Poida
09-02-07, 04:33 PM
Rogers eases Titans pressure
By Steve Ricketts
February 09, 2007
GOLD Coast Titans co-captain Scott Prince has revealed that some of his teammates were in awe of dual international Mat Rogers when he first joined the club last month.
But halfback Prince said Rogers, a veteran of 11 Tests for Australia in rugby league and 41 in rugby union, had quickly become one of the boys at the Titans.
Prince said he believed 31-year-old Rogers would take a lot of pressure off him in the Titans' inaugural season and his presence would go a long way towards compensating for the loss of backs Steve Turner (Melbourne Storm) and Brian Carney (retirement).
"Dual internationals are hard to find and, when Mat arrived, a few of the blokes here were a bit standoffish to begin with," Prince said.
"But he's a great guy and very approachable and of course he's a Queenslander, even though he might have played for the (New South Wales) Waratahs in union.
"There's been a few jokes about him being a rah-rah and all that but he still looks fast and he moves so well on his feet.
"He certainly doesn't appear to have lost any of his speed or evasive skills.
"I hope I look as good as him when I reach his age, although he looks a bit like a comic book with all those tatts.
"He's a very good bloke and the guys love being around him."
Prince said it was up in the air which position Rogers played but that was the case with a number of players.
"He can play everywhere in the backline except halfback," Prince said.
"I don't think he can play there. Seriously, wherever he plays he'll take some of the pressure off me."
Prince said the loss of Turner and Carney was a blow but managing director Michael Searle and coach John Cartwright had done a great job ensuring the fallout did not impact on the players.
"It would have been nice to have had those two on board but that's something that is out of our control," Prince said.
"We've moved on and we're concentrating on playing good football."
By Steve Ricketts
February 09, 2007
GOLD Coast Titans co-captain Scott Prince has revealed that some of his teammates were in awe of dual international Mat Rogers when he first joined the club last month.
But halfback Prince said Rogers, a veteran of 11 Tests for Australia in rugby league and 41 in rugby union, had quickly become one of the boys at the Titans.
Prince said he believed 31-year-old Rogers would take a lot of pressure off him in the Titans' inaugural season and his presence would go a long way towards compensating for the loss of backs Steve Turner (Melbourne Storm) and Brian Carney (retirement).
"Dual internationals are hard to find and, when Mat arrived, a few of the blokes here were a bit standoffish to begin with," Prince said.
"But he's a great guy and very approachable and of course he's a Queenslander, even though he might have played for the (New South Wales) Waratahs in union.
"There's been a few jokes about him being a rah-rah and all that but he still looks fast and he moves so well on his feet.
"He certainly doesn't appear to have lost any of his speed or evasive skills.
"I hope I look as good as him when I reach his age, although he looks a bit like a comic book with all those tatts.
"He's a very good bloke and the guys love being around him."
Prince said it was up in the air which position Rogers played but that was the case with a number of players.
"He can play everywhere in the backline except halfback," Prince said.
"I don't think he can play there. Seriously, wherever he plays he'll take some of the pressure off me."
Prince said the loss of Turner and Carney was a blow but managing director Michael Searle and coach John Cartwright had done a great job ensuring the fallout did not impact on the players.
"It would have been nice to have had those two on board but that's something that is out of our control," Prince said.
"We've moved on and we're concentrating on playing good football."