Redemption ahead from speedster James Roberts in Gold Coast Titans debut against Penr
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A GUT feeling from Gold Coast coach John Cartwright could see speedster James Roberts pitched into his Titans debut against the latest club to sack him.
Roberts has been named 18th man for Saturday’s clash against in-form Penrith at Cbus Super Stadium.
The 21-year-old could be the fastest player in the NRL but has only shown glimpses of what he’s capable of in his three appearances for Tweed Heads since returning from a serious ankle injury.
But Cartwright has seen enough in the lightning-quick back to possibly hand him his first Titans jersey against the club that sacked him in March for off-field issues.
Roberts had previously been booted by South Sydney for similar problems and has only played 16 NRL games since debuting in 2011.
Wingers Kalifa Faifai Loa and Anthony Don have been omitted from the squad and Cartwright said he was yet to decide if he would blood *Roberts.
“He’s very close but he’s only had the three games back at Q-Cup level,” he said.
“He’s handled those really well but sometimes you’ve got to go with your gut and we’ll do that when we get closer to the game.
“We’ll discuss it between now and Saturday.”
It would be a major roll of the dice if Cartwright played Roberts given the versatile talent has shown he’s short of a gallop with Tweed. He’s rotated between the wing, centre and fullback for the Seagulls and while he’s had some good touches, his involvement still isn’t at the level it needs to be.
Roberts has been highly rated since his schoolboys days but hasn’t been able to turn that into consistent NRL form and Cartwright said he hoped expectations weren’t high.
“He was a bit of a boom youngster but the fact is he’s only played a handful of first- grade games,” Cartwright said.
“We certainly don’t expect a lot of him and we want to make sure the timing’s right for him to go into the side.”
The Titans have a history of turning former bad boys into NRL stars with Greg Bird, Nate Myles and Albert Kelly flourishing at the club.
Roberts has tried to keep a low profile since arriving on the Gold Coast and his *manager, Daryl Mather, said he always had ambitions of playing for the club.
“He’s enjoying the move immensely,” Mather said.
Kelly will return to the team at half-back and partner Maurice Blair in the halves.
The versatile Blair has been chosen ahead of Beau Henry and Cartwright said it was a tough decision.
Myles and Paul Carter were again quarantined from the squad yesterday as they battle illness
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