around hapless youngster Joseph Tomane.

The 26-year-old Tonga led the NRL for line-breaks before taking the field for last night's Dairy Farmers Stadium clash with Gold Coast, but was still not rated a certainty to be Justin Hodges' replacement in the Queensland side should Israel Folau be fit.

Regardless of whether the former Australian international intended to prove a point against his 20-year-old rival, he certainly did in the Cowboys' 32-18 win.

But the score that completed the veteran's second career hat-trick underlined the result of the personal duel as he handed rugby union convert Tomane a forceful fend in the face before also disposing of Preston Campbell's challenge on the way to the line.

Without injured captain Scott Prince, the previously undefeated Titans managed to come back to 20-10 and 26-18 down in the second session but the Cowboys - and captain Johnathan Thurston in particular - always had their measure.

And it was Tomane that halfback Thurston beat when he strolled over for the clincher - approved by video referee Chris Ward - with seven minutes to go. The pair had collided early in the match, Thurston's ankle-tap preventing Tomane making it six tries in as many games.

Thurston also managed to keep his perfect goalkicking record for the year alive with another superlative six-from-six display.

The result leaves Melbourne alone at the top of the NRL as the only unbeaten side after four rounds.

Both sides had early scoring chances which they blew - which was characteristic of a North Queensland side which had failed to post a first-half try all season.

NORTH QUEENSLAND 32 (W Tonga 3 L O'Donnell J Thurston tries J Thurston 6 goals) bt GOLD COAST 18 (M Minichiello 2 S Tagataese tries M Rogers 3 goals) at Dairy Farmers Stadium. Referee: Steve Lyons, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 15,551.

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

when i read the hype of maroon selection for tomane over tonga today i already knew something bad was going to happen, our defense was shoddy as tonight and i actually believe our attack was as good as i have seen this year despite the drop balls.

[teke]

when i read the hype of maroon selection for tomane over tonga today i already knew something bad was going to happen, our defense was shoddy as tonight and i actually believe our attack was as good as i have seen this year despite the drop balls.Yeah attack wasnt THAT bad it just didnt have the direction Prince gives.

It was obvious Cowboys aimed up at Presto and worked his area over, when the Titans strengthened up there the Cowboys usually found an overlap on Gordons wing.

I thought Matthews played alright tonight, did some good solid one on one tackles.

[teke]

Presto will improve with more time in the role but it'll be tough in the next 2 weeks against the toughest of opposition.

I was surprised by Tomane tonight. He's had a great start to the season but he needs alot of work on his defence.

The line up changes for the Cowboys worked a treat. Gallant's runs were something that the Cowboys have been sadly missing whenever Bowen has been out over the past couple of years.I have no idea why Gallant was not given a run before Ty Williams. Last years form from Shannon at the tigers was superb before he broke his leg.

[TITAN PETE]

I have watched David Mead play for about 12 weeks now and am sick and tired of him letting our team down in defence and lack of confidence.



U must have seen something that i've missed so far in his career as he didn't have a great game last night but i think his place in the team is very safe ;)

Are u Carty's Number 1 fan :ugh:

[titanstattman]

No comment on last nights game.....

[karnage]

No comment on last nights game.....

Does saying 'no comment' count as making a comment...?;)

Someone metioned that chip kick that Zillman put on being unlucky. It was more than that - it was poorly executed on every level.

In under 10's they teach you to draw a defensive player before you put on a move - be it a pass or step or kick - but he put his move on about 20m away from the guy. If he had just drawn him in first the play would have been on or he could have dummied to kick and run around him.

We were 6-0 up when he butchered that opportunity and it resulted in a MASSIVE momentum shift. Zillman had a good opportunity to be a game breaker last night and he blew it.

[teke]

Does saying 'no comment' count as making a comment...?;)

Someone metioned that chip kick that Zillman put on being unlucky. It was more than that - it was poorly executed on every level.

In under 10's they teach you to draw a defensive player before you put on a move - be it a pass or step or kick - but he put his move on about 20m away from the guy. If he had just drawn him in first the play would have been on or he could have dummied to kick and run around him.

We were 6-0 up when he butchered that opportunity and it resulted in a MASSIVE momentum shift. Zillman had a good opportunity to be a game breaker last night and he blew it.You will find that more often than not the less time these nrl players get to think about the better it comes off.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Dont think youll see rovelli in the team for a while

[titansrawesome]

yeah because thompson did good and rovelli is ****

[Boonarga]

They didn't all play poorly. Once again Nathan Friend was head and shoulders above the rest. I couldn't believe it when the commentators suggested the cowboys were targeting him in defence. Big mistake.
If we hold the ball we win that game. Zero doubt.

[AmericanTitan]

well,I've finally been able to watch the game and obviously it wasn't what I wanted to see.


Friend and Minichello clearly are playing well, but overall the team looks a bit out of sorts.


Disappointing effort. Hopefully things can rebound.

[Cowboy Titan]

One great moment from this game - how good was Preston's tackle on Willie Mason on the try line. The commentators were shocked when they saw it was Presto making the big hit on him.

[Supergoose]

well,I've finally been able to watch the game...Friend and Minichello clearly are playing well...


Must've watched a different game to me. I thought Minichiello really failed to stand up when we really needed him. His handling was downright ordinary and gave the ball away far too often. If you ask me he was the primary reason we were chasing points. If he held onto the ball early the Cowboys wouldn't have had it to score the points they did. He scored two tries but he didn't have to do much to get those. I thought Luke Bailey played one of his best games for a while.

[Supergoose]

One great moment from this game - how good was Preston's tackle on Willie Mason on the try line. The commentators were shocked when they saw it was Presto making the big hit on him.

I couldn't agree more. I was watching it at the local as foxtel at home was on the blink. I just said to the Cowboys fan I was sitting next to, what a tackle followed by - it was Preston Campbell!

[DIEHARD]

Preston's tackle on Mason was just tremendous! Well done Preston.

[AmericanTitan]

Preston's tackle on Mason was just tremendous! Well done Preston.

smallest guy on the field tackling one of the biggest was the best.


and about Minichello, I thought his tries were pretty sweet. Maybe that's why he stood out to me. And honestly, the entire team was dropping the football so it's not like he was the only one.



Bailey played well though for sure. So did Friend.

[DIEHARD]

That is what I love about Rugby League, the small blokes can compete against the big ones on an even level.

[Titanic]

I was worried after the first two games and hopeful after the third but the Cows game has me wondering where we go from here because:

Bird just doesn't seem to fit our attack... his defence is undeniable.
Rogers and Tomane are too susceptible in defence.
Our backrow is predictable and one dimensional.

I would like to see Bird in 13 and Cannings back in the mix. Is Tonga close to a return? How is Toopi going?

[DIEHARD]

I would like to see Bird in 13 and Cannings back in the mix. Is Tonga close to a return? How is Toopi going?

Toopi is ripping it up for the Bears at the moment. LINKY (http://forum.titans.com.au/showthread.php?t=16583)

[Tamwelg]

I watched the replay again today (yes I am crazy) and apart from Harrison and Friendy busting a gut and trying their hearts out, I though Zillman, apart from his misjudged chip, had a really good game. I had to go back and change my voting.

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

Can i just say i just watched round 4 defensive highlights, and the tackle preston campbell made on willie mason was outstanding,willie mason is at least twice the size of preston campbell and preston basically just lifted willie over his head.......RECOMENDED