Round 8: WESTS TIGERS vs TITANS

[TITAN PETE]

I hope Meady's Jaw is okay. Wasn't looking too good when he was grasping it..

Thought the same thing , he actually got hit twice there & we all know it's not his strongest bone

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Tough Titans slay sloppy Tigers
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent
NRL.com
4:59pm Sun 27th


A crucial 8-0 period with Titans skipper Nate Myles in the sin bin has inspired Gold Coast to a 22-6 road win over the Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon.

But the courageous victory might have come at a price, with halfback Albert Kelly sent to hospital during the game for a possible leg fracture.


With Kelly already on the sideline, the visitors were thrown in further disarray when Myles was binned for a professional foul on Martin Taupau in the 24th minute.

The Tigers were controversially denied a try to centre Tim Simona in the ensuing set – again by an obstruction call – but the Titans held on and eventually outscored their opposition 8-0 despite being a man down.

On another miserable afternoon at Leichhardt Oval, points were always going to be hard to come by in the wet conditions. So when Bodene Thompson was penalised for a shoulder charge on Aidan Sezer in the third minute, Gold Coast opted for a penalty shot, but missed.

It took just four minutes for their next opportunity however, with Sezer taking full advantage of a jinking Kelly run to embarrass some arm-grabbing efforts in the middle of the park and charge through under the posts. The playmaker converted his own try and the Titans enjoyed the early 6-0 lead.

Gold Coast tried to turn the screws over the next few sets as makeshift centre Dave Taylor threw a brave offload for a flying Anthony Don in the 13th, before Kelly intercepted and ran 50m in the 16th.

But the turning point came when Kelly limped from the field after a heavy tackle from Adam Blair in the 23rd minute. In the following set, a Luke Brooks dummy opened the defence and should've ended in a supporting Martin Taupau going over the tryline, but the prop was held back by Myles.

The home side almost cashed in on the extra man immediately after Myles went to the bin, going right and crossing through Simona. But referee Gerard Sutton ruled that decoy Thompson had impeded Sezer and video referee Steve Clark agreed.

From there the Titans romped downfield, chewing up time as Bird slotted over a ruck infringement penalty in front of the sticks in the 28th minute.

Incredibly, Gold Coast – still a man down – extended their lead on a Paul Carter chargedown of a Braith Anasta kick. The impact hooker picked up the loose ball and found a flying Don to score an important try against the run of play.

Sezer again added the extras and the visitors went into the half-time break with a well-earned 16-0 first half shutout.

The Tigers needed to score first upon resumption and did so through their own impact player in Blake Austin. The utility's kick out of dummy half ricocheted off Greg Bird and his toe poke kept it alive enough for Simona to pounce on in the corner. Pat Richards' conversion went in off the upright and the home side were back in the game.

But the Titans executed the perfect reply in the 53rd minute, Sezer dribbling through for a lunging Bird and an unassailable 22-6 lead.

An opportunity for Don to nab his second was a blade of grass away from happening in the 58th minute, as it was for a desperate Liam Fulton in the 62nd. But Gold Coast were strong enough to ensure the home side never got close enough.

Simona was put on report in the 49th minute for a lifting tackle, while Carter will also have a high tackle reviewed by the match review committee.

Gold Coast Titans 22 (Sezer, Don, Bird tries; Sezer 2, Bird 3 goals) defeated Wests Tigers 6 (Simona tries; Richards goals)at Leichhardt Oval. Crowd: 8929.

[GCT_89]

Thought the same thing , he actually got hit twice there & we all know it's not his strongest bone

We need to build a jaw stabiliser (ala Tate) for Meady...

Head gear even? Anyone notice Ennis wheres head gear these days, when did that happen?

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But the courageous victory might have come at a price, with halfback Albert Kelly sent to hospital during the game for a possible leg fracture.

Sent during game? Pretty certain he watched the game from the sheds and was there celebrating with the team post match....

[Supergoose]

I thought Harrison was great today and really got us going in the right direction. He looks determined to finish his career on a great note. Many good contributors today.

[Smakked]

NOt a bad Win, Carter played very well as did Mead yet again. Kelly could be out for a while which will hurt us. James has to stop with the stupid penaltys, and on him he looks like he isn't 100%? Running slow at the line and looks scared to hit it up. Bird always puts in 110% no matter what. Taka is doing well some awesome offloads.

Edit forgot to mention Ioane, he is a good runner nice and straight and hard. now James should be running like that.

[K2G]

From NRL.com

Titans ace Kelly cleared of leg fracture

By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent

Gold Coast halfback Albert Kelly has been cleared of a fractured leg – and could in fact join the Country team should coach Trent Barrett need his services in Dubbo next week.

In a major scare for Titans fans, Kelly limped off the field in the first half on Sunday afternoon's 22-6 win over the Wests Tigers, with Channel Nine reporting that the 23-year-old was rushed to hospital for a possible leg fracture. But the fifth-year pro said after the game he merely suffered a major cork – the other leg.

"I didn't go no hospital, no fracture. [Just a] bit of a cork," Kelly said.

"I was in here watching the game from the window, eating muffins and watching the boys do the work."

Kelly was crunched in a tackle from Tigers hitman Adam Blair after putting up a bomb in the 23rd minute and was clearly in pain but tried to play on. One set later he came off.

"I kicked it and he tackled me in the same motion and I might've got a bump on to my leg, and just kind of felt funny after that. But I tried to run and I just couldn't," he said.

"It was more nervy and I felt like my leg died on me. I just couldn't really take off as quick. Not much power in that leg, I didn't want to be a burden for the boys.

"I think it's just a major cork for now, which is good news. I'll just be on it every night, icing, eating, compression, make sure that it'll be right for the next game."

Titans coach John Cartwright bemoaned the slow pace of the game, suggesting that officials have relaxed on the third man in tackles.

"If you look back to when the year started, the third man in, there was a lot less of that happening," he said.

"[There] seems to be a little bit more back in the game now. I'm not saying it's a bad thing - I don't necessarily think we want a game of touch footy. But it's certainly different to what it has been."

Co-captain Nate Myles – who was sin-binned in the first half for a professional foul – agreed that the game was slower than usual this season.

"It was like winding the clock there a bit. It was bash and barge there for a while. I don't know if that's the rule changes or maybe playing at Leichhardt, where it's a little bit slower," he said.

"But I thought today, both sides, I thought it was a good game of footy. Although it was a bit slow, there was some physical stuff in there."

Cartwright reserved special praise for impact hooker Paul Carter, who played the rest of the game after Kelly came off and set up a crucial try in the second half off a charge-down.

"He certainly added impact. When he come to us, you're always hopeful that a player will come and make a difference to your side, but he's only very young and hadn't played first-grade so wasn't really sure of the impact that he would make," he said.

"We were confident that he would at some stage but pretty much from game one, his work off the bench has turned the game for us and I thought again today, even though we were in front, we were under some heavy fire and he come out and returned it and give as good as he got.

"That's what the players love about him. He's just very aggressive and he didn't care how big they are. He just keeps coming."

[gotitans101_]

Great to hear, hopefully it's just that - a cork.

[Mexican titan]

Yeah great news on Alby. A week off for some of the players will help as well before what should be a great game against the Wabbits.

[DavidBouveng]

*so if kelly can play against rabbits, do we keep Taylor at centre? it really seems to suit him and gives us size and defence out wide.
*Bird bounced back from an average week with a killer performance.
*Mead is really finding his groove. is safe, consistent and busy. hunts around the middle for offoads or half gaps.
*Is Don, Is Good.
* Carter showed he is a much better back rower than hooker.
*we are getting closer to the right blend of defence with some attack. we should have scored more tries, but we are improving at least a little. our work out of our own half is actually pretty good. just the final 20m. but id rather joint comp leader with an inbuilt core of courage and grit with room for improvement in attack, than a brilliant team who also leaks like a seive a la warriors.

*rest up boys, enjoy the week off, work on some red zone plays and see you at 530 at CBUS super in two weeks where you can test urself against inglis and the brothers burgess.

[K2G]

.*so if kelly can play against rabbits, do we keep Taylor at centre? it really seems to suit him and gives us size and defence out wide.
* Carter showed he is a much better back rower than hooker.

* I can't believe the Tigers didn't throw more at the Taylor + KG combo today. I think that pairing would get tested by most teams in the comp, and carved up by 3 or 4 teams. That said, it held up alright today and it certainly gives us some size/strike on the edge - Plus it's not like the Blair + KG pairing hasn't been getting pumped so far either.

KG looks out of form/down on confidence, slower and less explosive than ever so far this season I keep telling myself he's a victim of circumstance with the way we're playing, and the lack of ball/space - but as far as the current standard of wingers in the game goes, my username is starting to worry me. I do wish we'd kick early for him, ala Cronk+Waqa once in a while...

Also, i do think Taylor should be playing on the left. He has always looked more dangerous on that side to me (Bird to lock would fix that!).

* Carter was excellent. I hope he stays on the bench as a backrower when srama comes back. I thought he was lucky not to get done for a few forward passes again today though, but his impact is huge.

[DavidBouveng]

* I can't believe the Tigers didn't throw more at the Taylor + KG combo today. I think that pairing would get tested by most teams in the comp, and carved up by 3 or 4 teams. That said, it held up alright today and it certainly gives us some size/strike on the edge - Plus it's not like the Blair + KG pairing hasn't been getting pumped so far either.

KG looks out of form/down on confidence, slower and less explosive than ever so far this season I keep telling myself he's a victim of circumstance with the way we're playing, and the lack of ball/space - but as far as the current standard of wingers in the game goes, my username is starting to worry me. I do wish we'd kick early for him, ala Cronk+Waqa once in a while...

Also, i do think Taylor should be playing on the left. He has always looked more dangerous on that side to me (Bird to lock would fix that!).


* Carter was excellent. I hope he stays on the bench as a backrower when srama comes back. I thought he was lucky not to get done for a few forward passes again today though, but his impact is huge.

KG is functioning ok. i actually like his pressure on bombs. he forces the fullback winger to play under pressure. i would put him ahead of zillman, but behind Don at the moment, and obviously Mead.

Taylor has always played best on left going right back to bronco and Souths days. he is playing really well. people who are ripping him about his weight or effort clearly arent watching the games. he would be in the top 4 or 5 vote getters im sure in the players player for the year.

[rj62]

That's great news on a Alby. Barrett can bog off and leave him out of the Country team.....purely selfish but we need him more than they do

[Mexican titan]

I'm a bit like K2G in why Taylor wasn't tested a bit more but the wet weather probably helped us there. A dry track and I think we might be in trouble there.
The improvement in Don is terrific and he certainly shouldn't be going if Zillman comes back. I think Zilly should get back to fitness in QCup when he comes back. The attack is still very concerning and it is no coincidence that both Parra and the Tigers were flat this week after their game last week - the Tigers showed little and are not the same without Farah. But, that all said, there are about 12 sides that would happily swap positions with us.

[DavidBouveng]

also, i was listening to the radio ABC call of this, and some bloke was saying when teams were named how great a year gordon is having, and then when he did something good in game said he is sure he'll make one of the rep teams named tonight...WTF is he on.

you could tell they were genuinely suprised we were a decent team, saying regularly the Titans are 'actually' playing very solid today like the rest werent....hey mate! its OUR job to rag on our team, stay out of it!

[Mexican titan]

[QUOTE=DavidBouveng;342432]also, i was listening to the radio ABC call of this, and some bloke was saying when teams were named how great a year gordon is having, and then when he did something good in game said he is sure he'll make one of the rep teams named tonight...WTF is he on.

QUOTE you could tell they were genuinely suprised we were a decent team, saying regularly the Titans are 'actually' playing very solid today like the rest werent....hey mate! its OUR job to rag on our team, stay out of it![/QUOTE

Yeah that was Warren Ryan - I was listening to that call as well and I couldn't believe it when he said that. In fact I was with my dog at an off leash park and didn't realise he was in a fight because I was tranced by that bit of commentary and heard nothing going on around me! Did you also hear how feral the crowd was. When I lived down there I thought the Redfern mob were shockers and I used to like going to Leichhardt but today sounded like all the the inmates had a day out from the asylum. Wouldn't it be great if our crowd got stuck in to the refs like that!

[K2G]

Yeah MT, I've been super impressed with Don this season. You can tell he has played some fullback, as he seems to pop up all over the field. I thought he was unlucky not to get awarded that try today, and also would've scored another if James threw that pass as well. But he has had made some really nice breaks this year, safer than zilly under the high ball, and reads well in defense - in fact, i havnt seen him have a BAD game since newcastle in the mud last year.

Zilly will get given a spot in the 17 somewhere though, I just hope it isn't at fullback... I'd like to know what his MotM strike rate is out of interest.


Oh, and i thought Carty made a fairly decent argument for Taylor staying at centre in his interview with ABC radio today (draws defenders in attack, is able to do less work in the middle, and conserve petrol for getting us out of our end and play bigger minutes)