Round 7: TITANS vs DRAGONS

[DIEHARD]

<br><br><table width='90%' class='theader'><tr style='font-weight: bold; height: 140px;'><td width='40%' class='bgimg tit'>&nbsp;</td><td width='20%' rowspan='2' style='text-align: center; font-size: 60px;'>vs</td><td width='40%'class='bgimg dra'>&nbsp;</td></tr><tr style='font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px;'><td width='40%'>Gold Coast Titans</td><td width='40%'>St George Illawarra Dragons</td></tr></table><br>
Sat 16 Apr, 3:00PM Cbus Super Stadium<br><br><table width="100%" id="teams"><tbody><tr><td valign="top" align="right" width="40%"><table class="teamlists"><tbody><tr><td align="right"><div>William Zillman</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Anthony Don</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Josh Hoffman</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Nene Macdonald</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>David Mead</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Cameron Cullen</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Ashley Taylor</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>David Shillington</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Nathan Friend</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Ryan James</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Zeb Taia</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Chris McQueen</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Greg Bird</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" align="center">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Luke Douglas</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Leivaha Pulu</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Agnatius Paasi</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Daniel Mortimer</div></td></tr><tr><td align="right"><div>Eddy Pettybourne</div></td></tr><tr style="height:40px;"><td align="right"><div>Neil Henry</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td><td valign="top" align="center" width="20%"><table class="teamlists"><tbody><tr><td class="tl_position">Fullback</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Wing</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Centre</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Centre</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Wing</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Five-eighth</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Halfback</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Prop</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Hooker</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Prop</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Second Row</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Second Row</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Lock</td></tr><tr><td align="center">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Interchange</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Interchange</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Interchange</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Interchange</td></tr><tr><td class="tl_position">Interchange</td></tr><tr style="height:40px;"><td class="tl_position">Coach</td></tr></tbody></table></td><td valign="top" align="left" width="40%"><table class="teamlists"><tbody><tr><td align="left"><div>Josh Dugan</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Kalifa Faifai Loa</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Euan Aitken</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Tim Lafai</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Jason Nightingale</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Gareth Widdop</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Benji Marshall</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Leeson Ah Mau</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Mitch Rein</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Russell Packer</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Tyson Frizell</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Joel Thompson</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Jack de Belin</div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" align="center">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Mike Cooper</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Will Matthews</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Dunamis Lui</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Siliva Havili</div></td></tr><tr><td align="left"><div>Josh McCrone</div></td></tr><tr style="height:40px;"><td align="left"><div>Paul McGregor</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table>

[IpswichTitans]

We'll win this one.

[DavidBouveng]

if we had have got over the line today, we would be sat nice and pretty at 4-2 and only lost to the two ladder leaders, storm and broncs... we are now 3-3 and back in the pack.

Need to win games like this to get ahead in the ledger.

[Titanic]

We will compete all year but apart from finishing higher than Newie and the Tigpies, we can only hope to compete ... in saying that, this is the best season of hope and hate since 2007. New players, poor reffing, close games, not giving in ... loving it.

Injuries aside, I would like to see this team run out:

1. Mead (not sure if I prefer him on the left wing but then who am I?)
2. Hoffman (if you can't pass nor kick and you're an outside back then this is where you play or in QCup)
3. Zillman ( always brings more comment than any other player in 100+ years of league)
4. MacDonald (last chance on the right)
5. Davis (need that size across the field and Don just can't seem to get out of a jog)
6. Roberts (we need his experience and kicking game)
7. Taylor (run at the line lad)
8. Shillington (last chance to lead from the front before the bench beckons)
9. Friend (first picked each week)
10. Paasi (needs to start with a good kick up the din from Bird)
11. Taia (second picked each week)
12. McQueen (efforts not recognised as he covers whoever plays right centre)
13. Bird (needs to be told we are playing the Sharks every week)

14. James (must be reminded that he hasn't played Origin yet and may never unless he just digs in)
15. Douglas (jealously eyeing-off Shillington's starting position)
16. Pulu (really brings our bench alive)
17. Cullen (totally agree that he is a hooker of the future with a kick)

[lonegull]

Take an early field goal in the first set of six that should be enough to get over the dragons

[teke]

Take an early field goal in the first set of six that should be enough to get over the dragons:laugh::laugh:

[Barrels]

nah dragons are due. mary would have drilled them, and will expect a better performance from them. We're rocks and diamonds right now so i would expect anything.

- - - Updated - - -

just found out we're at home, might make it a bit easier for us actually.

[TITAN PETE]

Losing back to back games is a downer but when you lose 3 in a row everyone stops taking you seriously , Saturday Arvo is a must win game

[Hail Sezer]

Take an early field goal in the first set of six that should be enough to get over the dragons

Hahahahahahha love it

[Just-a-Fan]

oved the comment lonegull
This is the way i would pick the team this week
1 MEAD
2 Zillman cuz he has to be in the side BS to me but DON needs to be dropped for a wake up call
3 Macdonald aka BigMac always make meter in that spot
4 Davis if he is fit Olive if he is not and drop Hoffman as a wake up call
5 Olive or 1 of the U/20 player
6 Roberts if fit but happy if Cullen get another run
7 Atay cool name has impoved with every game
8 Douglas Needs to start was our best last year but I think everyone has fogotten that
9 Friend is our best in that spot
10 Shillington last chance to keep his starting spot Petteru and Tuiasau are back soon
11 Taia has had some good game but feel he needs to have a rest in the game but needs to be on the last 20min
12 McQueen has been good need to lead a bit more on the right side i know it not the side he like best
13 Bird is killing it makes me eat my words every week and should have no problem with getting off
14 James plays better off the bench
15 has the impact we need off the bench
16 Pulu has been very good just keep improving
17 if we are going with a utility i would look at Lawton or Cullen both could give Friend a rest I think Mortimer we miss this game
I am not sure how Moseley is doing
anyway go get the Titans

[JunctionBlock]

For those that haven't heard. Bird has been cited for a grade 2 careless high tackle. Attracts 125 base points but he has 2 priors in the last two years so 20% loading. If early guilty (131 points) or found guilty (175 points) he misses a week. I personally hope they fight it. Spend some of the NRL's money on legal fees.

For those wondering, no Ennis wasn't cited for his shot on Friend or for the conduct after the fact in picking up a possibly concussed player.

[5 Year Contract]

For those that haven't heard. Bird has been cited for a grade 2 careless high tackle. Attracts 125 base points but he has 2 priors in the last two years so 20% loading. If early guilty (131 points) or found guilty (175 points) he misses a week. I personally hope they fight it. Spend some of the NRL's money on legal fees.

For those wondering, no Ennis wasn't cited for his shot on Friend or for the conduct after the fact in picking up a possibly concussed player.

Complete and utter crap. Cannot believe he was cited for that. Purely on reputation yet Ennis walks free after his disgraceful ****. If we were any other team with any other player if we thought I think we would win but being bird and being the titans we have no chance.

In regards to this game its a MUST win although im worried with Benji being back. My team would be:

1. Mead (deserves to be there. Should never of lost the spot)
2. Hoffman (Like Zillman will be picked regardless but gives us nothing in attack or defence. Waste of a junior not being blooded)
3. Zillman (showed enough last game to give him 1 chance this week. If he is fullback I give up)
4. MacDonald (Enigma! Has the pace but is awful in defence and dances around at times. Run fast, run hard and get your defence right!!!)
5. Davis (Last few games we have missed a huge centre crashing over the line. Time to go Don)
6. Roberts (We look most deadly with him and Ash as last tackle options. Also gives us more go forward last week.)
7. Taylor (run at the line lad (ditto titanic) )
8. Shillington (needs to show more. Not running as hard as Dougie at the moment but his game against the raiders was huge. Ill put the last game down to rust after missing broncos game)
9. Friend (first picked each week. Showed he can play 80 and tackle like a demon)
10. James (Cut the crap out of the game but we need an enforcer out there and not just rely on bird to give us some stiffness. Runs harder each week)
11. Taia (second picked each week)
12. McQueen (Needs to run the ball more. I know he covers centre but there was a good 10 minute stretch when he didn't touch the ball last game.)
13. Bird (The heart of the team. keep killin' em' bird)

14. Paasi (no where near as damaging as he was at the start of the season. Maybe Roberts being back will feed him some more quality ball out wide)
15. Douglas (Could easily be run on)
16. Pulu (Our best bench player for the last 3 weeks)
17. Cullen (Was impressive last week although is he big enough to play hooker? I think so and he will be absolutely explosive brought on against a tired dragons outfit)

[TitanSam]

I must say, Ash, Zeb and Vaha are some seriously smart buys from the Titans.

I also must retract my previous statements that we don't need a centre. We definitely do, Not sure what's been up with Don these past fees weeks but based on how safe he is, he's always in my team.

Someone needs to tell Nene to charge at the line, he'd be one of the biggest on field but he always steps at the line, does so much damage when he runs straight like we saw in patches last year.

[Titanic]

MacDonald needs Tommy Raudonikis to slap him around a few times before he runs on but let's not forget he is an outside back and has the character of a Caramello - a soft-centre, just joking :)

[teke]

Nene as a example has played in 3 or 4 diff positions to start the season.

Couple that with injuries to the playmakers it is no wonder we just don't look threatening in attack.

This weeks game vs the dragons wont be easy at all

[Titanic Believer]

There are no gimmees in this comp. We may be giving it a good shot and loosing but so are they. Which team will rise to the occasion? I recon they will be thinking this is a great chance to break their run of outs.

[karnage]

The thing to remember with the Dragons is that they were 5 days into that game against Brisbane. It is tiring to here coaches belt on about it all the time but teams off a 5 day break have performed very poorly all season long.

They have had 9 days to prepare for this game against our 6. To put that in perspective they would have returned home, recovered and had a session on the field (Monday) before we even returned home from Sydney. In a competition as close as the NRL is those things matter.

They also get belted up by the two teams in the competition that are able to keep their foot on the gas for the full 80 minutes. They were close in both games before getting blown out in the last 10-15 minutes. If we continue to start slowly we may give them the confidence boost they sorely need.

We are playing an opponent that is down in the gutter but has a lot in its favor. Our attitude must be right for this game - we need to step right on their necks and keep them there.

[JunctionBlock]

Titans to contest Bird's grading severity. Fingers crossed.

[Titanic]

Titans to contest Bird's grading severity. Fingers crossed.Crossed mine too ... he needs to go to church this week after not being cited for the challenge on Barba ... that one was really sailing close to the wind.

[TitanSam]

I can really see us losing this game badly.. Dragons will step up and shock us after terrible performances from them recently.

[timor 2]

1William Zillman
2Anthony Don
3Josh Hoffman
4Nene Macdonald
5David Mead
6Cameron Cullen
7Ashley Taylor
8David Shillington
9Nathan Friend
10Ryan James
11Zeb Taia




12Chris McQueen
13Greg Bird
INTERCHANGE
14Luke Douglas
15Leivaha Pulu
16Agnatius Paasi
17Daniel Mortimer
18Eddy Pettybourne

[JunctionBlock]

I was expecting something different. Roberts, Davis are supposed to be fit. Mortimer I thought would have got a week off.

[Titanic]

Surely Mortimer shouldn't play with that gash ... minimum healing time 7-10 days. I don't mind Hoffman, Don and even Zillman getting another week's chance ... I've never been a fan of knee-jerk dumpings as much as 6 games is hardly knee-jerk and more like the dead duck disco :)

[TitanSam]

Birdy failed at judiciary. Will miss a week

[JunctionBlock]

That's going to hurt. Hope the rest of the team is prepared to step up.

[TITAN PETE]

I would like to see McQueen moved closer in & take Birds sport with James on the edge

[Barrels]

turns out matt cooper was on the judiciary panel. no wonder why bird lost. shouldn't have been on report in the first place. Leagues turning onto a softer game every year, within 5 years it'll become touch football all for "player welfare"

[Mr Bods]

turns out matt cooper was on the judiciary panel. no wonder why bird lost. shouldn't have been on report in the first place. Leagues turning onto a softer game every year, within 5 years it'll become touch football all for "player welfare"

Wasn't late, wasn't high, wasn't a shoulder charge. Wasn't even a penalty.
Then the NRL outrageously puts club legend Matt Cooper on the panel.

There is no way anyone in the NSW/Brisbane hate media will say anything about this outrage.

St Merge by name can't stand on their own two feet. Typical sneaky stitch up.

It'll be on in the stands on Saturday.

I'm sick of this crap we put up with.

[Just-a-Fan]

We are going to miss the Bird So i am guessing Paasi going to 13 ??? I would sooner McQueen there
I would let Douglas start and James on on the right where McQueen plays and Paasi off the bench
I think Mortimer should take a week off and see if Moseley or Lawton can step up
Peteru would be good on the bench but needs a few weeks in Qcup to get match fitness
Just hope Shillo has a big game he needs it Davis should be in for Hoffman Olive/GL/BK/ Robert-Davis should be in for Don
Go the Titans

[Barrels]

What does Greg Birds judiciary hearing and the Dragons scoreboard have in common...





... Both are pointless

[DavidBouveng]

I would like to see McQueen moved closer in & take Birds sport with James on the edge

what about James playing the middle role? its becoming pretty great position, and he has the motor to make it work.

I like him out wide, but he has been so good up front i dont want to let him get out of the rythm he has 9 last week wasn't his best week, but generally he has been on fire )

not saying you are wrong, just spitballing other ideas.

[5 Year Contract]

Complete horse**** about Bird. But we all knew on reputation alone and the QLD club judiciary bias he was never getting off.

I do agree you cant completely change a team after a loss but I certainly dont think last week necessitated a unchanged team. As said previously if Zillman is first picked by Henry each week for the team then he is a centre and not at fullback. He at least showed enough to have another shot this week with some strong runs. Don should be dropped and bring Davis through and push Nene out wide. If there was justice Hoffman would be dropped and Olive/GL brought back through but we all know that isn't happening and will most likely lose a promising back at the end of the season due to no opportunities.

Not overly confident at this stage. The dragons will come ready to play. I honestly think though given all our games this season if we can get off to just ONE good opening 20 and be the opening try scorer we could take this game by the first half. We need to be commended for out ability to grind back into a game but I would love to see us explode out of the blocks and dominate a team. Cant week to see Cullen with another week under his belt attacking the line.

Fingers crossed this is a MUST win

[Titanic Believer]

Complete horse**** about Bird. But we all knew on reputation alone and the QLD club judiciary bias he was never getting off.

I do agree you cant completely change a team after a loss but I certainly dont think last week necessitated a unchanged team. As said previously if Zillman is first picked by Henry each week for the team then he is a centre and not at fullback. He at least showed enough to have another shot this week with some strong runs. Don should be dropped and bring Davis through and push Nene out wide. If there was justice Hoffman would be dropped and Olive/GL brought back through but we all know that isn't happening and will most likely lose a promising back at the end of the season due to no opportunities.

Not overly confident at this stage. The dragons will come ready to play. I honestly think though given all our games this season if we can get off to just ONE good opening 20 and be the opening try scorer we could take this game by the first half. We need to be commended for out ability to grind back into a game but I would love to see us explode out of the blocks and dominate a team. Cant week to see Cullen with another week under his belt attacking the line.

Fingers crossed this is a MUST win

At this stage of the season this isn't a MUST win. But..it will be a good indicator of where we are actually at. We have started seasons in the past with some early wins but have then faded fast. To have any credibility we need to win the games against the lower ranked teams. My comment about the sameness of our outside backs from previous seasons stands. I cant see any improvement coming from them. If there isn't improvement then the young guys need to start learning at NRL level. I am not concerned with a oversupply of halves. To become a premiership contender we will need excellent halves not just good ones. Competition will bring out who is likely to go to the next level. Elgey has shown massive promise but who knows how he will pull up after a year out?

[5 Year Contract]

At this stage of the season this isn't a MUST win. But..it will be a good indicator of where we are actually at. We have started seasons in the past with some early wins but have then faded fast. To have any credibility we need to win the games against the lower ranked teams. My comment about the sameness of our outside backs from previous seasons stands. I cant see any improvement coming from them. If there isn't improvement then the young guys need to start learning at NRL level. I am not concerned with a oversupply of halves. To become a premiership contender we will need excellent halves not just good ones. Competition will bring out who is likely to go to the next level. Elgey has shown massive promise but who knows how he will pull up after a year out?

You dont want to drop 3 games in a row this early in the season, we currently are building a bit of a fortress at home and we are against a team that has not scored a point in 2 games. To me that screams must win. Its wont have a huge bearing on our top 8 aspirations and the rest of our season but in a "rebuilding year" these are the games you cant afford to drop at home. You want to keep winning, you want to keep improving and the wins are going to get the crowds through the gates to see a winning team. If we dont win this game it will be a big blow to the early promise and momentum we have showed

[Titanic Believer]

You dont want to drop 3 games in a row this early in the season, we currently are building a bit of a fortress at home and we are against a team that has not scored a point in 2 games. To me that screams must win. Its wont have a huge bearing on our top 8 aspirations and the rest of our season but in a "rebuilding year" these are the games you cant afford to drop at home. You want to keep winning, you want to keep improving and the wins are going to get the crowds through the gates to see a winning team. If we dont win this game it will be a big blow to the early promise and momentum we have showed

I agree

[karnage]

I reckon this has a bit of a 'must win' feel about it. The comp is very, very even this year and there are going to be one or two teams in the eight at seasons end that are only there because they took care of business against teams below them on the ladder. They'll scrape into the 8 with something like a 2-7 record against other members of the 8 and get bundled straight out but atleast they played a final.

WE CAN BE ONE OF THOSE TEAMS!!

[teke]

If eels cop a big punishment it will take one team out of the top 8 at seasons end

[indoallstars]

Looks like Roberts might make a return from injury against the Dragons:

http://www.nrl.com/five-eighth-roberts-set-for-titans-return/tabid/10874/newsid/94875/default.aspx

If he does, hopefully Mortimer fails the concussion test and Cam Cullen gets his place in the 17.

[Manzo]

http://www.nrl.com/benji-hamstrung-again-in-nrl-for-dragons/tabid/10874/newsid/94873/default.aspx

and benji is out

[Bayside Titan]

I reckon this has a bit of a 'must win' feel about it. The comp is very, very even this year and there are going to be one or two teams in the eight at seasons end that are only there because they took care of business against teams below them on the ladder. They'll scrape into the 8 with something like a 2-7 record against other members of the 8 and get bundled straight out but atleast they played a final.

WE CAN BE ONE OF THOSE TEAMS!!

This game worries me as we could go in complacent against St George and get smacked. If Roberts is back that to me could be a good move to give us the experience in the halves to try and get us this win.

Titans also need a good win as the cross town code are flying high so we really need to go with the Suns in terms of wins on the board.

[JunctionBlock]

Looks like Roberts might make a return from injury against the Dragons:

http://www.nrl.com/five-eighth-roberts-set-for-titans-return/tabid/10874/newsid/94875/default.aspx

If he does, hopefully Mortimer fails the concussion test and Cam Cullen gets his place in the 17.

Moseley is on standby if Mortimer is ruled out. Expect Mortimer to go into disguise as Friend and wear headgear.

When do you get your VCash from any wins (last week)?

[5 Year Contract]

http://www.nrl.com/benji-hamstrung-again-in-nrl-for-dragons/tabid/10874/newsid/94873/default.aspx

and benji is out

Excellent this game is ours for the taking now just need to not have a shocker

[Manzo]

www.titans.com.au/news/2016/04/15/coach_s_insight_v_dr.html

mort sounds like he is playing

[JunctionBlock]

www.titans.com.au/news/2016/04/15/coach_s_insight_v_dr.html

mort sounds like he is playing

Regardless of how I (we) feel about Morts ability, if we are serious about player welfare he should be getting rested. He was out cold after that head knock, not to mention a massive laceration in his scalp. Tell me one doctor (ethical) that would allow someone to play a contact sport a week after those injuries.

[gotitans101_]

Man I hate 3pm games, might miss the first half hour or so of this one.

[5 Year Contract]

http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/04/16/few_late_changes_to_.html

Wow some big late mail. Morts to start at hooker (this only works if they use him like granville at the cowboys and friend comes on to play the last 60minutes full). Roberts Starting at 5/8. Pulu starting over Mcqueen (love this move). And Paasi starting for Bird. I dont mind Morts starting (although it should be Cullen) as long as hes only on for 20 minutes. Friend provides us with great cover up the middle in defence which Morts certainly wont do. Will be interesting to see how it pays off. hard luck to Cullen there

[teke]

http://www.titans.com.au/news/2016/04/16/few_late_changes_to_.html

Wow some big late mail. Morts to start at hooker (this only works if they use him like granville at the cowboys and friend comes on to play the last 60minutes full). Roberts Starting at 5/8. Pulu starting over Mcqueen (love this move). And Paasi starting for Bird. I dont mind Morts starting (although it should be Cullen) as long as hes only on for 20 minutes. Friend provides us with great cover up the middle in defence which Morts certainly wont do. Will be interesting to see how it pays off. hard luck to Cullen thereim putting u on a Anti Zilly diet. You're only allowed 3 Zilly hate posts from now on

[5 Year Contract]

im putting u on a Anti Zilly diet. You're only allowed 3 Zilly hate posts from now on

huh? there was no zilolo mention in there?

[teke]

huh? there was no zilolo mention in there?lol

I'm not talking about that post, I'm talking about your urges that will come in the next 2 hrs

[5 Year Contract]

lol

I'm not talking about that post, I'm talking about your urges that will come in the next 2 hrs

hahaha!! Might need to introduce a "5 stages of dealing with death" program for Zillman. 5 Steps to accepting Zilololo as our lord and fullback: a 2 year course. We are well past the first step....DENIAL!!!

[JunctionBlock]

I'll start on a +ve about Zillman. After watching Inglis last night, Zillman's worth went up 0.5%.

[5 Year Contract]

I'll start on a +ve about Zillman. After watching Inglis last night, Zillman's worth went up 0.5%.

I know worrying signs for the QLD origin team if Inglis is it and Munster is on a ban. He was awful last night

- - - Updated - - -

IM off to the local to watch this so radio silence from me til after the match. Think we should have this one. Hoping for a dominating win. If I only have 3 anti Zillman posts ill get them out of the way. I cant believe Zillman dropped that ball, I cant believe Zillman missed that easy tackle and I cant believe Zillman passed that ball. Lets see if my predictions ring true. GO THE BOYS!!!!!

[JunctionBlock]

I know worrying signs for the QLD origin team if Inglis is it and Munster is on a ban. He was awful last night

- - - Updated - - -

IM off to the local to watch this so radio silence from me til after the match. Think we should have this one. Hoping for a dominating win. If I only have 3 anti Zillman posts ill get them out of the way. I cant believe Zillman dropped that ball, I cant believe Zillman missed that easy tackle and I cant believe Zillman passed that ball. Lets see if my predictions ring true. GO THE BOYS!!!!!

2 from 3 and it's 5 mins in. To add a third, why didn't you scoot from dummy half when the dragons were on the back foot after Don's break?

[Barrels]

penalties and unecessary passes. this is criminal

- - - Updated - - -

and there it goes

[mdrew]

Each week, penalties are hurting us

[TitanSam]

It's like Mortimer is trying his best to lose us the game

[Barrels]

ben hunt moment

[Boonarga]

Onya Mortimer. Just get off.

[Barrels]

if we dont score here be worried

- - - Updated - - -

wow that is pure strength

[Boonarga]

The Fox commentators just mentioned the taunting. I agree. It is **** and should be barred from the game.

[JunctionBlock]

That is one of the funniest tries I've seen. Good effort by Paasi. It looked rough from the play of the ball but we managed to make it work.

I wouldn't mind seeing a bit of structured football though. We've gone back to 2014 relying on luck.

- - - Updated - - -


The Fox commentators just mentioned the taunting. I agree. It is **** and should be barred from the game.

Don't agree. Mental attitude is an important aspect. They aren't under 6's.

[Barrels]

Taylor's kick was way too heavy, defense is suffering and we give away another penalty. same old titans i guess

[JunctionBlock]

Terrible defence followed by penalties. I just don't understand where our discipline from the first three rounds has gone?

And every time we do it it leads to an opposition try.

[ozynorts]

Poor defensive read there

[mdrew]

Another penalty another try against

[Barrels]

that'll do me that try. that is utter bullsh*t, we are just gone. This side has scored 0 points in the last 2 rounds and there is a reason for that. They are sh*t, we are just sh*tter.

[JunctionBlock]

It's a battle of the milked penalties today.

And we lost. Thanks Gavin, we know how much you love our team.

[Barrels]

god i hate the crusher tackle. it is practically unavoidable.

[ozynorts]

If you want to reverse into a tackle then you are going to get a sore neck.

[Manzo]

kicks way to deep

[JunctionBlock]

Mortimers bleeding already. I wonder if anyone told him you can't restitch stitched skin.

The way I see these people that are milking penalties are those that have not much else to offer on the field. either they are at the end of their careers and they see that as their only way to contribute. Kinda like how Myles gets up after every tackle wondering why no whistle was blown.

[lonegull]

Gee they look disjointed today wonder if all these stupid team changes has anything to do with it

[Barrels]

thats a coach killer that. god i'd hate to be neil henry right now.

[Manzo]

atkin is injured, attack his edge!

[Boonarga]

god i hate the crusher tackle. it is practically unavoidable.

In the case of Merrin Vs Scott last week I reckon it is even worse than that. Merrin deliberately put himself in that position to pull a penalty.

[JunctionBlock]

Massive loss for St G. Aitken off with a hamstring injury.

[Barrels]

I can't even, i atually can't even. we're not even relying on luck, i don't know how many ladders neil walked under on the way to the game today.

[teke]

No defensive line speed at all, will be played inside Titans 20 if things don't change

[mdrew]

Unfortunately performances like this really does evaporate all of the positives developed in the first few games this year

[JunctionBlock]

I can't even, i atually can't even. we're not even relying on luck, i don't know how many ladders neil walked under on the way to the game today.

It's not ladders anymore. He is a failure. He chooses the team. He puts these players where he chooses. The best he can do this week is copy Green and put your bench hooker on for your main hooker but then forget to take him off after twenty minutes.

So in the absence of Greg Bird, who REALLY is our captain on the field?

[Barrels]

I dont understand how that is a penalty, the player was trying to offload the ball, seriously, how that is that a penalty, we can't win witht the refs. its so frustrating as a fan when you see your team getting calls go against them that are 50/50 at best or just dont make sense.

- - - Updated - - -

pettybourne got a dislocated finger, pulu rib injury. It's most certainly luck

[Boonarga]

Friggin Mortimer! Get him off Henry.

[Barrels]

i'm so incredibly frustrated right now. Mortimer continues to offer nothing. Zillmans playing okay, but mead is such a waste on the wing. Taylor and Roberts kicking game has been poor. defence is cringeworthy. it's like i am watching the 2014/15 gold coast titans. Friend needs to come on, should really look at replacing mortimer with cullen. at least cullen has good strength.

[JunctionBlock]

The only positives about that half is that the grounds people need to be commended as the field looks really nice in HD.

- - - Updated - - -

Henry (winkler) at half time

http://i.imgur.com/2KfYc7f.jpg

[DIEHARD]

Hoping we can show something in the second half. I know penalties have helped the Dragons, but we need to put these guys away. We need to win these types of games.

[Barrels]

i would 100% support henry winkler as our coach.

[Titanic]

Fark Henry and his bunch of followers - I've had enough of this crappola

[gotitans101_]

lol maybe it's a good thing I missed the first half...

[JunctionBlock]

Friend is on. Thank you Jesus.

[Barrels]

why are we still getting penalised for stripping for ball, this is simple stuff. I can't believe it.

- - - Updated - - -

beautiful pass by zillman there

[JunctionBlock]

Meady..........that was great to watch. What a shame.

times 2 now.

Dang

[Barrels]

we look alot more composed with friend on the field

[JunctionBlock]

So Meady is doing what Bird usually does. Fire the troops up and ride his coat tails.

[Manzo]

cant complain bout zilly either

[Barrels]

i've said this before but i really think that we should do some training with the suns in working on leaps. if you've got forwards who can get that technique in the big men you are a dangerous side.

[JunctionBlock]

Commentators curse. Nightingale safe as a bank and he offloads on his own line. LOL

[Barrels]

Zillman has actually been really good. but as i said, i just think mead is wasted on the wing, he offer too much

- - - Updated - - -

don could have left that too

[JunctionBlock]

i've said this before but i really think that we should do some training with the suns in working on leaps. if you've got forwards who can get that technique in the big men you are a dangerous side.

We need to do some training with a wrestling coach (from overseas not an Australian) so we can control the ruck.

We looked better in that attacking repeat set. Good defence by the dragons. But due to poor defence or control we are back down our end possibly giving up another try.

[Barrels]

lets see if we get burnt by the bunker here

- - - Updated - - -

dragons come off the line so quickly though

[Bayside Titan]

Petty not likely to come back.

[JunctionBlock]

Need to start scoring some points here or we are done. Better second half thats for sure.

[Barrels]

we need to remember how to grubber kick here

[JunctionBlock]

Don should be dropped for that. For three weeks he's been pulling that **** and the bat backs have got us nowhere except points against. This is doing my head in now.

[psmitty]

We have a lot of very average players. We expect them to be great and they will in patches but overall they are plodders. We will have good games but overall they will finish in the bottom 4 or 5 teams for the year. It amazes me when I hear people reject the thought of purchasing star players like McGuire. We need to buy some star players, build a good junior nursery and be astute in our purchases. Until then we can only expect performances like today. Very Average team.

[gotitans101_]

cant complain bout zilly either

He's slow and predictable.

[Barrels]

nothing wrong with ahving an average team, but you need an x factor, that was roberts, but now it is no one

[Bayside Titan]

We started with the wrong game plan.

[teke]

Hoffy just needs to let's those passes go and we have em down the left side

[gotitans101_]

Try something different ffs

[Barrels]

why do we keep putting it in the air, someone tell roberts and taylor it isn't working. GRUBBER THE BALL PLEASE FFS.

[Manzo]

go tyrone.. donn did something!

[Barrels]

THAT WAS A GOOD PLAY, MORE OF THAT PLEASE.

[JunctionBlock]

Great play there by Roberts. Great break by Don. Even good effort by Zillman not to let the kick go out and to keep it in play.

- - - Updated - - -

Hopefully St George can lose it from here.

[DIEHARD]

Finally...

[Barrels]

good commitment there from Zillman

[Manzo]

hoffy needs to burn will mathews!!!! he cant seem to do it

[Barrels]

omg i don't think my heart can stand another close finish,

- - - Updated - - -

why are we running the ball, jesus christ

[JunctionBlock]

I just saw Hoffman pass. I'm not kidding either. That's 4 now this year. Including the one from dummy half two games ago.

[Manzo]

inside pass was never on!

[Barrels]

ugh that is another average play

[gotitans101_]

Zillman is such a boring fullback to watch...christ

[Barrels]

welp any chance we had has no gone. I honestly hate supporting this team.

[JunctionBlock]

Goodnight. That's the ball game. This will hurt us all season. The only good that will come from this is that teams won't take us seriously and we may fly under the radar.

Short kick off and we go high.....cause that's worked so well all day. FML

[Boonarga]

Anyone want to tell me again that Henry is a good coach?

[Titan4Life]

Disgusting performance by the boys. Can't give away that many penalties and expect to win.

[gotitans101_]

Anyone want to tell me again that Henry is a good coach?

Selecting Mortimer & Zillman every week, he's just as bad as our last coach as far as I'm concerned.

[Barrels]

Oh no. this is not good. I am praying, actually praying this kid is going to be alright.

- - - Updated - - -

thank goodness he is standing.

[Titan4Life]

God people we can't just blame Zillman or Mortimer for every loss FFS. Most of the team had their worst game of the year and played ordinary.

[Geeman]

I don't really know what to say about this game.
I loved what Don brought last year but he has offered nothing for the last few weeks. Zillman has been average, Hoffman has put too much sticky spray on his hands and won't release the f@#king ball. Our 5th play option has reverted back to the Cartwright days of just bomb and hope.
Our forwards have been o.k without being great, and we are definitely missing Bird's aggression in defence.
I don't know why Morts played, when Cullen earned another shot even at hooker.
I wanted to give Henry every chance, and I am not turning on him yet, but I am starting to wonder about some of his decisions

[Barrels]

now we gotta go the length of the feild, God this is frustrating

[Titanic]

So blame the coach - selection and team stability are everything:(

[Titan4Life]

I'll go to church tomorrow if we pull this miracle off.

Don't worry mate, you can sleep in now.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm not sure what that last play option was from Mead.

[teke]

Don't worry mate, you can sleep in now.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm not sure what that last play option was from Mead.Im not sure why this is even mentioned unless u want to blame him for the loss

[Barrels]

I don't really know what to say about this game.
I loved what Don brought last year but he has offered nothing for the last few weeks. Zillman has been average, Hoffman has put too much sticky spray on his hands and won't release the f@#king ball. Our 5th play option has reverted back to the Cartwright days of just bomb and hope.
Our forwards have been o.k without being great, and we are definitely missing Bird's aggression in defence.
I don't know why Morts played, when Cullen earned another shot even at hooker.
I wanted to give Henry every chance, and I am not turning on him yet, but I am starting to wonder about some of his decisions

I completely agree. henry really has to prove to us now that he is making the decisions that are right for the team. Cullen easily earnt himself another shot and Mortimer is average at best. I dont what happened to the grubber kick. Zillman has been ordinary but there have been so many games that if we played the slightest bit differently we would have won. There was nothing good to take away from this game, but you take away that scabby "off the post try" dragons got then we would have won. It's so frustrating.

[Titan4Life]

Im not sure why this is even mentioned unless u want to blame him for the loss

Not at all blaming him for the loss. He was once again one of our best.

[indoallstars]

Didn't think zillman was that bad but we need mead at fullback. Take Hoffman off the team and put zillman in that centrelink position, drop don and put olive there, definitely drop mortimer easily our worst player, Cullen needs that utility position.

[gotitans101_]

So blame the coach - selection and team stability are everything:(

Exactly. Mead was doing fine at the back, there was no reason to bring Zillman in, he doesn't add anything to the team that we don't already have. He is slow, you notice every time he tries to inject himself into the play he just runs and hits it up...no speed, no step, nothing. You give someone like Moylan, Munster or Teddy those chances and they'd be all over it. He is a rubbish fullback in today's game. I'm not saying he did anything wrong - just that he adds absolutely nothing.

[JunctionBlock]

All week all we talked about in the press was fixing our slow starts. We haven't achieved that, in fact we got worse today. I think the Mortimer experiment is a failure and as I said earlier he shouldn't have been chosen based on injury last week.

The team seems to have sorted out the Hoffman problem by throwing cut out passes. For me the reality of this season has sunk back in. I'll be interested to see how Henry reacts. This stinks of 2013-14. Very disappointed.

Just shows what Bird does for this team and why the decision to keep the captaincy off him was a farce.

[5 Year Contract]

That was BAD. Im all for looking on the bright side but the only positive I can say is Mead is hands down our best back. Cant fault him out there today gave it his all and HE IS OUR FULLBACK.

For the bad.
-Henry woeful coaching. The Mortimer/Friend experiment was a farce. It did neither of them any good and no impact.
-Don and Nene need to go back to QCup. Poor defense and deadset bombed 2 tries. How someone of Nenes size places the ball on his lap and gets held up is beyond me.
-Worst game from our halves kicking wise all season. Why we kept going to the air when Dugan had us covered is beyond me.
-Our defensive line is an absolute mess. we REFUSE to come off the line and give away 10-20m a hitup.
-Not 1 player near Widdop at the end there made a dive to stop the field goal.
-Bird might not be our captain but he is obviously the team leader as there was no one doing that today.

There was some good positives to take out of last week but the game there today was about what the comp expected from us before round 1. Henrys inability to select out best 17 makes it hard to get excited for next week but onwards and upwards I guess

[JunctionBlock]

Not at all blaming him for the loss. He was once again one of our best.

I'm starting to think that Teke is Meads grandmother. Always over protective.

[Bayside Titan]

To me we lacked heart today. No urgency and we were very complacent we looked like a team waiting for someone to do something.

One thing that we need and I wouldn't have said it till now is that we need a strike outside back.

[Titanic]

We need a strike anything and sadly, once again, predictions of a 13-16 finish are vindicated ... Dragons are a poor team, we're just worse.

[ozynorts]

To me we lacked heart today. No urgency and we were very complacent we looked like a team waiting for someone to do something.

One thing that we need and I wouldn't have said it till now is that we need a strike outside back.
Coote maybe?

[teke]

I'm starting to think that Teke is Meads grandmother. Always over protective.you must of had a nice granny.

[5 Year Contract]

We need a strike anything and sadly, once again, predictions of a 13-16 finish are vindicated ... Dragons are a poor team, we're just worse.

Agreed im all for not making rash decision and dumping players after 1 bad game but in all our games so far what has Don, Nene and Hoffman done to justify their spot over our juniors coming through. Nene to me needs a good stint in QCup to learn defensive reads and positioning. Don and Hoffman have peaked and we would be better suited with Juniors coming through and blooding them.

[TitanSam]

Worst performance of the year from us. That's very disappointing.

I retract all my statements about not needing another centre (Hurrell).

[gotitans101_]

Coote maybe?

yes please...far out we can dream can't we?

[teke]

Beaten by the f...... Dragons

So pee'd off it ain't funny

[Titan68]

What's the current situation with Henry's contract. Does it finish this year or next. Really disappointed with the effort today. Started season so well. Don't think Birdy would of made a great difference today. A game we should of won.

[ozynorts]

What's the current situation with Henry's contract. Does it finish this year or next.

Finishes next year I think. Interesting article here. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-2016-neil-henry-stands-to-pocket-300000-reward-if-he-steers-titans-to-finals/news-story/8a75798d83f31530599cbca37ccc6634

[JunctionBlock]

Finishes next year I think. Interesting article here. http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-2016-neil-henry-stands-to-pocket-300000-reward-if-he-steers-titans-to-finals/news-story/8a75798d83f31530599cbca37ccc6634

It may be handy to cut and paste. Can't see it without a subscription as usual.

As for Henry, he isn't going anywhere. He's building a house down at Burleigh. Club hierarchy love him and to try and put another coach in now would only prolong the pain of "rebuilding" for another 5 years.

- - - Updated - - -

RLW 5 things we learnt.......I'll skip to the Titans part


3. The Titans’ good start is unravelling.
The team widely tipped for the wooden spoon silenced plenty of would-be experts with their three-from-four start to 2016 before pushing heavyweights Brisbane and Cronulla in rounds five and six . . . but they don’t give out competition points for respectable losses, and certainly not for lethargic performances like this one against a struggling St George Illawarra outfit. With games against Canterbury (away) and Melbourne (home) in the next fortnight, there’s every chance the Titans could head into the rep round with five losses on the trot and those pre-season predictions looking a little more accurate.

[Smakked]

I think we missed Bird and his energy he brings. But still players need to step it up Don made some bad decisions Zillman was ok run over 200 meters but his timing is way off. I think we will finish 14-15th this year still a long way to go to be a force in the NRL. We need an X factor player but who will come here seems no one is interested.

[rj62]

I don't recall anyone calling for Henry's head after the wins.......

I firmly believe he is streets ahead of Carty. Before throwing that kind of comparison junk have around have a REALLY good think back the bad old days....

I also didn't see Henry out on the field......the players played poorly simple as that. Damn sure they don't train for that lethargy and lack of polish.

Absolutely Lacklustre at best. This team is way better than that as we have seen already this year.

Next week is another game and we do it all again.

[DavidBouveng]

that was pretty poor effort.

all the pre game changes left us unsettled and we didn't look fluent at all.

only bright spot was Ryan james really. 55 plus tackles and 20 runs for 170m is incredible. wont be many better outputs this year by anyone. his motor must be huuuge.

Paasi and Pulu tried really hard.

rest was a mess really. not sure about the cross field bombs...but then again we could have scored 3 tries from it if we could finish it off once we had caught it and let gravity do its thing.

Henry needs to pull the finger out and make some calls based on performance. He has a squad that can compete, but it needs the right players in the right places. we cant carry players when we are as average as we are.

And then either get a better game plan or get the players to follow it better.

its our first 'poor' effort for the year, so im going to wait and see before getting to out of shape about it, but that was hella frustrating, and we have big games coming up and our season could be gone before we know it.

[Firetruck]

I have just got home from the game. We were in a corporate box today and when we were leaving, my father ran into Gary Belcher coming out of the Fox box and they had a chat. GB felt that we didn't respond appropriately to the dragons sliding defence, we missed far too many tackles in the first half and he felt we did not have our halves running straight enough..all too sideways. I mentioned to him that when I get home I can bet that when I get onto this site, there will be people demanding for Zillman to be dropped, and probably Mortimer. GB could not understand Zillman being targeted. He said " he is a very good fullback and he had a good game today, particularly as it was his second run after a spell. He said Neil Henry and Terry Matterson have a high regard for Zillman and deservedly so. In regard to Motimer, he said that he provided energy that Friend didn't provide but he also said that he has a lot of errors in him. GB doesn't think Mead is a better fullback than Zillman yet but when he learns a few more things and stays in the game for the full 80 minutes, he could be really good. He spent the rest of the conversation raving about Dugan.

[teke]

GB just repeating what Henry has told him

[TITAN PETE]

Not reading previous posts , we were Shyte , I think Hemry had a head knock last week to leave Friend on the bench for the 1st half
Taylor had a mighty fall from grace this week
bird is Priceless to this team, Knights & Parra will be happy to watch us play this way & we still may challenge those 2 for the spoon....

[Dooldog76]

I was at the game and we lacked urgency. Mortimer was useless. Pure and simple. We lacked the direction that bird plays in the ruck. Hoffman ha to pass the ball, mead is wasted on the wing. Absolute waste and he will leave if we don't recognize his ability. Surely we can train him for positional play, because he offers so much more in attack. My case is that on our second last play zillman ran a blindside play rather than setting himself out back to create an overlap. The backs hit the line harder than previous week's but made awful decisions in defence. Our forward pack can't do it all. I honestly think the dragons wanted that win more and it showed. Nene is turning into another idris, inconsistent and looks out of shape. Easy fix is to swap mead and zillman. Otherwise start blooding the young guys. Really disappointed in the effort, we should be sitting in the top eight if it wasn't for that effort.

[JunctionBlock]

I have just got home from the game. We were in a corporate box today and when we were leaving, my father ran into Gary Belcher coming out of the Fox box and they had a chat. GB felt that we didn't respond appropriately to the dragons sliding defence, we missed far too many tackles in the first half and he felt we did not have our halves running straight enough..all too sideways. I mentioned to him that when I get home I can bet that when I get onto this site, there will be people demanding for Zillman to be dropped, and probably Mortimer. GB could not understand Zillman being targeted. He said " he is a very good fullback and he had a good game today, particularly as it was his second run after a spell. He said Neil Henry and Terry Matterson have a high regard for Zillman and deservedly so. In regard to Motimer, he said that he provided energy that Friend didn't provide but he also said that he has a lot of errors in him. GB doesn't think Mead is a better fullback than Zillman yet but when he learns a few more things and stays in the game for the full 80 minutes, he could be really good. He spent the rest of the conversation raving about Dugan.

I'm quickly learning to have absolutely no respect for commentators. Today they talk about Zillman coming back from a hamstring injury, it was calf and back. At the start of the season they were saying that Myles was the signing of the season cause he's a great 80 min forward who brings go forward to any team. These guys don't actually watch all the games or even follow the game as closely as your average fan.

To your amazement there aren't too many ppl (if any) calling for Zillman's head today and yes, I have asked Henry the same questions regarding Zillman and Mortimer. They do have the utmost respect for the pair, but the "they are some of the nicest blokes you'd ever meet" gets old. To say Mortimer provided a energy that friend didn't I don't agree with GB, his mistakes and dumb penalties sap our forwards of energy by having to defend the extra sets.

[teke]

Not reading previous posts , we were Shyte , I think Hemry had a head knock last week to leave Friend on the bench for the 1st half
Taylor had a mighty fall from grace this week
bird is Priceless to this team, Knights & Parra will be happy to watch us play this way & we still may challenge those 2 for the spoon....i started to get confused when Friend didn't come on, I thought he was a late scratching.

[teke]

I'm quickly learning to have absolutely no respect for commentators. Today they talk about Zillman coming back from a hamstring injury, it was calf and back. At the start of the season they were saying that Myles was the signing of the season cause he's a great 80 min forward who brings go forward to any team. These guys don't actually watch all the games or even follow the game as closely as your average fan.

To your amazement there aren't too many ppl (if any) calling for Zillman's head today and yes, I have asked Henry the same questions regarding Zillman and Mortimer. They do have the utmost respect for the pair, but the "they are some of the nicest blokes you'd ever meet" gets old. To say Mortimer provided a energy that friend didn't I don't agree with GB, his mistakes and dumb penalties sap our forwards of energy by having to defend the extra sets.Remember when one of them said Myles could fill in at 5/8 if needed. Maybe the worst thing I've heard from a commentator

[Firetruck]

Just listened to the Titans presser. Pulu rib cartilage,Mortimer hammy and Pettyborne compound fracture of finger...all out next week.

[JunctionBlock]

So Mortimer was replaced due to injury? What a terrible toll for such a terrible game.

[ozynorts]

I don't recall anyone calling for Henry's head after the wins.......

.
That's because early in the season the team played with heart and grit. What we got today was a repeat of the crap that we hate so much.
The proof will be how they perform over the next 4 weeks. If we continue to get more of today then there needs to be a major change. If they return to the form and effort of the first couple of weeks then perhaps this week was an aberration.

- - - Updated - - -


It may be handy to cut and paste. Can't see it without a subscription as usual.


NEIL Henry admits he is under pressure this season but he will pocket a $300,000 reward if he steers the Titans to this year’s finals.

Henry would secure his long-term future on the Gold Coast if the Titans make their first playoffs appearance in six years.

Speculation is rife Henry has only 10 games to get the Titans firing this season or risk being axed by Gold Coast bosses desperate to revive the club as a finals force.

But the 55-year-old has adequate incentive to silence his critics thanks to a contract clause that would secure a 12-month extension if the Titans made the top eight this season.

Henry is contracted until the end of next season. Entering his 10th season as an NRL coach, Henry has been around long enough to accept the cutthroat nature of his job but hopes results will see him rewarded with a deal for 2018.

“The Titans board are patient, but you can only be patient for so long because if you don’t get results, the pressure mounts,’’ Henry said.

- - - Updated - - -

When Henry was signed as the Titans coach after Carty went he had the exact same record as Carty over the exact same period of time. I commented then that I wasnt sure if we had upgraded our coach.

[JunctionBlock]

http://www.nrl.com/rd-7-press-conference-titans/tabid/10959/contentid/837040/default.aspx

[Titanic]

Ozy, you and I are two of the few consistent critics of this bobble-head ... I have never liked Henry in any of his roles and he may be a great bloke but I would take any number of possible candidates in front of him and how we missed Green is just beyond me.

[C-Whiz]

It was sh!t, the team played sh!t, the selections were pretty sh!t, and the game plan was totally sh!t.

[Toads]

I missed the first half, which seems to be a blessing going by today's comments. And what I seen of the second half is summed up perfectly by Whiz's post.


It was sh!t, the team played sh!t, the selections were pretty sh!t, and the game plan was totally sh!t.

Roll on next week.. Geezus, the Doggie's. :duh2:

[Mexican titan]

That was BAD. Im all for looking on the bright side but the only positive I can say is Mead is hands down our best back. Cant fault him out there today gave it his all and HE IS OUR FULLBACK.

For the bad.
-Henry woeful coaching. The Mortimer/Friend experiment was a farce. It did neither of them any good and no impact.
-Don and Nene need to go back to QCup. Poor defense and deadset bombed 2 tries. How someone of Nenes size places the ball on his lap and gets held up is beyond me.
-Worst game from our halves kicking wise all season. Why we kept going to the air when Dugan had us covered is beyond me.
-Our defensive line is an absolute mess. we REFUSE to come off the line and give away 10-20m a hitup.
-Not 1 player near Widdop at the end there made a dive to stop the field goal.
-Bird might not be our captain but he is obviously the team leader as there was no one doing that today.

There was some good positives to take out of last week but the game there today was about what the comp expected from us before round 1. Henrys inability to select out best 17 makes it hard to get excited for next week but onwards and upwards I guess

That pretty well sums it up for me, without rehashing many other comments.
That effort today really took me back to the Carty days - 5 half hearted hit ups and a mindless kick. Regardless of any stats about hit ups, they mean nothing today in my book as not one forward ran with commitment and none would have knocked the skin off a rice pudding.
I saw little in Nene last year that made me think he is of NRL standard and nothing has changed. As for Zillman yet another run on the inside ( a play that just about every fullback in the comp gets right) but down goes the pass. Mead was the only one who got a passmark.
So much credibility that was built up has now gone and the Coast will just continue to lack any enthusiasm for the team as it's same old same old. Nothing has changed from what many said pre season - we need a quality fullback, centre, hooker and aback rower. I have hope Canavan can deliver.

[karnage]

I wasn't there. I had to work.

My Dad took my boys, he said it was a disgraceful game. You can't earn the respect of the rest of the comp by dropping points at home to a rabble like the Dragons.

[JunctionBlock]

We all need to thank the Newcastle Knights for taking tomorrows news focus off the Titans.

[Titan68]

I too agree with your comments 5YC. Changes need to be made to that team , cause if we don't , season 2016 will be over before it really got going

[DavidBouveng]

i actually thought Zill was better in defence today. But he should not have any input into set plays or options.

calling that inside ball play with 8 or so left was so bad. there was so much congestion around the ball, that even if we say he might time it, and catch it half the time ( pretty generous imo ), there was THREE defenders waiting to clean him up..and they did. the inside guy had his arms up waiting for the instant he caught it and smashed him. gives them the ball 10m or so from halfway and they knock over the FG... not great clutch from a captain.

Only commentator who is close to accurate is Gasnier. He is a genuine analyst and makes strong calls. rest are muppets. Hindmarsh said in pre season Myles is a 80 minutes player, but not just 80 minutes, they are all quality minutes, no slacking off... FML we would have been lucky to get 80 good minutes out of Myles all year.

I was really annoyed at Henry today. maybe he hates money i dont know, but today didnt look like decisions were made in the interest of making the finals. I still like what he is doing with the squad as far as commitment, professionalism and training.... but maybe it is time to call in a serious attack coach to make something happen.

I was gunning hard for Green when he was available, but we still had Carty too entrenched and our board wasn't looking seriously for a coach and they missed the boat. that one will hurt us, although i still dont think many coaches would be doing any better with this squad. Today is the first game we have lost that we should have won, other losses have been to teams that will finish top 5 and we were far from disgraced in any of them.

also... two 5 point losses. thats an odd one.

[Titanic]

The key point there JB is what Green or a decent coach could do with both the squad and our "war chest".

[Just-a-Fan]

I really dont know what to say Hoffman Mortimer and Zillman killing our team with Henry close behind
Why would you start Mortimer ?????? Why would you start Pulu ???? if he wanted to change it up start Douglas Put Jame out wide on the right and run at the halfs to tire them out
I think Taylor had a bad game this time but been great for us and I hope he is ok
I hope Widdop gets 2 or 3 week for attacking his head.
We made some meters today but just never finished our set off 5 out of our 8 forward made over a 100 meter
but our defense we missed 33 tackles
go the Titans

[teke]

Dugan is insane, that guy just gives his all to the very death in every game.

How he ankle tapped Mead is beyond me, then he backed up a few tackles later to stop a try under the posts

[rj62]

Ozy, you and I are two of the few consistent critics of this bobble-head ... I have never liked Henry in any of his roles and he may be a great bloke but I would take any number of possible candidates in front of him and how we missed Green is just beyond me.

I actually work in Townsville and live on the Gold Coast. You're dreaming about Green. The chairman of the Cowboys is omnipotent and what he says goes. That's the very reason no State of Origin gig for him . The answer was NO.

[shamus]

I knew it was gunna be a bad day when I kicked over my 2 beers just as the match started!

And the only positive to come out of this is my wife got the double!

[JunctionBlock]

The Wrap

By Neil Cadigan

Ryan James, who deservedly won the players’ player award yesterday, certainly could have done little more to try to inspire his team that was beaten for the third successive week by less than a converted try.

The prop played the entire 80 minutes, which is rare for a front-rower, and made an incredible 61 tackles against the Dragons while workrate-wise Luke Douglas was also impressive, with 46 tackles in just 44 minutes on the field.

James didn’t slacken off when the Titans had the ball either. He took the ball up 20 times, the most of any forward in the match, for 171 metres.

It surely has put him in well on the radar of the NSW State of Origin selectors after he was invited into camp last season as an indicator he is in their minds.

Yesterday’s loss, the sixth straight match in which the Titans conceded the first try early (Gareth Widdop crossed from a left-foot step on Leivaha Pulu in 8th minute), again showed the resilience and character of the side. However, on the flip side it also showed the team still has a way to go to take control of a game with get on the front foot and not have to rely on offloads, and second phase to score points.

It’s generally recognised the Titans don’t have the X Factor attacking star that some other NRL teams do, so they have to grind to victory and work for each other, which they have done for long stretches of every game. Effort and character has been in abundance.

And the team yesterday completed sets at 85 per cent, a season’s best and the fourth time in seven games completed at better than 80 per cent, something that was achieved only twice in 2015. It's about taking advantage of that possession and cmpleting sets better.

They had a setback yesterday when Eddy Pettybourne, who replaced the suspended Greg Bird, was on the field only six minutes when he suffered a compound dislocation of a finger in the 30th minute and was replaced three minutes later. At the end of the half Daniel Mortimer suffered a hamstring injury in the last play of the half after starting the match at hooker in place of co-captain Nathan Friend.

Leivaha Pulu, who started for the first time with Chris McQueen dropping to the bench, also injured a rib cartilage in the 29th minute but went back on under discomfort in the second half.

The Titans tended to play laterally at times, when direct play down the middle gave them good yardage (it was the key to the Dragons’ success) and relied on the cross-field kick to the in-goal, with almost brought a couple of tries when Nene Macdonald leapt high to get the ball but was held up and Anthony Don also leapt high to get the first touch but tried to tap the ball back to Macdonald when a clear catch might have seen a try.

But, as in previous weeks, crucial to the result were a moments that were matters of inches. The first was the Dragons’ third try that gave them an 18-6 half-time lead, coming from a rebound of a Widdop kick off the upright pad straight into Jack de Belin’s arms; and the second – just three minutes into the second half – when William Zillman put David Mead away (after a good Macdonald offload) down the left touchline but a desperate lunge by outstanding Dragons fullback Josh Dugan ankle tapped Mead and brought him down when a try looked certain.

A try early in the second half would have almost certainly dramatically changed the momentum of the game. Dugan’s lunge meant we’ll never know if that would have been the case.

KEY MATCH STATS

POSSESSION: Titans 53%, Dragons 47%

COMPLETION RATE: Titans 85% (33/39), Dragons 83% (34/41)

ERRORS: Titans 8, Dragons 9.

TACKLES: Titans 270 (missed 47), Dragons 300 (missed 18)

MISSED TACKLES: Titans 29, Dragons 20

OFFLOADS: Titans 14, Dragons 12.

LINE BREAKS: Titans 4, Dragons 4

PENALTIES: Dragons 7

TOP TACKLERS: James 61, Douglas 46, Friend 29, Taia 27, Mortimer 26, Taia 20, Taylor 20.

TOP METRE MAKERS: Mead 247, Zillman 226, Shillington 196, James 171, Paasi 164, Don 147, Taia 142, Hoffman 139.

MOST HIT-UPS/RUNS: James 20, Zillman 20, Mead 20, Shillington 19, Paasi 17, Taia 16.

TOP MINUTES (forwards): James 80, Taia 80, McQueen 51, Paasi 50, Shillington 45, Douglas 44, Pulu 41, Friend 40, Mortimer 40, Pettybourne 9.

*end*

Good article by Neil Cadigan. The stats show something I never expected but it appears our two biggest issues are our attack and defence. We seem to have issues tackling and scoring tries. :doh:

But seriously, I never expected our completion rate to be over 80%.

[Titanic]

Lol ... you're right JB, our biggest issues are attack and defence ... doesn't leave too much though :)


I actually work in Townsville and live on the Gold Coast. You're dreaming about Green. The chairman of the Cowboys is omnipotent and what he says goes. That's the very reason no State of Origin gig for him . The answer was NO.Yes mate but that doesn't exclude the fact that we had Cartwright then and eventually traded him for a second-rate NRL journeyman in Henry instead of bidding aggressively for the emerging Queensland young gun coach and SEQ resident at the time in Green. The only redeeming factors are that we were bereft of funds and leadership, now we're bereft of coaching nouse :( and I should add my son is rj05 :)

[rj62]

Lol ... you're right JB, our biggest issues are attack and defence ... doesn't leave too much though :)

Yes mate but that doesn't exclude the fact that we had Cartwright then and eventually traded him for a second-rate NRL journeyman in Henry instead of bidding aggressively for the emerging Queensland young gun coach and SEQ resident at the time in Green. The only redeeming factors are that we were bereft of funds and leadership, now we're bereft of coaching nouse :( and I should add my son is rj05 :)

Henry that "second-rate NRL journeyman" was the guy that got the Cowboys to the finals right?

Maybe we should bin him and get Toovey.......what a great idea. Not

I for one remain happy with Henry. What he has had to deal with on and off the field and the roster he has been given, I think he is doing the best anyone could do. I hope he stays. One poor game does t make the season. As I said before no one was kicking his can when we won on the trot. I still believe this team has more heart than years past. I actually think they believe in themselves and that only comes from one place.

I'd like to know where we would be at if we had the injuries that we have available.

I don't need coaching conjecture this early on......I want stability and just let us get on with rebuilding this club and roster and see where we sit.

Everyone including people here had us pegged for the wooden spoon before a ball was kicked. I still don't reckon that will happen and never did. I had a good feeling about this year and I still do despite the setbacks,

If people don't like it, there's plenty of other clubs to support. Im staying where I am thanks all the same.

I reckon I have a quite a few years (LOTS) on rj05 :)

[Titanic]

Happy to agree to disagree on Henry (who I've argued against since he was first appointed) and most of your other points '62 ... but pointing people to the door because they don't agree with you is hardly in the best interests of the club.

And I'm sure you've got lots of years on my son who's 10 :)

[5 Year Contract]

Henry that "second-rate NRL journeyman" was the guy that got the Cowboys to the finals right?

Maybe we should bin him and get Toovey.......what a great idea. Not

I for one remain happy with Henry. What he has had to deal with on and off the field and the roster he has been given, I think he is doing the best anyone could do. I hope he stays. One poor game does t make the season. As I said before no one was kicking his can when we won on the trot. I still believe this team has more heart than years past. I actually think they believe in themselves and that only comes from one place.

I'd like to know where we would be at if we had the injuries that we have available.

I don't need coaching conjecture this early on......I want stability and just let us get on with rebuilding this club and roster and see where we sit.

Everyone including people here had us pegged for the wooden spoon before a ball was kicked. I still don't reckon that will happen and never did. I had a good feeling about this year and I still do despite the setbacks,

If people don't like it, there's plenty of other clubs to support. Im staying where I am thanks all the same.

I reckon I have a quite a few years (LOTS) on rj05 :)

The problem with Henry is that he immediately undoes all credibility by not picking our best 17 in the best positions. We have taken some huge on and off field strides in regards to our club and we are 10 times the team we were last year.

However, we will not be a force until we are putting our best team on the field. Henry has decided that his selection policy has no basis on performance and his comment that Zillman had "earned the right" to stroll straight back into the fullback spot even though he hadnt played in a year shows he isnt the answer to our teams coaching needs.

If we are to be taken seriously as a club and as a future destination for players our on-field performance has to match the strides taken off the pitch. If we continue to accept mediocrity Don, Hoffman, Nene and Zillman (while improved enough in my books to be a centre NOT fullback) then I cant back the coach plain and simple.

If I took your "dont like it support other clubs" mentality I would of left this club years ago during the Carty BS

[DavidBouveng]

i agree with what ur saying 5yc... its his selections that are my only real criticism of Henry too.

he has us fitter, committed and driven... just not the right 17 blokes.

he needs to fix that before it undoes his other good work

[Barrels]

maybe with morts out it might open the door for cullen/mosely to come in off the bench. you could tell on Saturday when friendy came on the whole team became composed and we started to defend really well and begin to join our attacking plays, that what the experience in friend does. Real shame I don't think he would be able to play 80 mins but if he could it would be a great gift. I can pretty much recall henry making similar selection mistakes at the Cowboys and fans were relatively frustrated then too. I just don't see what Henry sees in Zillman that Nene, Olive, Mead or Davis. I just think we are struggling between selecting young guns to blood and keeping with players who really should have no input in our future. I have a lot of Henry and for Zillman, but i just don't think he is up to first grade standard, espescially when mead has more than proven he can really rock out that fullback role. Nene and Hoffman have been alright recently, but Don has been disappointing to say the least, he just doesn't seem as committed anymore, real shame.

If I had to pick a team this week for the dogs clash, it would be something like:

1. Mead
2. Hoffman
3. Zillman
4. Nene
5. Olive
6. Roberts
7. Taylor
8. Shillo
9. Friend
10. James
11. Taia
12. McQueen
13. Bird
14. Paasi
15. Douglas
16. Lynch
17. Cullen/ Mosely

Then again by now we are pretty much expecting the same old same old so i guess whatever goes.

- - - Updated - - -

also i'm not overly disheartened regarding our recent results. All the teams we have lost to so far all finished in the eight last year, and Melbourne, Brisbane and Cronulla are all very good sides, we shouldn't be too concerned about them, but it is the loss to the dragons, who although quality have been recently poor, that really concerns me. I don't think we are going to beat the dogs this week but hopefully we can keep rattling the bigger teams and head into rep round with a spot in the top eight.

[Titan4Life]

Henry has done amazing stuff for this club and to have us with three wins already this season with the limited roster he has, he should be applauded. Agree with most saying he does make a lot of questionable team selections, however I think just about every club has these and we are not alone.

[TitanSam]

I've been very happy with the player clean out Henry has done and the attitude he's installed into the players. There have been some puzzling selections but many other clubs have them too.

I'm hoping Canavan can get a couple of good signings and then we'll be able to be a finals force IMO but untill then we are still a couple of good signings away. If we can get to the finals with the current roster we have then that'll prove Henry is A good coach.

[ozynorts]

Henry has done amazing stuff for this club and to have us with three wins already this season with the limited roster he has,

This limited roster is his outside of a couple of long term deals. He cleaned out a lot of dead wood (long over due) and then signed this limited roster in their place.
Yes there has been a couple of hidden gems amongst them but overall we haven't seen any impact from them.

[JunctionBlock]

This limited roster is his outside of a couple of long term deals. He cleaned out a lot of dead wood (long over due) and then signed this limited roster in their place.
Yes there has been a couple of hidden gems amongst them but overall we haven't seen any impact from them.

It wasn't Henrys fault we lost James Roberts. He is obviously a bigger loss than we hoped. We are two years in with henry, if he doesn't get his third we are rebuilding for another three with someone else who wants to change the roster. But in saying that I hope Henry is banking on getting his finals bonus.

[DavidBouveng]

he did clean out the dead wood, but the drugs thing combined with our lack of credibility tied his hands for recruiting high quality players and didn't make us a very appealing option. not to mention it has been stated that is more difficult to sign players when you are owned by the NRL as the process is much more laborious.

I think if we signed Paul Green, he would be a Q cup winning, rookie NRL coach who probably wouldn't have had much more success signing players than Henry. I would have preferred to sign green absolutely, but i dont think the gates open and we miraculously signed a ship load of great players. Henry almost built that entire NQ roster aside from JT and a couple of older players perhaps. Green added Granville, and the polish to take them the last part of the journey.

my final word on Henry would be that he has done better than most considering the hand he was dealt. if he left tomorrow the club is in a vastly better position than when he began. I don't think he is the guy to take us to the premiership, but he is the guy to get us from laughing stock to competitive team who can make finals consistently.

[Titanic]

This whole debate is because I labelled Henry a "journeyman" and that's what he is in my opinion ... I have not questioned the resilience of the current roster but point out that I have never been impressed with his appointment ... he is just like Cartwright and every other mediocre coach. Let's not forget Cartwright got our team to within a bees' d1ck of the final, did that make him a great coach? Henry goes well when the roster is new and desperation hasn't sunk in. He selects poorly and offers little in the way of innovation in his plays. He is a good bloke and a competent coach but he is not a star, so I state again: he is a journeyman, plying his trade wherever he can get a gig. I also don't want another three years "re-building" however the good coaches get past that quickly and into the finals.

As JB points out, this is Henry's roster. As DB points out, he was been dealt a hand which scuttled last year (the year that was never going to happen) but allowed that clean-out. He now has money, administration and the basis of a good roster ... it's in his hands and no one elses.

[DavidBouveng]

agree totally with it all being in his hands now Titanic, although i think it was someone else post i was more referring to originally than yours.