Titans to show big brother who's boss

BACKROWER Mark Minichiello has declared the Gold Coast pack must 'stamp their authority' over their inexperienced Broncos rivals tomorrow night as the Titans fight to snap out of a mid-season slump.

While the Broncos have won six of their past eight to charge into premiership calculations, the Titans' finals spark has started to fade after losing five of their past seven games.

Minichiello said that Titans needed a big performance against the Broncos to get back on track.

"We really want to stamp our authority," he said.

"Especially this year, with the age of the pack getting on a bit it would be great to get a result at the end of the season.

"We have to go out there this week and take little steps forward to build our confidence and get things right for the big end of the season."

The window of opportunity is closing fast for the Coast squad to do something special before they are ripped apart by retirement and salary cap pressures.

If experience counts for anything, the Titans should have the Broncos measure.

The Coast's starting pack and four interchange forwards have a combined 1253 NRL caps, more than double that of the Broncos (655).

Titans interchange prop Brad Meyers (165) alone has more than double the amount of games to his name than the entire Broncos bench.

"We are probably not going to get too many more opportunities to win the grand final with the team we have got now," said Titans prop Luke Bailey.

"It seemed like we did have a young squad when we first started but looking at all the teams now, we are probably the oldest in the competition.

"It is something we talk about on a regular basis, that it would be nice to do it ... the time has come."

Bailey said the clash with the Broncos could define their season.

"It is one of those games that you call a do-or-die game," he said.

"There were some positive signs after last week's performance against the Tigers.

"I think the blokes found a bit of self-belief and some confidence, particularly in our line defence."

He said with the bottom eight congested, another slip and they could end up outside the top eight.

"When we play the Broncos it is a big enough challenge as it is, but this game holds a lot of meaning for us," he said.

Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au