Tonga was tough, but Inglis is the world-class rival
LIFE could not be better for bustling Gold Coast Titans centre Joseph Tomane.
But if he thought it was tough in Townsville, it is about to get a lot harder when he marks up against former teammate Greg Inglis on Friday.
Dazzling the Titans supporters with his raw power and speed in the opening three rounds, the 20-year-old came back to earth when Willie Tonga ran in three tries in the Cowboys' 32-18 victory in Townsville.
"I got taught a lesson by a good teacher but I need to go away and keep my head down and make up for the errors that I made last night," said Tomane yesterday.
"If I thought Tonga had a good, strong fend on him I'm now lining up against one of the best fends in the competition.
"But it will be a good learning experience for me playing against one of the best centres in the game."
Promising to switch his mobile phone off this week to ensure there was no banter from his former teammates, Tomane said he had relished his move north.
Wellington-born, Tomane grew up in Logan, going to school at Marsden High before switching to Nudgee College for his senior years.
"It's been good the move back and I'm glad to be back near home," said Tomane, who played rugby alongside Gold Coaster James O'Connor at Nudgee and the Australian Schoolboys.
"I do miss Melbourne but the culture around the club is the same so it's been easy to get into things.
"I keep in touch with a lot of the guys, but I haven't lately because I keep changing my number, but I'm going to keep my phone off because they might have a bit on me after Saturday night.
"I just want to concentrate on my massive task on Friday."
That task is trying to contain Inglis, arguably the greatest player in the game today, known for his ability to swat away defenders.
And he knows he needs a big game, with his position far from secure, especially with former Kiwi Test player Clinton Toopi impressing in the Queensland Cup.
"It's been just as tough to crack into this squad, I think I've just been a bit lucky," he said.
"Clinton has been playing some good football in the Queensland Cup and I need to keep my form up.
"I had a shocker on Saturday night so hopefully I can pick it up."
Titans coach John Cartwright said despite Tomane's harsh assessment of his efforts against the Cowboys he had been impressed with the attitude and skill he brought to the club.
"We dropped a lot of ball up there and they made us pay but you can't put it all on him," said Cartwright. "The past few weeks he has been one of our best."
Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au