2013 Trial: TITANS vs WARRIORS at Burleigh

[DavidBouveng]

Nobody has mentioned Idris ... did he play?

no mate he didnt play. might still be in cotton wool

[DavidBouveng]

again i know it is probably obvious now, but in kelly, we have a half who will be nrl quality, rather than just the best of a bad bunch which was a possibility if none of th options stood up.

[teke]

Hymel Hunt didnt do anything wrong from where i stood, with experience he will grow

[K2G]

From http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8607805

A serious knee injury to impact forward Sione Lousi soured Matt Elliott's first game in charge of the Warriors on Saturday night.

Elliott's youthful New Zealand outfit - missing 17 front-liners - fell 42-24 to the more-seasoned Gold Coast at Pizzey Park but the former Penrith and Canberra coach finished the night more upset by Lousi's injury.

The giant 23-year-old, who has played 31 NRL games, was carried off the field in the 52nd minute after reeling away from a hit-up near the Titans' line.

Lousi punched the turf in disgust and then writhed in agony when club medics detected ligament damage to his right knee.

"The early call on it is a posterior cruciate ... that's not great but it's not season-ending," Elliott said. "We'll obviously determine it over the next couple of days."

Lousi's brother Sam also finished the night with some worries as he was placed on report for a high tackle in the second half.

Titans prop Matt White will also undergo scans on his knee after copping a nasty blow in the early exchanges of the seven-tries-to-five win.

Despite the comfortable victory, Gold Coast coach John Cartwright's halfback selection dilemma wasn't made easier.

Jordan Rankin and Beau Henry started in the halves, while former Cronulla playmaker Albert Kelly came off the bench, and all showed glimpses of promise in their contest to fill Brisbane-bound Scott Prince's boots.

Seemingly the underdog for the role, Rankin impressed most and finished the night with a darting late try, as well as three from three with the boot.

"I don't think it made (the No.7 decision) any clearer to be honest with you," Cartwright admitted.

"The three of them defensively were very strong, and that's what we wanted out of them, and their kicking games were very good, and they threatened the line at varying stages."

Henry kicked well in general play and also at goal - slotting all four shots - while injury-plagued winger Anthony Don caught the eye with a two-try display which put him on track to start the NRL season at Shark Park on March 10.

Elliott was most impressed by lock Sebastine Ikahihifo, who laid the platform for the opening try of the match when Alehana Mara put five-eighth Pita Godinet over in the second minute.

"I can't say I'm happy tonight but I'm not bitterly disappointed," Elliott said. "It's only a trial and we exposed a lot of guys with very little NRL experience to another level so that's a positive thing."

___________________

Hope Whitey's all right.

Also, I hope the HB spot is decided upon after the next trial at the latest. The successful candidate should get atleast 1 full trial match running the team around with sezer before round 1.

I thought Harrison, Bird, Sezer and James all played great in the all stars game tonight. Really bummed i couldn't listen/watch the trial game tonight, but hopefully some footage appears online soon. Would love to see how Kelly/Henry/Rankin conducted the team, and how all the backs went.

It was a good night of footy, and i'm bloody glad its back.

[Chaos]

From http://wwos.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8607805

"The three of them defensively were very strong, and that's what we wanted out of them,

Seriously...is that what he is looking for in the halves?

[teke]

Id say he's being diplomatic cause Kelly was sharper than all of them and the backline was alot crisper when he was on

[TITAN PETE]

I spoke to Carty,Clarky & Mr may after the match & I would say the one certain thing that came from tonight's trial was our no7 will be Kelly,,,Henry played well with the high Ball, Rankin is honest but Kelly is something special ..

My bolter for the starting 17 is Ioane , played long minutes & made a big impact .
Both Russel Odare wouldn't look out of place in the starting squad , Russell may be something special but would like to see him against some quality opposition.

[TITAN PETE]

Tragic news if Whitey is gone for the year but after talking to Marty Lang he thinks it may not be an ACL & hopefully only 6-8 weeks.

[Chaos]

Id say he's being diplomatic cause Kelly was sharper than all of them and the backline was alot crisper when he was on

Yeah but what were they told before the trial...concentrate on defense?
This is what you'd say to a couple of guys trying to make the lock position.
Surely if we are desperate for some attacking creativity, the halves would be instructed to showcase their attacking flair.

If he is just being diplomatic, what not say Kelly impressed in a trial?
Was Kelly not in his initial plans and now made his decision even more difficult?

[lonegull]

Can anyone give a bit of info on how the NYC went against burleigh

[Big Dan]

I spoke to Carty,Clarky & Mr may after the match & I would say the one certain thing that came from tonight's trial was our no7 will be Kelly,,,Henry played well with the high Ball, Rankin is honest but Kelly is something special ..

My bolter for the starting 17 is Ioane , played long minutes & made a big impact .
Both Russel Odare wouldn't look out of place in the starting squad , Russell may be something special but would like to see him against some quality opposition.

Totally agree Russell was good at times strong ball carry.Kelly looked the part.The cut out pass to speedster O Dare was one of the highlights of the game .ODare second try showed great determination.The kids is class

[TITAN PETE]

Can anyone give a bit of info on how the NYC went against burleigh

I thought they went really well mate when u consider they played against 2 completely different & fresh teams, the 1st half was against Burleigh who were mostly 1st graders & the 2nd half team had a few Burleigh Colts players.

The 5/8 Jahrome & one of the front rowers (huge kid) had really good games.

[TITAN PETE]

Titans too strong for Warriors in trial
Adam Santarossa
Saturday 9 February 2013 10:54 PM

The iSelect Gold Coast Titans have had their first hit out for 2013.

They proved to be too strong for the New Zealand Warriors running out 42-24 winners in their NRL trial game at Pizzey Park, Burleigh on Saturday evening.

A crowd of 5,500 were entertained with an enthralling contest which included 13 tries, with the Titans outscoring the Warriors eight tries to five.

The Warriors got off to a perfect start with Pita Godinet scoring under the posts inside the first two minutes, and the opening stanza proved typical of a trial with several dropped balls.

The Titans opened their account in the 15th minute as Anthony Don danced past two defenders to score after being sent clear by Matt Srama.

Steve Michaels made it two for the Titans in the 25th minute when he was on the end of a grubber from Jordan Rankin.

Beau Falloon added a third try when he barged over just ten minutes later, to give the Titans an 18-6 lead heading into halftime.

The lead was extended just four minutes into the second half when Mark O’Dare stormed down the touchline to score on the back of a Titans penalty in which Warriors forward Sam Lousi was placed on report for a high tackle.

David Fusitua sparked some life back into the contest when he barged over in the 52nd minute and when Conrad Hurrell made it two tries in three minutes there was suddenly only a converted try between the sides.

Fortunately the Titans found their composure and shortly after, Mark O’Dare was in for his double after a clever kick from Beau Henry.

Jordan Rankin staked his claim for the halfback spot when he darted past three defenders to take the lead out to 20 points in the 66th minute and Anthony Don registered his double just five minutes later as the Titans looked like running away with things.

The Warriors finished on a strong note though with two tries to Ngani Laumape (74th) and Atelea Nafetalai (77th)in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Titans ran out 24 point winners.

iSelect Titans coach, John Cartwright was pleased with the performance in what was a strong physical contest.

“It was a tough game. You know you’re always going to get a tough game against the Warriors. They sent over a lot of guys pushing for first grade spots, and you know one thing when you play them, they’re always physical and that’s what we really want to get out of a trial. A lot of guys got plenty of minutes for a first hit out, they’re going to be sore tomorrow but there were some pleasing aspects of it,” said Cartwright.
Cartwright was most pleased with the Titans resurgence after the Warriors opened the scoring inside the first two minutes.

“Probably the way they came back from the start. They’re a dangerous side when they get momentum, there were a couple of moments when they had a lot of momentum but we were able to stem that and come up with points ourselves. I think for the majority of the game we stuck to the structure we wanted, and defensively there were some really good patches.

“When we went down their end we came away with points and that was a good sign of us doing the little things well, chasing our kicks and getting to our kicks.

Despite coming away with the victory, Cartwright said there were still some things to fix ahead of next weekend’s trial against Brisbane at Redcliffe.

“We need to just tidy up, short kick offs and silly penalties, things that are in our scope to fix, even for a trial getting the ball back from a short kickoff is not acceptable so if we can tidy up in those areas.

Matt White will have an MRI on Monday after going off injured, whilst Sione Lousi is a major concern for the Warriors after Warriors coach, Matt Elliot confirmed a suspected Posterior Cruciate Ligament injury.

TITANS 42 (Don 2, O’Dare 2, Michaels, Falloon, Rankin, Henry 3/3, Rankin 4/4) defeated the WARRIORS 24 (Godinet, Fisutua, Hurrell, Laumape, Nafetalai, Godinet 2/5)

[Julius Sezer]

Yeah but what were they told before the trial...concentrate on defense?
This is what you'd say to a couple of guys trying to make the lock position.
Surely if we are desperate for some attacking creativity, the halves would be instructed to showcase their attacking flair.

If he is just being diplomatic, what not say Kelly impressed in a trial?
Was Kelly not in his initial plans and now made his decision even more difficult?

Carty did state before that Albert Kelly will be halfback.

Really pleased with peoples opinions of the match.

[mdrew]

Francis Veukiso I believe is the young guy you are referring to Titan Pete. Yes the NYC boys not too bad. Mitch Ardler played well too.

I thought they went really well mate when u consider they played against 2 completely different & fresh teams, the 1st half was against Burleigh who were mostly 1st graders & the 2nd half team had a few Burleigh Colts players.

The 5/8 Jahrome & one of the front rowers (huge kid) had really good games.