Round 7: PANTHERS vs TITANS [Archive]

DIEHARD

14-04-14, 12:19 PM

Hey Jamal, the Gold Coast Titans are going to make you the centre of attention next week

THE Titans bear no malice *towards Jamal Idris for leaving the Gold Coast but say they will show no mercy when they come up against his Panthers next week as they continue their march towards the finals.

Gold Coast head to Penrith on Monday and are wary of the wounded Panthers and Idris, who many of his former teammates rate as one of the best backs in the competition.

Titans centre Brad Takai*rangi, who is likely to go head-to-head with the behemoth, credited Idris with helping him improve his own game.

“I still rate him as one of the best centres in the comp and I’m definitely looking forward to challenging myself against him,’’ Takairangi said.

“I learnt a lot from him over the last year.

“He was the most dominant centre last year and was unlucky not to play Origin.

“Watching video of him defending and just the little things he did off the ball (helped raise my game to a new level).

“He was a massive help to me last year, me being a new centre and I definitely learnt a lot watching him.’’

But Idris should not expect any favours when the two teams clash.

“There’s no friends on the field,’’ Takairangi said.

“It’s going to be a good challenge to see where I’m at.

“He is probably one of the best centres in the competition and I am really looking forward to it.’’

Five-eighth Aidan Sezer said Idris would be targeted just as Bronco Ben Barba was at Cbus Super Stadium on Friday night, with the *Titans aware of how dangerous he could be.

“He was playing great footy for us last year and in my opinion, he’s the best centre in the game on his day,’’ Sezer said.

“They’re going to be hurting after a loss against Souths at home and they’re going to be keen to peg one back at home against us,” he said.

“And Jamal is going to be keen for a big one against his old club.

“It was a bit unfortunate that he had to leave (the Titans) but it has all worked out for the best for him.

“(There’s) no malice. He’s a great friend of all ours and hopefully we can go down and shut him down.’’

David Mead, who played outside Idris for much of last year, was taken by surprise when the star asked for a *release from the final three years of his contract to move to Sydney to help care for his ill mother.

“I guess pretty shocked *because it happened so quick but he moved for family and you can’t question that,’’ Mead said yesterday.

“He looks like he’s very happy down there and he’s playing very well,” he said.

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/sport/nrl/

nimud

14-04-14, 05:46 PM

This is the game where I feel we will get exposed ... a bunch of workaholic nuffies against our workaholic bitsas and Idris was so bad last weekend so we know what to expect this week.

We have a pretty good record at Penrith. Looking at Penrith's results this year with WLWLWL, they have not found their rhythm yet, while we are just starting to hit our straps the past couple of games. Our defence is winning us games.

Titanic

14-04-14, 07:57 PM

That depends if you read their record left to right or vice versa but I hope you're right.

Titanic

15-04-14, 02:50 PM

Official team Gold Coast Titans: 1. David Mead, 2. Kevin Gordon, 3. Maurice Blair, 4. Brad Takairangi, 5. Anthony Don, 6. Aidan Sezer, 7. Albert Kelly, 8. Luke Douglas, 9. Beau Falloon, 10. Nate Myles (c), 11. Greg Bird (c), 12. David Taylor, 13. Ashley Harrison. Interchange: 14. Matthew White, 15. Ryan James, 16. Mark Minichiello, 17. Paul Carter, 18. William Zillman.

James for Bailey was predictable but with Harrison and Don both worries then who knows, maybe Michaels will get a run.

gotitans101_

15-04-14, 02:59 PM

That is a solid bench, James in for Bailey. Hope he's ready for this.

TITAN PETE

15-04-14, 03:33 PM

I would've thought Don was 0 chance of playing & Titanic u should wash your mouth out

mup23

15-04-14, 06:17 PM

Great to see Mead will be wearing the number 1, but I won't get too excited until the game.
I don't know what to read into Zillman in 18, it reads as if he's there for cover for Don, but does that mean if Don is fine then Zillman doesn't play? I can't see Carty leaving Zilly out

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It has been great beating the Storm and Broncos, but this is a statement game for a different level. This is our chance to come out firing and rack up a big score

Titanic

15-04-14, 07:52 PM

mup, I hate to say but we don't have big scores in us, imho.

TITAN PETE

16-04-14, 09:09 AM

Highly-rated youngster Ryan James gets his chance to hit it up for the Gold Coast Titans
EMMA GREENWOOD GOLD COAST BULLETIN APRIL 16, 2014 7:17AM

HIS name was synonymous with rep football after a barnstorming pre-season but a sky blue jersey has to be the last thing on Ryan James’s mind when he lines up in just his second NRL game this season against the Panthers.

James was yesterday named on the bench in place of injured front-rower Luke Bailey, who will miss two to three weeks with a high ankle sprain.

Rising star James was in career-best form at the start of the year but a shoulder injury at the Auckland Nines has kept him off the field for all but one game this season as Nate Myles, Luke Douglas, Bailey and Matt White have pushed the Gold Coast to the top of the competition ladder.

“He’s been biding his time away with that shoulder injury and that little bit of time we’ve given him will get him back to 100 per cent,’’ coach John Cartwright said of James after naming the 22-year-old to return.

“It’s not nice being injured, it never is and it was hard last week not being able to give him a game with the Seagulls playing over in PNG (due to visa issues).

“The timing is right – unfortunately for Bails – for Ryan to come in and try and make that spot his own.’’

While most players remain coy about their representative hopes, James admitted during the pre-season he was driven by the dream of playing Origin football after being widely tipped to make his debut last year.

“Honestly, when I train a little bit hard, I think about that blue jersey and I always want to play for it,’’ he said.

“So it’s in the back of my mind that I do want to play for the Blues one day but it has to come off the back of good football.’’

While the Blues City-Country selectors will be watching the game closely, Cartwright said James had to put rep footy out of his thoughts completely, as did all his players.

“Playing rep footy is not anyone’s right,’’ Cartwright said.

“It’s not your right to even talk about it.

“It’s a privilege and it’s something you get off the back of playing great footy for your club.

“That’s the way, from my perspective, rep football’s always been about and if you want to play rep footy, that’s the way you’ve got to look at it.’’

The Titans head to Penrith wary of a wounded Panthers outfit after their last-start loss to the Rabbitohs.

“We’ve had a bit of that lately though,’’ Cartwright said.

“Every game is a battle. There’s some really close scorelines out there and last year’s form is out the window. Every game’s tough.

“I can speak for the players and they like the feeling they have at the moment and they’re going to fight hard to make sure they keep that feeling in camp.’’

Paul Carter (grade 1 careless high tackle) and prop Bailey (tripping) did not try to fight charges brought against them in relation to last week’s win over the Broncos, both opting for early guilty pleas in order to avoid a potential suspension.

TITAN PETE

16-04-14, 03:52 PM

Panthers v Titans preview
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent
NRL.com
2:00pm Wed 16th April, 2014

Panthers v Titans
Sportingbet Stadium
Monday, 7.00pm (AEST)

Sometimes, if you're unlucky, you'll blink in this dog-eat-dog competition and you'll miss some history-making stuff. Easter Monday combatants Gold Coast and Penrith were game-changing revelations last week, but for very, very different reasons.

The Titans, as we all know, are still competition leaders. And for the second week in a row, they do so with a negative points differential, meaning they're winning the competition despite their opponents scoring more points than them. Figure that one out.

And hey, if you reckon you're smart enough to figure that out, then you're on a par with the individual who picked the party-strip club to win five of their opening six – including last week's 12-8 thieving win over the neighbours Brisbane at the death.

We all know about their decorated forward pack – Nate Myles, Greg Bird, David Taylor, Ashley Harrison and Luke Bailey all tipped the 100-metre mark last week – but five-eighth Aidan Sezer is going toe to toe with Melbourne game-closer Cooper Cronk in terms of late-game heroics. His stealing of the ball –and a victory – from the clutches of Brisbane's money man Ben Barba was the turning point of the game.

But while Gold Coast are defying the laws of rugby league gravity by recording less points than their opposition, Panthers were re-writing history too – only they were on the other side of it.

They went into the history books as the team South Sydney veteran Nathan Merritt scored his 145th try for the club, breaking Benny Wearing's 81-year record as most tries.

Penrith also reportedly became the first team to not force a missed tackle over the opening hour of a rugby league game. The home side went back to bad habits last week, going side to side in search of an opening, and were turned away time and again.

Let's see who makes history on Monday night.

Watch Out Panthers: Titans fullback David Mead is hotter than a New Year's Eve celebration on Cavill Avenue. The winger-turned-glorious match-winner ran over 269 metres, made two line breaks, and forced John Cartwright to sit a healthy William Zillman onto an extended bench. Not only has he almost single-handedly turned the competition table upside down, but he's sending the Holden NRL Fantasy world haywire too. He's had a few shots in the No. 1 jumper over the last couple of years, but last week's breakout just might've shut the door on his career as a wingman.

Watch Out Titans: Turns out Jamal Idris wasn't bluffing when he told his old club he'd be a happier person at home in Sydney. The former Titan has been one of Penrith's consistent threats in his five games this season. To date, the one-time Origin representative has numbers of eight offloads, 17 tackle breaks, and an average of over 100 metres gained per game. He's being handed plenty of early ball and, as he said this week, is primed for the only game he circled on his NRL calendar.

Plays To Watch: As we noted early, the Panthers were left frustrated by a defence that thwarted their side-to-side attack, so coach Ivan Cleary will have altered their game plan in the opposition red zone during the week. Expect some more direct action – inside passes and drop-offs for their second-rowers and big men.

The Titans, meanwhile, have built their resurgence on their ability to keep the ball alive. With a competition-high 78 offloads – Greg Bird leads the way with 11 – off-the-cuff football is the name of the game under coach John Cartwright. Penrith need to keep on their toes.

Where It Will Be Won: The conditions. Or, more specifically, which side suits best to the conditions. For the first time three weeks, Penrith will supposedly be rain-free for Easter Monday, but any greasy conditions could wreak havoc with either side's ability to play with the ball. The Panthers learned the hard way last week when they didn't adjust to the rain, and how they approach on Monday could decide the game.

The History: Played 9; Panthers 5, Titans 4. Gold Coast were comprehensive 28-10 winners at Penrith in Round 4 last year but the Panthers got one back – in Darwin, of all places – where speedy winger James Roberts burnt plenty of turf on his way to a hat-trick in a 40-18 win. Ironically, Roberts was sacked by the Panthers earlier this year for numerous indiscretions and has now found a home with the Titans.

Match Officials: Referees – Gavin Morris & Gavin Reynolds; Touch judges – Jeff Younis & Luke Potter; Video Referees – Steve Chiddy & Ben Galea.

Televised: Foxsports 1 – Live 7pm (AEST).

The Way We See It: We hate to boast, but we've managed to pick the past two games involving Penrith – a 1-12 win over the Raiders before a 13+ loss to the Rabbitohs. The Panthers haven't won consecutive games this year, but they haven't lost any either. Penrith by four points.

TITAN PETE

16-04-14, 04:11 PM

Panthers v Titans preview

The Way We See It: We hate to boast, but we've managed to pick the past two games involving Penrith – a 1-12 win over the Raiders before a 13+ loss to the Rabbitohs. The Panthers haven't won consecutive games this year, but they haven't lost any either. Penrith by four points.

Thought i'd have a quick look at the record of this goose when the Titans are involved so here is his 1st 6 rounds predictions

R1 Sharks v Titans,,,,Sharks by 4
R2 Titans v Tigers,,,,,Titans by 10
R3 Raiders v Titans,,,Raiders by 2
R4 Titans v Cowboys,,Cowboys by 4
R5 Storm v Titans,,,,,Storm by 4
R6 Titans v Donkeys,,Donkeys by 4

I hope doesn't put his money where his mouth is :rolleyes:

DIEHARD

16-04-14, 04:26 PM

Thought i'd have a quick look at the record of this goose when the Titans are involved so here is his 1st 6 rounds predictions

R1 Sharks v Titans,,,,Sharks by 4
R2 Titans v Tigers,,,,,Titans by 10
R3 Raiders v Titans,,,Raiders by 2
R4 Titans v Cowboys,,Cowboys by 4
R5 Storm v Titans,,,,,Storm by 4
R6 Titans v Donkeys,,Donkeys by 4

I hope doesn't put his money where his mouth is :rolleyes:

OMG opposites!!!

DIEHARD

16-04-14, 04:27 PM

So pleased to see Ryan James back!

DIEHARD

16-04-14, 04:28 PM

Sharpen attack, Panthers told

SYDNEY - Livewire hooker James Segeyaro says Penrith need to sharpen their attack if they are to challenge the NRL's top sides.

The Panthers have impressed so far in 2014 but have struggled in attack somewhat with their new combinations, only scoring more points than last-placed Cronulla.

Despite a glut of possession in South Sydney's 20m zone early last Friday night the Panthers couldn't find the tryline, a major contributor to their 18-2 loss.

Segeyaro says the Panthers' spine, including halves Jamie Soward and Peter Walsh and starting hooker Kevin Kingston, have to do better in their round seven clash against competition leaders the Gold Coast at Penrith on Monday.

"Our spine, Jamie Soward, Wal, me, Kevvy, the blokes that handle the ball the most, in the first-half (against Souths) it looked a bit panicked, we didn't really attack the line the way we wanted to," Segeyaro said.

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=265844

DIEHARD

16-04-14, 10:00 PM

Taylor fired up for Titans

Don't make Dave Taylor angry.

You won't like him when he is angry.

Some tough calls await NRL table-topping Gold Coast NRL coach John Cartwright as he weighs up replacing in-form No.1 David Mead with fit-again fullback William Zillman ahead of Monday night's away clash with Penrith.

But it seems one thing is clear - Cartwright has backed a rejuvenated Taylor to outmuscle most, including visiting Hollywood star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Cartwright admitted his team had been distracted by Johnson's recent arrival on the glitter strip to begin filming for the $100 million adventure epic "San Andreas".

"There's a bit of excitement amongst the boys," Cartwright said.

"He's struck a chord. I'm a bit worried actually - they seem to like him a bit too much."

However, Cartwright knew who he would rather have in his corner on Monday.

Asked who in his ranks would be able to combat wrestling superstar Johnson, Cartwright said: "I would hate to see Dave angry.

"And I have never seen Dave angry - that might be a tactic we use."

First things first, though - apart from weighing up the fitness of Zillman (hamstring), Cartwright must also assess winger Anthony Don (dislocated finger).

However, Cartwright could confirm young gun Ryan James (shoulder) would run on off the bench for veteran forward Luke Bailey (ankle).

Gold Coast take on a Penrith outfit who welcome back Tyrone Peachey for Lewis Brown (pectoral).

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Taylor-fired-up-for-Titans/tabid/415/articleID/340298/Default.aspx#ixzz2z39U0gfr

Hail Sezer

17-04-14, 10:21 AM

If Meyn is right and kumul holds the fb spot and Don is out injured, would you rather Zill went to centre with KFFL on wing or Zill went to wing allowing Taka to stay at centre?

1. Mead
2. Gordon
3. Blair
4. Taka
5. Zillman

OR

1. Mead
2. Gordon
3. Blair
4. Zilman
5. KFFL

K2G

17-04-14, 10:28 AM

Zillman on Idris would be fun to watch...

I think Zillman will come onto the wing if Don is out - but we'll see him rotate with mead throughout the match.

I don't think Taka deserves to be dropped yet. He's got a good combination developing with Taylor.

DavidBouveng

17-04-14, 01:01 PM

Mead is in the 1 this week, and the bulletin is saying titans have found 'the 1' meaning mead to fullback, but i havent really heard anything confirming it is long term. seems just till Zillman is fit as far as i can tell. still better than nothing and i hope Meady just gets better and better and better over these weeks.

I said two years ago, we needed to be training mead for it, and hed be the finished article about now, at the same time alby and sezer are growing and the forwards have started to dig in a bit more...instead we willy rely on his natural ability and his development starts now...2 years wasted though.

Jackmeggatron

17-04-14, 01:36 PM

Titans are a pack of no good dirty cheating ****s and should all quit and start playing netball would suit the proofs more yours sincerely Melbourne storm fans eat cocks ****s !!!!

K2G

17-04-14, 01:41 PM

hahaha. so many funny things :laugh:

gothabull

17-04-14, 01:41 PM

We now storm fans eat cock you degenerate piss ant

DavidBouveng

17-04-14, 01:48 PM

i dont see any titans breaking necks? or breaking salary caps?

but get it off your chest mate. one day someone in Victoria will know you are there.

rabsy

17-04-14, 02:01 PM

Titans are a pack of no good dirty cheating ****s and should all quit and start playing netball would suit the proofs more yours sincerely Melbourne storm fans eat cocks ****s !!!!

Coming from a storm fan. Bahahahaha. Someone a bit dirty about the loss are they?

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wait, did he just say that storm fans eat c**ks? Lol

Jackmeggatron

17-04-14, 02:02 PM

We diddent go on the field thinking about hurting anyone, and I ant sore about you pack of dirty cheating ****s beating us last week

DavidBouveng

17-04-14, 02:05 PM

yer ant to goot wid de english eiver ar ya

rabsy

17-04-14, 02:06 PM

sure sounds like it. its ok mate, its just footy. pretty funny you call us cheats though. lol

TITAN PETE

17-04-14, 02:33 PM

We diddent go on the field thinking about hurting anyone, and I ant sore about you pack of dirty cheating ****s beating us last week

Jack-me-off, u sound like like a nice boy from let me guess the Logan/Woodridge area, u are welcome to come on here & chat but when u speak as u have u are no longer welcome inbred , so Good Bye :thumbsup:

Toads

17-04-14, 04:39 PM

Should've kept the Clown around a bit longer. It could've become something quite entertaining. :laugh:

DIEHARD

17-04-14, 04:51 PM

It's supposed to be spelt Megatron.

Titanic

17-04-14, 07:01 PM

I'm devastated and never even got a shot at the moronatron ... about time we got some fire into the Forum, we were starting to sound like our forward pack ... now listen my fellow KHunts, everybody go out and buy a Storm jersey so we can have a beach bonfire ... I'll bring the Bellyache effigy :) and then we can drink ourselves stupid on Passion Pop, dance around the fire naked, holding hands and singing Kumbaya like all good pouf's should ... queue Coaster, Shamus and Toads ...

DavidBouveng

17-04-14, 07:42 PM

I'm devastated and never even got a shot at the moronatron ... about time we got some fire into the Forum, we were starting to sound like our forward pack ... now listen my fellow KHunts, everybody go out and buy a Storm jersey so we can have a beach bonfire ... I'll bring the Bellyache effigy :) and then we can drink ourselves stupid on Passion Pop, dance around the fire naked, holding hands and singing Kumbaya like all good ****'s should ... queue Coaster, Shamus and Toads ...

Rihanna is due to make a Kumbaya dub steb remix any day now.

Hail Sezer

17-04-14, 07:45 PM

Rihanna is due to make a Kumbaya dub steb remix any day now.

"ridin', my pony"

matti

18-04-14, 10:04 AM

LOL i slippedd a $5 notes in the ref pocket that night along with some tiny teddies for incentives.

Hail Sezer

18-04-14, 10:36 AM

Zillman out, KFFL to travel with team as cover for Don.

Titanic

18-04-14, 10:52 AM

Interesting and interesting ... Tighe's shoulder must more serious than first thought.

matti

18-04-14, 12:58 PM

Shoulders take awhile to heal and not a part of the body to keep injuring thats for sure

Bayside Titan

18-04-14, 01:13 PM

I know that Zilly does not deserve is spot but I question the Value of retaining Zilly in the Squad full stop. He has missed most of the games this year and a big chunk of games last year. He is not in the same league like a Brett Stewart but if Brett Stewart is fit he can be very dangerous as is Slater. Should the club have a conversation with him? If it was my business I would.

Titanic

18-04-14, 03:07 PM

If it was me it would be a short conversation.

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Do we have the punting thingo on this game, anybody? If so where is the link?

DavidBouveng

18-04-14, 03:21 PM

Interesting and interesting ... Tighe's shoulder must more serious than first thought.

Tighes shoulder was said be right for round 10 a few days after it happened. was always going to be a month or so i thought.

shamus

18-04-14, 03:21 PM

we can drink ourselves stupid on Passion Pop,

Memories, the old 2 buck chuck.. :drinkies:

DavidBouveng

18-04-14, 03:54 PM

not sure how people are feeling about this game, but penrith have scored 2 tries in total over last two games.

there was some wet weather for sure, but still, they arent exactly setting the world on fire.

Titanic

18-04-14, 04:02 PM

Memories, the old 2 buck chuck.
And who could forget Stone's Green Ginger Wine and Blackberry Nip? :)

Coaster

18-04-14, 04:16 PM

And who could forget Stone's Green Ginger Wine and Blackberry Nip? :)

My nickname at highschool was "Stones" for awhile, after a highschool disco, where i was slightly intoxicated on the substance,

Bayside Titan

18-04-14, 04:24 PM

My nickname at highschool was "Stones" for awhile, after a highschool disco, where i was slightly intoxicated on the substance,
I used to love that crap. Green bottle from memory and the Kirov Vodka and orange cask as well. I think it was 3 litres

Tamwelg

18-04-14, 06:41 PM

If it was me it would be a short conversation.

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Do we have the punting thingo on this game, anybody? If so where is the link?

Yep, sorry for the delay, I've been tied up with the new Score and stats section of the site, which includes live scores and stats.

http://www.leagueoftitans.com.au/score_stats.php

DIEHARD

18-04-14, 06:52 PM

The live stats feature is amazing. I will really make use of it and get alot more out of games than I otherwise used to.

Well done Tam.

DIEHARD

18-04-14, 06:55 PM

Bloody hell Im looking forward to the Titans smashing Jamal and finding him out this weekend.

Titanic

19-04-14, 12:44 PM

Yep, sorry for the delay, I've been tied up with the new Score and stats section of the site, which includes live scores and stats.
Thanks Tam, in my own little cloud I just didn't know where to look :) love your work.

Bayside Titan

19-04-14, 01:50 PM

Yep, sorry for the delay, I've been tied up with the new Score and stats section of the site, which includes live scores and stats.

http://www.leagueoftitans.com.au/score_stats.php

Great work mate. Looks great.

gotitans101_

19-04-14, 03:49 PM

So I see nobody is tipping us again, just like everybody tipped against us for the Broncos game.

Maybe the only way we'll grab people's attention is if we actually score some well constructed tries inside the opposition's 20 rather than the usual run against play, and ****y sort of tries we've been scoring of late.

Geeman

19-04-14, 04:28 PM

DIEHARD

20-04-14, 01:33 PM

Penrith Panthers’ Jamal Idris is ready to face his former NRL club the Gold Coast Titans

Jamal Idris says he cannot wait to hammer former Titans teammate Greg Bird when he takes on his old club for the first since joining Penrith.

The powerhouse centre said nothing brings out a player’s best form more than a stoush with old teammates.

And the laid-back Idris admitted he had been counting down the days until Monday night’s clash with Gold Coast since linking with the Panthers.

“It’s the only game really where I knew who we were playing against. Most of the time I get midweek and still have to ask who we’re playing,” Idris said.

“You always play your best footy against your mates, but I don’t want to overdo it.

“I don’t want to go out too hard, I just want to play my normal game.”

Idris is most looking forward to coming face to face with Titan’s lock Bird.

“I was just hoping I was on Birdy’s side (of the field), because there’s nothing better than putting a couple of hits on him,” he said.

“I remember in 2011 (when Idris was at the Bulldogs), we were just mucking around, and he said he wanted to pull every dread out of my head, and I just started laughing.

“But then when he actually pulled my hair, we came out second half, he got the ball and I hit him with everything I had. After the game he sends me a message and says: ‘Mate, I’m coughing up blood.’”

Monday’s clash with the NRL leaders is the last of three successive home matches for the 10th-placed Panthers.

Panthers second rower Elijah Taylor said: “Titans have an international forward pack so it will be another challenge for us in the middle, to slow their play the ball down and give ourselves and opportunity.”

“Jamal is a player that’s gives his all for this club. He’s a great bloke as well and a player I respect and I hope he goes out and rips into them on Monday,” he said.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/west/penrith-panthers-jamal-idris-is-ready-to-face-his-former-nrl-club-the-gold-coast-titans/story-fngr8j33-1226887939497

DIEHARD

20-04-14, 01:53 PM

Maurice Blair had a troubled start at the Gold Coast Titans but is keen to cement a first grade spot

MAURICE Blair knows all about bad first impressions. More importantly, he knows how to change those perceptions.

Blair’s first taste of NRL was getting smoked 54-14 by the Warriors in New Zealand but he has since become a proven first-grader nearing 100 NRL games.

The first impression he made at the Titans was just as troubling but, like his debut, he has managed to turn it around.

Arriving at the club weighing 99kg, Blair often finished last in the fitness sessions as he struggled to adapt to the Queensland heat.

Then there was his New Year’s Eve arrest in Maryborough for drinking in public, bringing negative headlines for the club and putting even greater focus on his less-than-desirable poor start to his Gold Coast career.

In his first interview since that incident, Blair opened up about how he had gone about turning a bad start into a promising performance.

“I was definitely worried,’’ Blair told The Sunday Mail.

“I’d only just got up here. I hadn’t even played a game and that was pretty disappointing.

“I’ve got it out of the road now, I’m just concentrating on footy.

“That is what I’m here to do, just play my best footy for the club and the team and the boys.

“I want to leave all the other stuff behind me now, live and learn from it and move on.”

“(Pre-season) was tough, I thought I was going to die out there. Coming from Melbourne where it was pretty cold to about 40 degrees and doing 2km timed runs, I didn’t know what had hit me.

“After I got used to it about Christmas I started picking up and catching up to them.’’

How quickly times have changed. Once he got his fitness in order he had dropped back to 94kg, but felt too light and weak, so he increased his gym work to get his strength and weight back up to 97kg for the year ahead.

He was dropped after two weeks but injuries have brought him back into the side and now he has the opportunity to cement the left-side centre position.

It was a role he owned at the Melbourne Storm, where his form attracted interest from the Titans for a second time.

Gold Coast were keen on Blair in their inaugural season, when he was playing for Souths Logan in the Intrust Super Cup, but he moved to Penrith instead.

Eight years later, the Titans have their man.

He hits like a truck in defence, as Broncos star Justin Hodges felt last week.

“I’m probably a bit more old school, probably a bit more *defence orientated,” Blair said.

“I like a bit more of the contact stuff like that. It’s what I’ve always done since I was a kid, even in backyard football, just play whatever is in front of me.

“(Hodges) just ran straight at me and I dipped late and caught him to pop the ball out.’’

Blair said he was surprised by the Titans’ successful start to the year. Five wins from six games before Monday’s trip to Penrith has the Titans alone at the top of the table.

It is the type of potential which attracted him to the Glitter Strip in the first place.

“I looked over the squad and how they were going last year before I signed and ... I thought they were heading in the right direction and it was something I want to be a part of,” he said.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/

TITAN PETE

20-04-14, 02:10 PM

I hope Idris spends a lot of his time worrying where Birdy is on the field & our outside backs will be finding plenty of holes in the line.

This could be the most interesting part of this match as it's well known that Birdy & Idris do not like each other.

Geeman

20-04-14, 04:16 PM

Titanic

20-04-14, 07:17 PM

I'd hate the fat fark if he farked off mid-contract too, especially after carrying him for two seasons … in fact he did and I do.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 10:39 AM

Titans wary of now-smiling incredible hulk Jamal Idris
TRAVIS MEYN GOLD COAST BULLETIN APRIL 21, 2014 10:02AM

TITANS co-captain Nate Myles believes a “happy” Jamal Idris could pose the biggest threat to the Gold Coast’s winning streak tonight.

The Titans will run into their former marquee centre for the first time tonight when they tackle Penrith at Sportingbet Stadium.

Idris was released by the Titans in January for compassionate reasons with the hulking centre saying he wanted to return to Sydney for family reasons.

Many thought the Titans would struggle without the talented centre but they have instead won five of their opening six games of the season to sit on top of the NRL ladder.

The Titans are gunning for five straight wins tonight, a streak they haven’t achieved since their preliminary finals season in 2010, but Myles said the imposing Idris could be a major hurdle.

“The main thing for me as a friend of his is he needs to make sure he’s all right and I think he is now,” Myle said.

“He’s showing that in his football. He’s playing some good footy and he looks happy.

“You’re never going to replace someone of Jamal’s size and ability but the blokes we have in there have really stood up this year.

“We’re very fortunate they’re standing up.”

While Idris and his $400,000-a-season salary have left the Titans, they haven’t lost too much on the edges defensively.

Brad Takairangi, who started the season in reserve grade, has been strong at right centre and will come up against Idris tonight.

Titans forward Greg Bird said the team was missing Idris in some areas but Takairangi had proved to be a solid replacement.

“Players come and go, you can’t do much about that,” he said.

“That’s the nature of rugby league these days. It’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself.

“It was a shame that we lost him but there’s a million other players that will come in and take his spot and do their best to hold the position.

“Of course we’ve missed him on that right edge but Takairangi’s been pretty impressive the last couple of weeks. I think he’s filled his shoes.”

Penrith has made an inconsistent start to the season with three wins from six games.

They are yet to win consecutive games and are coming off an 18-2 loss to South Sydney but Myles said he saw similarities between the Titans and Panthers.

“They’ve been playing fantastic football,” he said.

“There’s not too dissimilar to us. They play a similar style of footy and have some dangerous blokes out there

“There’s some attacking potential and we need to be careful.”

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 02:29 PM

IT’S GOING TO TAKE TIME

492

PANTHERS coach Ivan Cleary has appealed for fans to give his new-look team time to develop its combinations.

The Panthers have had more personnel changes than any team in the NRL in 2014 and despite two losses in their past three games, Cleary is still happy with how they are tracking.

“We aren’t too far off where we need to be,” Cleary says after the 18-2 loss to Souths.

“The conditions in our last two games have been horrendous and our playmakers (Peter Wallace and Jamie Soward, above) are both new to the club and still learning how to play together.”

Cleary admits frustration got the best of his team against the Rabbitohs.

“We dominated the first half but couldn’t get over the line,” he says.

“Then we started the second half too slowly . . . all of a sudden we were playing from behind and lost some of our composure.

“We gave up a couple of tries too easily and then we started to play catch-up.

“But we didn’t deserve to lose by that much and there were some positives to come out of it.

“I can’t knock the effort and we will get better.”

The Panthers meet shock league leaders Gold Coast this Monday night . . . . and they are hoping to have a dry track.

“It’s been hard the last two weeks in very wet conditions, for sure,” Cleary says.

Rugby League Week

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 05:29 PM

@RLW_Mole: Some @PenrithPanthers mail… not 100% but solid…
DWZ OUT… Davey Simmons in
McKendry OUT Plumster IN

CoastSportsFan

21-04-14, 06:32 PM

Got a bad feeling Idris is gonna have a blinder tonight to make a statement...

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 06:44 PM

Ivan Cleary spoke to the media about a range of things today including his thoughts on where the team is at at this stage of the season, the respect he has for the Titans forward that includes Greg Bird, Ashley Harrison, Nate Myles, Luke Douglas and young Ryan James.

<script height="349px" width="620px" src="http://player.ooyala.com/iframe.js#pbid=fd5fc71d2bcc4b60a622cf8d3348d605&ec=I0c2lhbTpXeKu2FSlI-2RN4vDzD2vH9v"></script>

Bayside Titan

21-04-14, 06:51 PM

So at best will will finish fourth on the ladder or back on top. I think Penrith will towel us.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:02 PM

OK we are off and racing. Titans in whites, Panthers in blacks.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:04 PM

oh Mead was lurking, if he caught that it was a 4 pointer for sure.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:04 PM

The quick tap is back courtesy of Penrith!

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:15 PM

LOL thankfully Blair basically dacked that Panther, looked like trouble.

Tamwelg

21-04-14, 07:15 PM

don't forget live score and stats available on this site.

http://www.leagueoftitans.com.au/score_stats.php

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:16 PM

Lovely kick return from Gordon and stays in the field of play. Onya Gordo.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:16 PM

don't forget live score and stats available on this site.

http://www.leagueoftitans.com.au/score_stats.php

Excellent, real time stats.

Toads

21-04-14, 07:18 PM

Nice one, Tam. I appreciate it. :)

Nick

21-04-14, 07:19 PM

Gee faloon can make some silly plays. We look lost inside their 20!

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:20 PM

Lovely take by Don. Beautiful.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 07:25 PM

This is some serious home town reffing. I can take good with the bad, but this is next level.

- - - Updated - - -

I think the men in pink forgot there shirts say AAMI, not OAK.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 07:33 PM

How has Bird gone from being arguably the best player in the NRL to a turnstile in a weeks time

Boonarga

21-04-14, 07:35 PM

We are inept in the red zone. Nothing new though.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 07:40 PM

The panthers are holding onto the ball every tackle.

CoastSportsFan

21-04-14, 07:41 PM

Good to see Dark get over the line in his first game back.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 07:42 PM

Welcome back Dark

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:42 PM

Ryan James is back. Ryan James scores!

Toads

21-04-14, 07:44 PM

Ryan James is back. Ryan James scores!

I wonder if he's going Jamal hunting as well?

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 07:53 PM

I wonder if he's going Jamal hunting as well?

I think we have the new mature Ryan out there tonight , did u hear him approach the ref after the halftime hooter when he said " am I getting back onside quick enough sir" , usually he's penalized 3 or 4 times before he gets it right

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:53 PM

Halftime...

495

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 07:53 PM

Very boring but I'll take 12-6 at halftime. Amazing to watch the early game with 51,000 at ANZ and then follow up with this. This looks like a NSW Cup game in comparison.
No attack inside the 20 as per usual.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:56 PM

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:57 PM

OK get ready for kick off to the second half. Ill be alot more worried about losing more than this match is our attack remains sight unseen.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 07:59 PM

Died with the ball again. FFS.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 08:03 PM

I think the fifth tackle run is more prevalent with the new 7 tackle set rule.

Teams are more happy to die with it and give the opposition the ball on tackle 1, two metres out. A kick risks twenty out and zero tackle. Seeing a lot more often now from all teams.

Toads

21-04-14, 08:06 PM

It appears you're on the money.Pete. Ryan does appear sharper 'n getting involved more than usual.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:09 PM

I get a laugh at how bias the home fans are.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 08:21 PM

Matty White will get himself a couple of weeks off for that

Titanic

21-04-14, 08:23 PM

anybody enjoying this? we are the most stupid team in the competition.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 08:24 PM

What happened to Blair

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:25 PM

Hey... wait a second...

496

Titanic

21-04-14, 08:26 PM

really pathetic rubbish

amaline

21-04-14, 08:26 PM

Why was Kelly bothering to look back for the offload? We NEVER have people backing up.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 08:26 PM

Maybe we should throw our hat in the ring for Benji because we have nothing in attack

Smakked

21-04-14, 08:27 PM

anybody enjoying this? we are the most stupid team in the competition.

Yeah stopped watching it ****in ridiculous to watch we have no clue its like watching under 8s

Titanic

21-04-14, 08:35 PM

terrible really ... Falloon has been reading too much press

Toads

21-04-14, 08:37 PM

really pathetic rubbish

Don't blame the Coach though. He's over the knockers 'n whingers that are clueless to what his job entails. It's not as if he has a track record or anything..

Boonarga

21-04-14, 08:38 PM

anybody enjoying this? we are the most stupid team in the competition.

No. I don't even care that we look like losing.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:41 PM

Sezer is in. We should convert this so it'll be 14-12. Few mins to spare.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:41 PM

Hang on to your seats, we have 2 minutes to steal victory here.

Titanic

21-04-14, 08:42 PM

Bird's been owned tonight

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:42 PM

Birdy loses it. Not a good night for Bird.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:42 PM

Panthers FORWARD PASS! We got another chance here.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:45 PM

Jesus that went down to the wire. Our kick was too long. We had numbers. But that's the ball game.

Unimpressed with both sides. We didn't show much at all to be happy about.

Boonarga

21-04-14, 08:45 PM

I'm fine with some Bird mistakes. He's been our best all year and still played strong tonight.

Boofhead

21-04-14, 08:45 PM

Penrith never looked like losing.

C-Whiz

21-04-14, 08:46 PM

I've been watching this game on the choppy NRL digital pass feed, which is friggin' hopeless, so I'll have to watch the replay to see how it really unfolded, but it looks like we are again a team that has no idea what to do inside the opposition 10m zone.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 08:46 PM

Never deserved to be a chance of winning that , rubbish clueless attack again ,,,, we were false leaders of the comp & it showed tonight

matti

21-04-14, 08:49 PM

terrible......

gotitans101_

21-04-14, 08:49 PM

Tonight finally showed us up, this is why nobody rates us after all these years. Same old crap attack.

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 08:54 PM

Maybe we should throw our hat in the ring for Benji because we have nothing in attack

I didn't want to be the first to mention Benji so I am pleased you have. I think I would have a crack at him. Yes, his form was poor for the Tigers the last two years but obviously things were not right there. Frankly I don't think we have much to lose by getting him and he may return to the NRL with a fresh attitude.
Our attack yet again was useless and it is quite strange watching your team in a game that is relatively close but not getting in to it as you know we have nothing to offer. Sezer is just not developing quickly enough for my liking and I wonder whether if ever he will be a top class 5/8. We saw what happened when he didn't play. I am just over watching boring footy.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:56 PM

terrible......

Yo matti, good to see you mate.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 08:56 PM

Never deserved to be a chance of winning that , rubbish clueless attack again ,,,, we were false leaders of the comp & it showed tonight

Yea, we got found out.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 08:57 PM

never seen bird get dominated like he was tonight. especially by a halfback! you can tell he was frustrated.

the one game we have looked coherent in attack was when Blair played at 6. Sezer is doing a good job of impersonating a lock forward with his running game, and only wants to pass it to Bird. Alby runs to much as well. its important to run, but why field 13 players if the outside 4 arent ever seeing it?

Toads

21-04-14, 08:57 PM

Bringing Benji on board would be on par with Princey's last two years with us..

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 08:59 PM

gotitans101_

21-04-14, 09:01 PM

There is no way in hell Sezer is getting dropped for Blair, and I'm not convinced Sezer is the problem in the first place. We had the same problem when Scott Prince was our halfback ffs.

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 09:02 PM

i dont think anyone is suprised about this result. i still see us a 8th to 9th ranked team IF we improve in attack.

- - - Updated - - -

Benji isnt the answer. try Blair again and see if it was a fluke against the storm

Maybe DB but Sezer is not the answer. Perhaps Blair again, but as I have said in other postings we have players in the 1,6,7,and 9 positions that are ranked (in my opinion anyway) about 8th or worse - that's why we will finish 8th or worse.

gotitans101_

21-04-14, 09:03 PM

Maybe Blair decided to try and steer the team against Cartwright's will, who f***ing knows.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 09:04 PM

Full time.

497

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 09:04 PM

Full game stats: http://www.leagueoftitans.com.au/score_stats.php

matti

21-04-14, 09:05 PM

We need to learn how to run straight, not once tonight did we play out wide. I though neil was going to help our attack??

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 09:07 PM

Maybe DB but Sezer is not the answer. Perhaps Blair again, but as I have said in other postings we have players in the 1,6,7,and 9 positions that are ranked (in my opinion anyway) about 8th or worse - that's why we will finish 8th or worse.

you mean dropping sezer isnt the answer? i dont think its the ultimate answer, but i would like to know if it was coincidence against melbourne then when we spun the ball earlier and longer we scored 5 tries perhaps. even from our own end our ball movement looked cleaner.

DIEHARD

21-04-14, 09:08 PM

Panthers knock Titans off perch

Penrith have knocked Gold Coast off the top of the ladder with a 14-12 win at Sportingbet Stadium on Sunday evening, in a match that proved testy - at one point, literally.

In a bizarre late incident, Panthers second-rower Sika Manu accused Titans' co-captain Greg Bird of "grabbing my nuts", with replays backing the Penrith player's angry reaction. Bird also had a running battle with Penrith halfback Peter Wallace for most of the night.

But in front of a healthy crowd of 9555 it was the home side who had the last laugh, reclaiming their spot in the top eight, with a penalty goal from five-eighth Jamie Soward in the 50th minute the only difference.

The Panthers were in control from the outset, drawing first blood on a simple left to right shift in the seventh minute that ended with centre Dean Whare whizzing past opposite centre Maurice Blair. Jamie Soward added the extras from the sideline and the home side had the early 6-0 lead.

Former Titan Jamal Idris clearly came out with a point to prove against his old team, making a number of incisive runs on drop passes on the left edge, while Wallace got some extra attention from Bird as he came up with a number of half-breaks on the right. The Panthers co-captain duly came up with a big blow in the 30th, having a major hand in his side's second try.

In one of the more bizarre four-pointers you'd see this season, Wallace split the Gold Coast defence and offloaded to halves partner Jamie Soward, whose intended grubber for Jeremy Latimore was spilt – first by Titans No.1 David Mead and then hooker Paul Carter – before falling into the path of Matt Moylan to score. Soward again converted, and the Panthers had all the momentum at 12-0.

But Carter – who redeemed himself with a try-saving tackle on Kevin Kingston four minutes later - came up with the perfect inside ball for prop Ryan James to crash over the line for their first try in the 37th minute. Aidan Sezer's conversion halved the deficit to 12-6 and that's the way it stayed at the main break.

Idris was again in the thick of it in the 50th minute when he was run off a Wallace bomb by Brad Takairangi – although it could've been worse for the visitors, who had a possible Soward try in the ensuing play denied by the video referee for knocking the ball out of a Gold Coast player's hands. Soward slotted over the penalty goal for Takairangi's hip-check and the Panthers were well in control at 14-6.

The surprise competition leaders finished the game stronglyand had a number of raids on the Panthers' goal-line in the last quarter of the match, including three straight sets that culminated in an Albert Kelly turnover in the 67th minute.

The match turned in the 75th minute when Manu was penalised for pushing Bird, claiming the Titans' co-captain had committed a squirrel grip in a tackle. The footage didn't look good, though gave no hint if there was any intent.

Sezer scored in the following set, pouncing on a Kelly grubber that Moylan failed to clean up in-goal, and setting up a grandstand finish.

Titans prop Matt White was put on report for a lifting tackle on Penrith lock Adam Docker in the 61st minute.

Penrith Panthers 14 (Whare, Moylan tries; Soward 3 goals) defeated Gold Coast Titans 12 (James, Sezer tries; Sezer 2 goals) at Sportingbet Stadium. Crowd: 9555.

http://www.nrl.com/panthers-knock-titans-off-perch/tabid/10874/newsid/77802/default.aspx

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 09:13 PM

you mean dropping sezer isnt the answer? i dont think its the ultimate answer, but i would like to know if it was coincidence against melbourne then when we spun the ball earlier and longer we scored 5 tries perhaps. even from our own end our ball movement looked cleaner.

Sorry mate I was not clear. I agree with you that we need to try Blair again. Sezer does seem quick enough, either on his feet or between the ears.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 09:14 PM

Maybe Blair decided to try and steer the team against Cartwright's will, who f***ing knows.

i reckon he must have. cos the rest seem to be told unless u have a overlap and are guaranteed to score DO NOT PASS, offload in traffic instead

- - - Updated - - -

Sorry mate I was not clear. I agree with you that we need to try Blair again. Sezer does seem quick enough, either on his feet or between the ears.

yeah he just plays birdball. if its not going to greggy, he tucking and running. its disrepectful to outside backs who train hard as well and might be able to offer something if given a bloody chance.

lonegull

21-04-14, 09:15 PM

Very flat in attack no structure what so ever, twice in the 5th tackle our hookers take
It at their line, need to some flair in our set pieces,
Falloon had his worst game tonight he isn't showing anything at the moment and it is starting to effect the way we
Play after we get a roll on, sezer needs to spend some time at training doing passing drills to the centres just can't get
Over our structure tonight, oh well always next week

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 09:17 PM

i reckon he must have. cos the rest seem to be told unless u have a overlap and are guaranteed to score DO NOT PASS, offload in traffic instead

Or on the few occasions we had the Panthers stretched tonight early in the tackle counts we then reverted to hit ups. On one occasion late we had cut them apart on the 4th tackle then on the 5th Nate Myles took a hit up close to their line........because we must put a useless kick up on the last tackle regardless of what might have happened just before that.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 09:21 PM

i should say, our grit and determination is to be commended but when we play dumb and without creativity, even it will wear down one day.

titanfan1980

21-04-14, 09:22 PM

Look I have to agree with some of the comments about sezer, he just hasn't got it for me, one play stood out a lot to me. Last tackle he gets the ball and just threw it to taka and goes here you try something lucky taka did with that grubber.. He also just threw the ball behind everyone when the game was close.. And I don't wanna say it but it's true we attacked better with Blair at 5/8..

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 09:32 PM

Or on the few occasions we had the Panthers stretched tonight early in the tackle counts we then reverted to hit ups. On one occasion late we had cut them apart on the 4th tackle then on the 5th Nate Myles took a hit up close to their line........because we must put a useless kick up on the last tackle regardless of what might have happened just before that.

yeah make tonnes of metres, then revert to a useless slow ruck up the middle to bring the defenders back into the game.

i watched the broncos knights game, and the knights in general, and they are masters at staying wide and using it after long runs.twice they went 50 odd metres down the far left, then from dummy spun it twice from hooker to half then to the next half who had the perfect structure waiting outside him of a lead runner, a sweeper and his centre and wing running on to it. you woudnt see it done better at training, the way they all stuck to their lanes and kept timing after a long break. it was super impressive. They scored once from it and almost another. but they exploited the defense rather than welcome back to the game.

- - - Updated - - -

Look I have to agree with some of the comments about sezer, he just hasn't got it for me, one play stood out a lot to me. Last tackle he gets the ball and just threw it to taka and goes here you try something lucky taka did with that grubber.. He also just threw the ball behind everyone when the game was close.. And I don't wanna say it but it's true we attacked better with Blair at 5/8..

i think most of us love sezer. we do, and we want him to succeed. but at some point there needs to be improvement and an ability to adjust when things arent working. how much of that is coaching? probably a fair amount. but right now it is a stagnate situation.

Bayside Titan

21-04-14, 09:32 PM

Maybe we should throw our hat in the ring for Benji because we have nothing in attack

Wouldn't Hurt.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 09:33 PM

maybe its blair to 6, sezer to7 (which he is anyway) and alby to fb where he can mostly run and use his skills for second man play rather than be depended on for it.

Bayside Titan

21-04-14, 09:43 PM

Mexican titan

21-04-14, 09:49 PM

I echo the sentiment of all that said we offered very little in attack. When we attacking our line we looked like we would never get over it. The next two games are going to be very important to us. We need to get our attack right by the Bunnies game or we will come out the otherside of the Origin series outside the eight and sliding fast.

What makes you think we can get our attack right by the Bunnies game. Our attack has been like this for 3 years with very few exceptions. If we keep doing the same old thing we get the same old results.

- - - Updated - - -

maybe its blair to 6, sezer to7 (which he is anyway) and alby to fb where he can mostly run and use his skills for second man play rather than be depended on for it.

No, I think we all pushed Mead for fulback and even though he had a poor game tonight I would keep him there as he has shown some promise. For now I would just drop Sezer for Blair in the halves and see how that goes again.

DavidBouveng

21-04-14, 10:20 PM

i agree mexi, that shuffle is more likely the hail mary once the coach realises Sezer is holding us back but doesnt want to drop him.

or once coach is gone and new coach wants to gamble and see a few options.

Titanic

21-04-14, 10:30 PM

Here are some issues to add to those already mentioned: (1) White will go for a couple of weeks at least, (2 Bird may survive on lack of evidence but I dunno, (3) Mead's ordinary game will let Zillman back in and Don who has been one of our best will get punished for it. (4) swap Sezer and Blair. Sezer can kick, step and he can feed Birdy all day from wider out. (5) Cartwright will be here forever :( (6) James has gone back to his cross field rubbish and (7) Falloon was truly too smart for his own good and (8) Carter needs a kick up the quoit for kicking at that ball.

And Idris obviously had something he wanted to say ... and he said it.

gotitans101_

21-04-14, 10:43 PM

Ioane will be White's replacement hopefully.

Hail Sezer

21-04-14, 10:49 PM

Agree with the general consensus here. Sezer is limiting our attack significantly yet I'm not sure how we go about remedying it. Persevere and hope he develops? Blair? I really don't know.

Falloon was frustrating tonight too. It's like he's been promised prize money at the end of the season if he scores X amount of tries from dummy half - he's so predictable now that me and my flatmates call it earlier in the play and try to guess which way he's gonna go etc.

Tigers next week at leichardt..oh boy.

TITAN PETE

21-04-14, 10:55 PM

Bird laughs off squirrel grip claim
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent
NRL.com
10:40pm Mon 21st April, 2014

Titans co-captain Greg Bird has laughed off accusations by Penrith second-rower Sika Manu of a squirrel grip late in Gold Coast's 14-12 loss to Penrith on Monday evening.

Manu was penalised for lashing out after a tackle by Bird in 75th minute of the game but told on-field referee Gavin Morris that Bird was "grabbing my nuts".

Penrith officials said there would be no formal complaint made against the Titans skipper, who said he had no idea what Manu was raving about.

"I don't know, I just tackled him. I didn't know what he was blowing up about. You get them ones... Nothing r-rated. Not that I know of. He wasn't that lucky," Bird said.

The NSW Origin representative was instead focused on what he perceived as a worrying trend of penalties in the ruck, a number of which were dubious in the tightly-contested game at Penrith.

"And at the end of the day, you can't find out what's going on with the referee because he's sending you away. The players want to continue the play on constantly so it's hard to address what's going wrong," he said.

Bird also accused Penrith players of deliberately playing the ball away from the markers, putting them offside.

"There's a lot of times in there where they're getting up and playing the ball two metres to the side of the ruck. Our players are getting offside, then getting penalised for not being square," he said.

"It's hard – the ruck is the lottery at the moment because it's so fast. I guess that's what they wanted, and the rule changes to speed it up.

"But you got to just hold on for grim life, otherwise they're playing the ball, so the balls are popping out every now and again. It's a frustrating penalty-a-thon out there."

Coach John Cartwright said he has often been left dumbfounded as to some of the penalties his team was copping during games.

"It's detracting from the game. In the end, it just slows the game down because normally there's a big break," he said.

"And sometimes I really don't know what the penalties are for. That's a worry. It's a worry for everyone, for the players, the fans. But whenever you get a game that's bogged down with penalties, it's hard for the players to show what they train for all week."

Having won the second half 6-2, Cartwright pointed to a slow start from his side as the primary reason for the loss.

"It's probably similar to the games we've played all year really. We were down in some key areas," he said.

"I thought our support play was down. I thought we just missed a few too many tackles on some of their key players that we targeted we had to stop - the big winger [Josh] Mansour, Jamal [Idris].

"I thought we addressed that pretty well at half-time and it was a bit of a slog the second half. But it's pretty well how we've been playing most of the year.

"I thought we hung in really well. At 8-0, it could've gone away from us a bit. But we stuck to our job. With any luck at the death, we could've come away with another last minute win."

The loss snapped Gold Coast's four-game winning streak, and they now sit in fourth spot ahead of next week's visit to Leichhardt Oval against the in-form Tigers.

Bayside Titan

21-04-14, 11:08 PM

What makes you think we can get our attack right by the Bunnies game. Our attack has been like this for 3 years with very few exceptions. If we keep doing the same old thing we get the same old results.

- - - Updated - - -

No, I think we all pushed Mead for fulback and even though he had a poor game tonight I would keep him there as he has shown some promise. For now I would just drop Sezer for Blair in the halves and see how that goes again.

True about the attack you are just abit dilusional tonight I guess.

I'm a bit confused. Who's actual roll is it to look after the attack ? Carty or Henry ?

Titanic

21-04-14, 11:51 PM

Mine now ... the first thing is "stand deep you bastards" ... right, now this is my ball ... I will run at that little pr1ck there and get one of my hands free, you two farkers get each side of me ... don't forget; time your run or you'll be in QCup next week ...

Smakked

22-04-14, 07:35 AM

DavidBouveng

22-04-14, 09:09 AM

We played poorly enough that it's easy to forget it was two tries all and one of there tries was from two random errors behind goal line.

not defending how we play, more that even in this sorry state we were competitive and we just need to find a basic bit of attack we can use to score more points and stay top 8.

Titanic

22-04-14, 10:28 AM

Losing ugly is a lot worse than winning ugly.

Mr Stupid

22-04-14, 10:40 AM

I really don't know what to say after watching that, we look clueless in attack no one going forward not even trying anything, extremely boring to watch and so predictable, finish every set with a bomb. We need Srama back i am starting to see him as a better hooker then Falloon. James did nothing of the bench, basically it was like watching the under 8s at half time everytime we go down to the panther 20. NO idea where we go from here, hopefully we loose a few in a row and they sack carty ? Can only dream.

Hmmm the myth of us being contenders seems busted. Great energy and grit but we'll never succeed with no attack. Are the dummy half darts for the line on the 5th really being coached? If not who is actually calling the shots? Mead went missing in action last night which was really dissappointing. Was he injured early? James was OK for a first game back but as usual there are too many forwards getting in the way of our backline.

Panthers certainly are not great but even they ensure that Wallace and Soward are standing next to each other to sweep it wide whenever possible. Sezer spends half his time playing it in the ruck after a half ****d run.

Titanic

22-04-14, 10:42 AM

Panthers certainly are not great but even they ensure that Wallace and Soward are standing next to each other to sweep it wide whenever possible. Sezer spends half his time playing it in the ruck after a half ****d run.
Cleary can coach.

Smakked

22-04-14, 03:36 PM

The worse thing is we cant even call our team a work in progress because there is no progress

Supergoose

22-04-14, 09:56 PM

I loved the Bird ball call made on here. Bird was at his worst last night and it cost us. Not sure what happened to Blair. I hope he wasn't dragged after that first try because that was Bird's fault as was another line-break. He has had an excellent season to date but that is one he needs to consign to the history books because we can't afford our focal point to be that bad. He was totally dominated. Blair and Takairangi are important members of our attack and should get as much early ball as we can feed them - especially near our own line - our forwards need to run more decoys and get out of the way. Sezer seems lost and is dying with the ball far too often. Blair will put Gordon away if we give him the chance and Kelly and Mead should be looking to play of Taka and Taylor's offloads. Unfortunately Mead had a shocker and I'll be very pleased if he can get another chance at fullback. Don has been excellent too. Great to see James back, it's going to be a ferocious forward battle against the Tigers - let's hope we can find some attacking plays in the opposition 20m. I won't hold my breath

Titanic

23-04-14, 11:09 AM

Harrison must go and Bird must be given a roving commission. He deadset chokes that left side and I have been watching Blair closely and he overcalls Bird which he should but that could be why he got hooked. In response Bird then had to over-play his role to warrant being the dominant left-side player ... anyway that's what I saw and it was rubbish.

The pack should get Taylor and Myles in the backrow with Bird in 13 which has been obvious to so many of us for so long. With James back there can be no reason why not.

karnage

23-04-14, 12:07 PM

People are wrong to criticise Sezar as the reason we are stunted in attack.

100% completely and utterly wrong.

We could grab a DeLorian and get Fittler, Daly, Kenny or Lewis from the prime of their careers to play in the 6 jersey and it would not help us attack effectively when we have three one out hit ups by slow forwards in EVERY SINGLE SET inside the opponents twenty.

teke

23-04-14, 02:39 PM

Titanic

23-04-14, 03:19 PM

Not completely true, the attack is almost entirely directed from this teams 5/8. He is the ones calling the shots.
Not completely true either, he's the one being told what to call.

K2G

23-04-14, 03:39 PM

Not completely true, the attack is almost entirely directed from this teams 5/8. He is the ones calling the shots.

Sezer needs improvement there's no doubting that.

But I think the more important point is that as a whole team, our formation, fluency and options in attack are so bad/non existent - that even a Freddy Fittler would struggle to make us look good. It's so obviously not because our playmaker isn't creative enough / makes bad choices - our whole style of play, week after week suggests that whatever we do at training (if we practice attacking structures at all) is so off the pace compared to the better sides in the comp, that no single player - can be considered the chief perpetrator of ruining our attack. Even if everyone plays their best game; we wont execute a sweeping backline movement, with well timed decoy runs that results in 1, 2 or 3 man overlaps - because it's plain to see that we just don't have plays in our team repertoire at the moment: probably because our brains trust of coaches (or perhaps just our headcoach) just isn't/aren't as good as the better coaches going around, to be able to coach that kind of football.

Our decoy runners are slow, off-time, and obvious, running fairly vanilla lines that don't trouble well drilled defenses - our support play is patchy at best. The fact that Sezer is the bloke who gets thrown the pill on tackle 5, and decides to put up a bomb, or run at the line (which says less about his own skill, than that of the coach's imo) - isn't because he is a 1 dimensional player, it's because the team is giving him nothing - no shape behind him, no one running a good line, at speed, with convincing decoys to help .. their all complicit in the '5 hit-ups and a kick' game we're playing at the moment. And I find it hard to blame Bird, Harro, Mini or any of the forwards either - their all just doing the job that they're being coached to do.

It seems obvious to me that Carty has decided on percentage footy at this stage of the season. All training and drills on defense and fitness. Focus on yardage and getting into the opposition 20. If we do that enough, we'll win early season games (working so far). Hopefully our attack is a work in progress, and as a team, each individual is being explicitly coached in their own role within each specific attacking structure and set play that we are building within our play book for later in the season (as opposed to our playmakers being pumped with advice, while our forwards get patted on the back), although it remains to be seen that Carty possesses such foresight or coaching nous.

I can't help but feel that some of the young blokes at our club are risking their development and earning potential with the coaching and style of footy they are subjected to at the moment. Such a disservice.

Mexican titan

23-04-14, 04:24 PM

Sezer needs improvement there's no doubting that.

But I think the more important point is that as a whole team, our formation, fluency and options in attack are so bad/non existent - that even a Freddy Fittler would struggle to make us look good. It's so obviously not because our playmaker isn't creative enough / makes bad choices - our whole style of play, week after week suggests that whatever we do at training (if we practice attacking structures at all) is so off the pace compared to the better sides in the comp, that no single player - can be considered the chief perpetrator of ruining our attack. Even if everyone plays their best game; we wont execute a sweeping backline movement, with well timed decoy runs that results in 1, 2 or 3 man overlaps - because it's plain to see that we just don't have such pays in our team repertoire at the moment: probably because our brains trust of coaches (or perhaps just our headcoach) just isn't/aren't as good as the better coaches going around, to coach that kind of football.

Our decoy runners are slow, off-time, and obvious, running fairly vanilla lines that don't trouble well drilled defenses - our support play is patchy at best. The fact that Sezer is the bloke who gets thrown the pill on tackle 5, and decides to put up a bomb, or run at the line (which says less about his own skill, than the coaches imo) - isn't because he is a 1 dimensional player, it's because the team is giving him nothing - no shape behind him, no one running a good line, at speed, with convincing decoys to help .. their all complicit in the 5 hit-ups and a kick game we're playing at the moment. And I find it hard to blame Bird, Harro, Mini or any of the forwards either - their all just doing the job that their being coached to do.

It seems obvious to me that Carty has decided on percentage footy at this stage of the season. All training and drills on defense and fitness. Focus on yardage and getting into the opposition 20. If we do that enough, we'll win early season games (working so far). Hopefully our attack is a work in progress, and as a team, each individual is being explicitly coached in their own role within each specific attacking structure and set play that we are building within our play book for later in the season (as opposed to our playmakers being pumped with advice, while our forwards get patted on the back), although it remains to be seen that Carty possesses such foresight or coaching nous.

I can't help but feel that some of the young blokes at our club are risking their development, and earning potential with the coaching and style of footy they are subjected to at the moment. Such a disservice.

A well written post mate. Hard to disagree with any of it.
As I said last year (and probably the year before) this style of attritional football just wears down the forwards and by seasons end they are running on empty. Not to mention the :zzzz: factor on us.

DavidBouveng

23-04-14, 05:20 PM

Yeah good post. I've said as well that some of our backs are going to wake up and have lost half their career.

the biggest issue with Carty training for a completion based gameplay... We are still have the worst % in the comp. so the tigers and eels with all the razzle dazzle complete better than we do... Work that one out.

Mexican titan

23-04-14, 06:04 PM

Yeah good post. I've said as well that some of our backs are going to wake up and have lost half their career.

Will not be just the backs waking up. I get some of my best sleep while the Titans are playing. Sad really.
I am also a member of Manly and watch their games on tv and get quite involved as they (like most sides) put on moves etc in attack and generally entertain. With the Titans I just sit there, head down on my hands, only moving to take a swig of beer, and never flinch. It's quite staggering that a football side that I am quite passionate about get no reaction out of me when I am watching most of their games. It's like I am in a Titans induced coma which ends at the fulltime siren.

K2G

23-04-14, 06:14 PM

the biggest issue with Carty training for a completion based gameplay... We are still have the worst % in the comp. so the tigers and eels with all the razzle dazzle complete better than we do... Work that one out.

And they're bloody good to watch as well.

Supergoose

23-04-14, 11:39 PM

If Bird runs some tougher lines off Sezer and even cuts in behind him, he'll open up the room for his left centre to go to work. He hasn't been doing that. The right side has Harrison doing a fair bit of that and Taylor to a lesser degree but there has been a bit of room for Taka to work in but it hasn't come to much yet. I thought Mead went a bit too sideways when we tried to put some plays on against the Panthers and cramped the left side as well. It will be nice if we can get some rhythm and run the right lines at the right time

karnage

24-04-14, 11:45 AM

A well written post mate. Hard to disagree with any of it.
As I said last year (and probably the year before) this style of attritional football just wears down the forwards and by seasons end they are running on empty. Not to mention the :zzzz: factor on us.

Exactly!! Check this out:

2007: Won 6 of first twelve games, then just 4 of last twelve (finished 12th)
2008: Won 8 of first twelve games, then just 2 of last twelve (finished 13th)
2009: Won 7 of first twelve games, then 9 of last fourteen (exited finals after going 0-2 v Brisbane and Parramatta)
2010: Won 7 of first twelve games, then 9 of last fourteen (including one finals win v NZ)
2011: Won 3 of first twelve games, then just 3 of last twelve (finished with the spoon and Carty signed to 5-year extension!!)
2012: Won 5 of first twelve games, then 5 of last twelve (finished 11th)
2013: Won 7 of first twelve games, then just 4 of last twelve (finished 9th)

AVERAGE WINS FIRST 12 GAMES: 6.14
AVERAGE WINS LAST 12 GAMES: 5

We average one less win per season in the last 12 games than we do in the first 12 games AND on top of that we are 1-3 in finals (even less than 33%!!!). Even last year where everybody had this impression that we finished the year strongly (because of meaningless performances in Sydney v Easts and in Melbourne) we still won only 4 of our last 12 games.

30 points is the golden number that will get an NRL team into the finals - that means we need just 8 wins from our final 17 games (plus the four points we get for byes) to hit that mark. Those season break downs tell us that we will only make the finals if we can recreate the sort of form that saw us get 9 wins from out last 12 in 2009 and 2010. So history says we are a 2 in 7 chance of making the finals - that is not far off 33%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

(*It is actually only 29%)