Prince good chance to take on Raiders
TITANS skipper Scott Prince is considered a good chance of brushing aside an injury scare and taking his place against the Raiders for today's crucial encounter in Canberra.
The Gold Coast halfback sent a major fright through the Titans camp yesterday morning when he failed to finish the final training session at Robina.
In obvious discomfort, Prince abruptly left the field to seek medical treatment after feeling a twinge in his hamstring.
Following consultation with club medical staff, the decision was made that Prince would still travel to Canberra with teammates yesterday afternoon, with the final call on whether or not he plays to be made this morning.
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"They are not sure what the cause of the pain is," Cartwright said. "It could be neural and in that case he should be right.
"If it is neural it means it stems from the back and it is something they can treat.
"But if there is a strain there, more than likely he won't play.
"We will need 24 hours before we know."
Prince has been carrying a suspect hamstring through the early rounds and club insiders expect him to line up against Canberra. But if he does play, he will most likely abandon his goal kicking duties. This could create a new headache for Cartwright.
Veteran Preston Campbell is also an accomplished goal kicker, but in his new impact role spends large amounts of time off the field.
Greg Bird is the only other Titan with NRL goal kicking experience, but he has booted just six in his 131-game career.
If Prince is out, Campbell will slot straight into halfback, with four forwards to fill the interchange bench.
Compounding the Prince drama is the fact the club's top two tackling machines, lock Ash Harrison (hamstring) and Nathan Friend (shoulder), are also sidelined with injuries.
"There is 100 tackles right there," Titans prop Luke Bailey said. "Everyone knows what they bring to the table and we just have to each bring an extra 10-15 per cent."
Both Friend and Harrison are expected to return next week against the Cowboys in Townsville.
Maroons Origin lock Harrison has been the Titans best player so far this season, while tough hooker Friend has been widely heralded as the missing piece of the puzzle for the Coast.
The Titans are yet to win a game without Friend, losing seven from seven.
With Friend in the team the Titans have won 52 of 96 matches (54.2 per cent).
"He is like Cameron Smith and Robbie Farah, you take them out of the game and it makes a big hole," Bailey said.
"He is letting the boys know that we need him and he is using for his contract with Searley (Titans boss Michael Searle) as a bit of a bargaining chip.
"We are going to put in a good result this week and hopefully he will be right for the Cowboys."
Source: http://www.goldcoast.com.au