TITANS vs DRAGONS
SUNDAY 25TH MARCH Clive Berghofer Stadium
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TITANS vs DRAGONS
SUNDAY 25TH MARCH Clive Berghofer Stadium
100% this game has to be treated as a “must win”. We are going to need some supporters out there because we need some love from the whistleblowers to help us along.
It might be Round 3 but this is crunch time.
James/Rein/Wallace
Cartwright/Proctor
Arrow
Taylor
Elgey
Sami/Copley/Hurrell/Don
Gordon
Latu/Boyle/Hipgrave/King
I wouldn't put Carty on the edge defending next to LG. James needs to stay out there.
Peats
Arrow, Wallace
James, Proctor
Cartwright
Sami, Copley, Hurrell (if fit), Don
Gordon
Rein, Latu, Hipgrave, Boyle. But that bench is hard too choose.
Cartwright is terrible. Bring him into the game after 30mins at Lock after the settling in period.
Wallace Peats Hipgrave
James Proctor
Arrow
Taylor LG
Sami Copley Hurrell Don
Gordon
Latu King Cartwright Rein
JB could you wait till he at least plays one good game before calling him Carty. No way has he earned the affection of the fans yet.
^^^ definitely-once he hits his straps I’ll be jumping on the Carty Party Bus for sure. I need to wipe John Cartwright from my memory.
Cartwright is coming off a season and a pre-season of confidence-sapping Griffin-poop ... I'm not a fan really but am prepared to give him a go. We need more than just hard-running forwards or we'll never beat anybody. I'm tired of 'we really had a dig'.
^^^ agree agree agree....However-there were a number of times last year when we had That bloody Hayne infecting our lives when our men turned it up and embarrassed us all. So seeing a good effort week in/week out has become something that is non-negotiable again.
I hope MT sees this-because of that horrendous piece of poop Hayne I’m seriously thinking of cheering for Manly this arvo. That’s just crazy stuff.
I think your pretty on the money here JB.
Just can't have Boyle in front of king at this point.
As someone else on here and even though Arrow makes an awesome lock, Cartwright at Lock brings a dimension (advantage) to our game that not many other teams could emulate.
I'm with Titanic Rein is our fit & 1st choice no9
Dragons broncos then now im most worried about manly...their defence is extremely impressive and they're offloading like the warriors.....
Either way, hopefully we can come in under the radar for this game and catch the Dragons thinking they're 2018 premiers like a few of their fans are.
We need to persist with cartwright at 13 for the next few weeks until were guarenteed that its not for him. J wal to start and latu to bench. Something like:
8. Arrow
9. Peats
10. Wallace
11. Proctor
12. James
13. Cartwright
14. Rein
15. Latu
16. Hipgrave
17. King/Boyle/Matthews
Does anyone know how Stockwell is shaping up and is there any expectation around for this guy?
I was a big fan of elliot a few years back. It will be interesting to see whether he shapes up on the wing or is a replacement for gordon at the back
Titans v Dragons
Sunday, 25 March
Toowoomba Sports Ground
3:10pm (QLD time)
1. Michael Gordon
2. Anthony Don
3. Dale Copley
4. Konrad Hurrell
5. Phillip Sami
6. Kane Elgey
7. Ash Taylor
8. Jai Arrow
9. Nathan Peats
10. Leilani Latu
11. Kevin Proctor
12. Ryan James ©
13. Bryce Cartwright
14. Mitch Rein
15. Will Matthews
16. Morgan Boyle
17. Jarrod Wallace
18. Keegan Hipgrave
19. Joe Greenwood
20. Alexander Brimson
21. Tyronne Roberts-Davis
If that's the team then I'm assuming King is injured and I have to question carrying two 80 minute hookers in preference to playing Hipgrave over Peats ... our soft underbelly will be exposed. Latu must have got those goat pics from Wilbur.
^^^ King not in the 21 is odd. He’s not mentioned in the injury report, my guess is they want him to get some serious mins into him this week in QCUP.
Maybe he has another head knock on the weekend. So I think from memory if you have two head knock on a row you have to miss a week.
Not far off the money for mine.
I would say Matthews is riding the "playing the previous team" accolade but in saying that he might just have a blinder
The match preview on nrl.com https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/03/20/...und-3-preview/ mentions King being unavailable because of illness.
^^^ that’s pretty concerning given he has a Heart Condition.
Taylor to suit up for Titans in Toowoomba
https://www.nrl.com/
Gold Coast’s master playmaker Ash Taylor has vowed there is no way he will miss his homecoming match against the St George Illawarra Dragons at Toowoomba’s Clive Berghofer Stadium on Sunday.
However, if he did, a 19-year-old destined to play NRL before the end of the season could be in the reckoning to make a country-based debut.
The Titans competed admirably without Taylor’s class and end-of-set finesse in going down 20-8 to the Warriors last Saturday but coach Garth Brennan admitted it may have been a bit too much to ask Bryce Cartwright to fill the No. 6 role with little familiarity with his new teammates.
The coach took teenager Alexander (AJ) Brimson to Auckland with the 19-man squad but admitted it wasn’t the right time, place or opposition to blood the classy youngster.
Brimson was again named in the Titans’ 21-man preliminary squad today and although he’d give nothing away to unnecessarily pressure the kid, Brennan may be more likely to throw Brimson into the action this time – just as Kane Elgey was in round 4 in 2015 when injury forced Neil Henry’s hand.
“I was never going to rush AJ in against the Warriors,” said Brennan.
“A trip over to NZ in front of a big physical Warriors pack on a bit of a high … that wouldn’t have been fair to the kid.
“When he debuts, it will be the right decision. When that is I don’t know but we will keep working away with him and getting him ready and hopefully the time will come to give him a crack and it will be the right time.”
That time may remain supposition if Taylor’s determination is a gauge. Brennan says it was just a “hot spot” on a scan that determined Taylor missed the trip to Auckland and not a tear, and Taylor will do everything he can to get on the paddock.
“Ash is very keen to go back home and get out there in front of family and friends. I sent him a text after the match and spoke to him about how he was feeling and whether he’d be right for this weekend or whether I’d rest him and the response I got I can’t repeat. He is doing everything he can to get on the paddock.
“The injury happened in the first half against Canberra and he finished the game and was doing all he could still and probably could have played on the weekend but it wasn’t worth risking him, especially with the travel on a plane to New Zealand. Hopefully he will get through this weekend.”
With Taylor back, and Queensland prop Jarrod Wallace having his first hit out of the year due to suspension, the Titans will have a whole lot more to throw at the in-form Dragons than they did at the Warriors.
And while the hype will be around Taylor, who moved from St George to Toowoomba as a 10-year-old, just as exciting is the prospect of Wallace combining with former Broncos teammate and good mate Jai Arrow.
With Wallace out and NRL novices in Morgan Boyle, Max King and Keegan Hipgrave coming off the bench in the first two rounds, the performance of Arrow – who had started just four times in the previous two seasons with the Broncos – has been outstanding.
“I wish I had 16 more Jai Arrows; isn’t he a super talent,” enthused Brennan.
“In the first two weeks he has been enormous. For a young guy with as limited NRL experience as Jai has.
“They are very close, they have come through Brisbane together, I think they will feed off each other and I think Jai will hopefully grow another leg with Jarrod in the team and that can only benefit the team for Jai Arrow to go to another level, because he has been enormous.”
Brennan has chosen Wallace to the bench although he hinted that might change. Yet he admitted he may have to slow Wallace’s eagerness and ensure he feels his way into the season.
“He hasn’t trialled and a little underdone so taking him out of those early exchanges might get a few more minutes out of him,” Brennan said.
“That’s what I’m thinking at the moment but things could change as the week goes on.
“We’re a young inexperienced side and to have a State of Origin player come back into your team will only boost us; we can’t afford to have Origin quality players on the sideline, we need to have them on the park.
“He’s very determined. I got a text message form him after the game as well I can’t repeat – they [Taylor and Wallace] are both firing to go.”
Taylor & Wallace raring to go
https://www.titans.com.au/
Once the dust had settled after the round two match against the Warriors last weekend, Coach Garth Brennan looked at his phone and in amongst the stack of text messages were two he was eager to read.
Halfback Ash Taylor (hamstring) and prop forward Jarrod Wallace (suspension) had text the coach immediately after the match telling him that they were ready to go and couldn’t wait for the round three match to kick-off.
Both players have differing motivations with Taylor keen to play in front of the Toowoomba faithful whilst Wallace is itching to get out there for his first match of season 2018.
“He’s (Taylor) got a bit of training to do between now and Sunday but we’ll see how he progresses,” Brennan said. “Fingers crossed he’ll be right to go.
“Yeah, he is (keen to play), going back home. He’s keen to play in front of family and friends. I had a text from him after the game and he said he’ll be right for this weekend.
Wallace has been itching to go since Christmas and after a tough training regime, the Origin representative is ready to go.
“I want to ease him into the game, he hasn’t trialled and might be a little underdone,” BrennaN said in relation to his selection on the interchange bench.
“He’s in great shape, he struggled early but he’s ripped, he’s trained really hard and he had his shirt off last week showing it off, which I found a bit disturbing but we’re excited to have him back.
“To have an Origin player come back into the side is important for us and we can’t have players of that calibre on the sidelines.
“I got a text message off him as well so they’re both raring to go.”
Gold Coast Titans must lift to rattle St George Illawarra Dragons in Toowoomba
https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au
REIGNING Titans player of the year Anthony Don says Gold Coast must find next gear for when they play in front of their “second home” crowd.
The Titans were handed a convincing 20-8 defeat by the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, extending the latter’s head-to-head record to 14 wins in the past 15 clashes between the sides.
Gold Coast’s focus now moves to the first of two home games they will play in regional Queensland.
On Sunday next week, they will host red hot St George Illawarra at Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do before next week,” Don said.
“They (the Dragons) have come out and started this comp really well.
“We’re looking forward to getting up to Toowoomba, our second home, and seeing all of our fans up there.
“We are going to put on a good show against the Dragons and hopefully we get a win.”
Don said effort had been present in abundance in Auckland but other areas had let them down.
“A few of the final touches and a few of the tackles on the try lines probably wasn’t good enough,” he said.
“We tried our guts out but probably a little bit of class in the second half let us down.”
Things did not go the Titans’ way either, with star half Ash Taylor (hamstring) ruled out pre-game and then three tries being denied by the bunker.
Taylor is expected to join prop Jarrod Wallace - whose suspension has now been served – on the returning list in Toowoomba.
^^^ this article was written by a muppet. We weren’t convincingly beaten by NZ, we were dead unlucky and it could easily have been much different.