Round 5 2013: TITANS vs BRONCOS

[TITAN PETE]

Thaiday found guilty now gets 2 weeks off

[TITAN PETE]

Thaiday found guilty now gets 2 weeks off

No it's only 1 week still

[TITAN PETE]

Brisbane skipper Sam Thaiday has been banned for one game after being found guilty at the NRL judiciary of making contact with a referee.

The judiciary panel took less than two minutes to uphold the contrary conduct charge after Thaiday grabbed the jersey of referee Adam Devcich during last week's loss to Melbourne.

Thaiday had been remonstrating with Devcich after complaining that he was held back by the jersey at a scrum when Billy Slater ran away to score for the Storm.

The Broncos captain argued he had not acted contrary to the spirit of the game in making the contact, but was rather doing it to demonstrate what had happened at the scrum.

He admitted during the hearing he did not have to make contact with the referee.

His ban comes at the worst possible time for the Broncos, who are desperate to turn their season around after winning just one of their opening four games.

Thaiday will miss Friday night's derby against Gold Coast.

[TITAN PETE]

2 minutes , an expensive quick trip for the poor Donkey

[DavidBouveng]

Haha two minutes.

I am glad he is not going to play against us, but it is odd he gets a week, and Danny Buderus shoulder charges Blake fergusons eye and gets zero.

Doesn't make sense to me.

[Titanic]

And Michael Ennis continues to be a turd and gets nothing.

[DIEHARD]

Even the official Broncos twitter is having a cry about his suspension. Amateurs.

[TITAN PETE]

Gillett ready to show best against Titans
By Ben Blaschke,
NRL.com
Thu 04th April, 7:00am


They face another daunting task this weekend against the in-form Gold Coast but Broncos back-rower Matt Gillett believes he can go a long way towards getting Brisbane?s season back on track if he can win his one-on-one battle with Titans skipper Greg Bird.

While Gillett was surprisingly quiet in last week?s spirited yet heart-breaking loss to premiers Melbourne, Bird has been colossal for the Titans during their three-game winning run and will again play a key role against their Queensland rivals on Friday night.

And while the Gold Coast have looked lethal right across the park in 2013, Gillett believes shutting down Bird is the key to securing a much-needed win.

?I watched his game on the weekend against Penrith and what he?s doing at the moment ? he?s got everything in his game,? the 24-year-old told NRL.com. ?He is one of those danger players for us. He can come up with offloads, break the line, put in a cut-out pass, so he is a real danger ? and yeah, he is on my side of the field too so it will take a fair effort to control him.

?But I?m looking forward to that challenge.

?I think it is always a challenge to try and get over the top of your opposite players and that?s what we?re all looking to do as a team. I?m doing that on Greg this week and if we all manage to do that against our opposing players it will help out the whole team.?

The season is still young but already the Broncos are feeling the pinch with just one win from four games at a time of year when they are usually at their peak.

Conversely, a Gold Coast outfit that has finished well outside the top eight for the past two years is now looking like a genuine premiership threat on the back of some key personnel changes.

?It?s a huge game for us,? Gillett conceded. ?The Gold Coast have started the season really well. They?ve got some great halves running around there now and I think as a team they?re just working together a lot better. They?ve obviously worked really hard in the off-season with Albert Kelly being new to the halves and he has been a great asset to them.

?They like to offload the ball a lot, too. They?ve got their big props that bend the line and get an offload out so we need to control them in that middle.?

Despite consecutive losses to the Roosters and Storm, Gillett is adamant that Brisbane is back on track following their strong second-half showing against the premiers last week. Trailing 20-6 at the break, the Broncos stormed back to lead 22-20 at one stage before eventually falling 32-26.

?We?ll take a lot out of that game,? he said. ?The week before we didn?t score any points so I think we?re heading in the right direction going into this game against the Gold Coast.

?Melbourne is the best side in the comp at the moment and has been for several years now, so we take a lot out of it knowing that we can score points.

?We were disappointed with the way we finished the games against Manly and the Roosters after being right in it at half-time but we know what we?ve done wrong and we just need to fix our attitude in the games like we did against Melbourne. That?s our platform there ? the way we stood up against Melbourne ? and if we can do that every week we?ll be going alright.

?The thing for us now though is to actually start winning games. We can?t afford to be playing good footy but falling short like we did the other night. We need those wins to get the confidence out of it and build off that.?

Gillett rejected suggestions that this week?s clash against NSW certainty Greg Bird and the Titans could be viewed as a State of Origin trial, insisting he couldn?t afford to lose focus with the Broncos languishing in the bottom half of the table.

But he admitted his Maroons debut last season had changed his perspective heading into 2013.

?A bit of self-belief I suppose, it certainly gives you that,? he observed.

?It was a great experience to get out there on the paddock with those great players and see how they train and how consistent they are. I took a lot out of that side of things. Those guys are all pretty cool, calm and collected the way they run things, so just to experience it and to learn from those great leaders was a big thing for my footy.

?I was over the moon with last year ? but last year is last year now. I have to do it all again this year now and that?s my main focus.?

[Rage]

Do you guys think this will be a low scoring game like the preview suggests or a massive blowout in points like the Broncos-Storm game?

[Toads]

I'm guessing it'll be fairly low scoring in the First half. Then if we wear em down, we might be able to put a few more points on them in the Second half. I'd say us by 12 (Donkeys 10 - Titans 22).

Though I can hear the Donkey Supporters now. Using the excuse of Thaiday's one week suspension for the loss, and how they were robbed.

[Mr Stupid]

Do you guys think this will be a low scoring game like the preview suggests or a massive blowout in points like the Broncos-Storm game?

Looks like the going might be wet. Perhaps a grind. Dont mind that too much.

[Smakked]

How are ticket sales looking for this game?

[Sydney Titans Fanatic]

TITANS boss David May says he hopes there will be no animosity towards Scott Prince as the playmaker heads for an emotional return to the Gold Coast tomorrow night.
Prince will play at Skilled Park with the Broncos for the first time since the messy split with the Titans five months ago.
The half's exit remains the most bitter contractual saga in the Titans' short history.
The former Titans skipper believes the club blindsided him by negotiating a release with Hull without his knowledge before the halfback returned serve, brokering a comeback with derby rivals Brisbane.
Skilled was Prince's personal playground for five years but tomorrow the 33-year-old hopes to fire up his second coming at the Broncos after a slow start to the season.
Prince was a foundation Titan and had planned to finish his career at the club but May defended the treatment of their popular ex-skipper as he plots the Coast's downfall tomorrow.
"It will be emotional for a lot of people," May said.
"I certainly hope there is no animosity towards Scott, but he won't get an easy ride.
"You are in two minds - you want him to be respected for the contribution he made but by the same token, I want our supporters getting behind our team.
"I imagine it will be quite emotional for Princey as well because he was such a big part of setting up this club. There were a lot of emotions at the time and a lot of people said we did the wrong thing by Scott."
Prince was seething when the Titans tried to offload him but May says the pair have since had amicable dialogue.
"We've exchanged a few texts," May said.
"I had only just arrived at the club (as CEO), so we didn't get a chance to form a close relationship. He was all right. It was certainly nothing negative.
"I think everybody would have preferred the matter be sorted out behind closed doors, but when the leak came from Hull, that made it very difficult.
"I'd like to think Scott is happy at the Broncos, he has a new career and a new spot at five-eighth."
Broncos utility Alex Glenn expects Prince to receive a hostile reception at Skilled.
"They will target him for sure," Glenn said.
"They have a huge pack and poor old Princey is only a little fella. He knows they will be running at him so our forwards will have to put their shoulder in front and protect him as much as we can.
broncos.com.au

[Titanic]

The saintly Donkeys handing out compliments and trying to keep it "friendly" ... not one person from Tassie to TI is fooled by that ... fark them and their bs ... anything short of a bloodbath would be a travesty.

[Tamwelg]

@toddbalym: Titans look like being 1-17 so Harrison, Takairangi & Srama all passed final training session.