Titans wary of now-smiling incredible hulk Jamal Idris
TRAVIS MEYN GOLD COAST BULLETIN APRIL 21, 2014 10:02AM


TITANS co-captain Nate Myles believes a “happy” Jamal Idris could pose the biggest threat to the Gold Coast’s winning streak tonight.

The Titans will run into their former marquee centre for the first time tonight when they tackle Penrith at Sportingbet Stadium.

Idris was released by the Titans in January for compassionate reasons with the hulking centre saying he wanted to return to Sydney for family reasons.

Many thought the Titans would struggle without the talented centre but they have instead won five of their opening six games of the season to sit on top of the NRL ladder.

The Titans are gunning for five straight wins tonight, a streak they haven’t achieved since their preliminary finals season in 2010, but Myles said the imposing Idris could be a major hurdle.

“The main thing for me as a friend of his is he needs to make sure he’s all right and I think he is now,” Myle said.

“He’s showing that in his football. He’s playing some good footy and he looks happy.

“You’re never going to replace someone of Jamal’s size and ability but the blokes we have in there have really stood up this year.

“We’re very fortunate they’re standing up.”

While Idris and his $400,000-a-season salary have left the Titans, they haven’t lost too much on the edges defensively.

Brad Takairangi, who started the season in reserve grade, has been strong at right centre and will come up against Idris tonight.

Titans forward Greg Bird said the team was missing Idris in some areas but Takairangi had proved to be a solid replacement.

“Players come and go, you can’t do much about that,” he said.

“That’s the nature of rugby league these days. It’s a business and you’ve got to do what’s best for yourself.

“It was a shame that we lost him but there’s a million other players that will come in and take his spot and do their best to hold the position.

“Of course we’ve missed him on that right edge but Takairangi’s been pretty impressive the last couple of weeks. I think he’s filled his shoes.”

Penrith has made an inconsistent start to the season with three wins from six games.

They are yet to win consecutive games and are coming off an 18-2 loss to South Sydney but Myles said he saw similarities between the Titans and Panthers.

“They’ve been playing fantastic football,” he said.

“There’s not too dissimilar to us. They play a similar style of footy and have some dangerous blokes out there

“There’s some attacking potential and we need to be careful.”