Round 15: TITANS vs DRAGONS

[Titanic]

Zillman is not the scapegoat but just a part of the symptom … Myles is a plodder, Bird is a hog (even the Blues supporters must get this), Minichiello has poor hands, Bailey is off the pace, Takairangi isn't being coached, Srama is at QCup level, Falloon is also not being coached, Sezer one-dimensional, Kelly outrageously over-rated, Mead is a fullback, Blair is a must, so is Roberts, so is Don and Ridge. Something like this is what we have until we can recruit a quality hooker, like the one we gave away or from the PNG Hunters if anybody has noticed him.

1. Mead 2. Gordon 3. Blair 4. Roberts 5. Don 6. Sezer 7. Mortimer 8. Douglas 9. Falloon 10. White 11. Taylor 12. Ridge 13. Bird 14. Minichiello 15. Takairangi 16. Carter 17. Kelly (to be used like Preston Campbell was).

And I add that Blair knows how to use Taylor on the left as does Sezer with Gordon and Mortimer will get to understand Ridge, Roberts and Don. I have kept Minichiello there because his good form yesterday and Mortimer's inclusion wasn't a coincidence. Morts knows how to put players away. Also Taylor looked really uncomfortable yesterday on the right side and I think he just needs to know his position and stop being pushed around.

[DavidBouveng]

Watching replay. Baileys little spiral pass to the second man behind the decoy is new and pretty decent. Opens it up for a nice backline play with lead runners and sweeping fullbacks.

I wasn't clear earlier, but we had a lot of energy and effort today, but it was just a bit aimless. It was nothing like our poor games against cowboys and tigers where we had no pulse almost.

I wasn't going to mention zillman, but gee whiz this was next level stuff. Either he has hands like concrete - he passes the ball really quickly into the receivers bicep or shoulder or behind, no softness or finesse about it, or the players have agreed to a silent protest and are tanking it when he's involved lol. You can't have your first five passes go to ground and there not be a common theme.

i under estimated how useful Mortimer could be for us. He is a little weapon and give the outside guys decent space. He will either get better or have it coached out of him

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Zillman is not the scapegoat but just a part of the symptom … Myles is a plodder, Bird is a hog (even the Blues supporters must get this), Minichiello has poor hands, Bailey is off the pace, Takairangi isn't being coached, Srama is at QCup level, Falloon is also not being coached, Sezer one-dimensional, Kelly outrageously over-rated, Mead is a fullback, Blair is a must, so is Roberts, so is Don and Ridge. Something like this is what we have until we can recruit a quality hooker, like the one we gave away or from the PNG Hunters if anybody has noticed him.

1. Mead 2. Gordon 3. Blair 4. Roberts 5. Don 6. Sezer 7. Mortimer 8. Douglas 9. Falloon 10. White 11. Taylor 12. Ridge 13. Bird 14. Minichiello 15. Takairangi 16. Carter 17. Kelly (to be used like Preston Campbell was).

And I add that Blair knows how to use Taylor on the left as does Sezer with Gordon and Mortimer will get to understand Ridge, Roberts and Don. I have kept Minichiello there because his good form yesterday and Mortimer's inclusion wasn't a coincidence. Morts knows how to put players away. Also Taylor looked really uncomfortable yesterday on the right side and I think he just needs to know his position and stop being pushed around.

Gus was going nuts during the origin about bird and gallen hogging it not letting it get wide. It was Titan ball, just replace Myles name instead of gallen. I'm sure if farah or someone was captain instead of gallen it wouldn't have been 8 in a row. They just got so pre occupied about being tough and not being stood over, they wasted 5 years.

[Titanic]

Yes DB … I have argued for years that Zillman can't pass and he can't … too hard, poor direction, bad timing … he is robotic like the kid who always leaves his best on the training paddock. He will make a good PE teacher but is not at NRL standard which is why he was changed from a 5/8 into a wing/FB by (guess who?) Neil Henry at the Raiders.

[mup23]

I know you always talk about Mead and I have watched David Mead since he was David Moore, and am a big fan. I just think as a fullback he is dicey under the high ball and sometimes can be out of position in defence. Things that can come with experience and more time in the role i guess. In attack and broken play he is dangerous though.

You say Mead is dicey and you want Kelly at fullback? Kelly played fullback at the sharks and dropped 8 bombs in one day and set his career back for years

[TITAN PETE]

Courage needed to arrest slide: Cartwright
By Tony Webeck, Chief Queensland Correspondent
NRL.com
7:20pm Sun 22nd June, 2014


Titans coach John Cartwright has challenged his players to use next week's bye to find the courage needed to rescue their flailing 2014 finals aspirations, and to see if they can't find a four-leaf clover in their travels.

The Titans' 19-18 loss to the Dragons on Sunday was a club record-equalling sixth loss in succession and puts them four points outside the top eight having led the competition after six rounds.

Recognising the importance of breaking the losing streak with a win over the Dragons in the lead-up, the Titans completed just two-thirds of their sets and were guilty of coming up with a host of poor last play options at critical times.

Currently sitting in 12th position on the ladder, the bye in Round 16 will go some way to stemming the fall down the table but Cartwright has urged his players to muster the necessary courage during their time off to turn around their fortunes.

"There's no magic. It's continuing to believe what worked for us early in the year, players believing in that process as well," Cartwright said after the side led 12-6 after 30 minutes but again struggled for potency in the second half. "There's no magic; it's hard work and it's courage too. You've got to turn up, be courageous, stick to a plan, hang onto the ball and things will turn around for you.

"There's not a lot different that we're doing to the games that we won, the tight ones, earlier in the year. It's a little bit of confidence and a little bit of luck has turned around. We were lucky in a few games early but that has turned around and it's going the other way at the moment."

Both Dragons tries in the first half came a set after the Titans conceded a penalty but Cartwright expressed his confusion as to where the match officials see infringements and where they allow play to continue.

"I just don't know what constitutes a penalty to be honest with you," he said. "There was an offside penalty given in the second half late in the tackle count and you guys watch from up high, you can see how many times players are offside.

"The one where Trent Merrin tried to offload the ball and basically ripped his arm out and the ball came free... As a defender I don't know what you're supposed to do, I really don't.

"I'm over worrying about things like that, hopefully they all turn around and come back to you at some point but they didn't to us tonight, it was 3-0 (penalties in favour of the Dragons) in the second half."

With 20 offloads compared to the Dragons' five the Titans continued to show a propensity to offload the ball at almost any opportunity but despite their poor completion rate, Cartwright said there will be no edict to tuck the ball under the arm when they travel to play the Rabbitohs in Round 17.

"You have to look at the consequences of them. We had 11 good ones [in the first half] and I'm not sure where the turnovers came but there were just some basic turnovers of the ball," he said.

"Fundamental errors, taking your eye off the ball in a try-scoring situation to at one stage. There might have been the odd loose offload but you can't take that away from our side. That's what creates a lot of energy for us and creates a lot of second-phase play in attack so you've got to find a balance there to know when to take the risk out of it and know when it's on."

Lock forward Ben Ridge was heavily concussed six minutes before half-time and failed to take any further part in the game but was cleared of any serious damage in the sheds after the game.

[DavidBouveng]

He speaks of someone taking eyes off the ball when in try scoring range... I'm going to assume that means zillman.

combined with shifting him late in the game, it's about as big a tiff as we have seen from Carty and zill. Is the penny dropping that staking his career on zill at fb is not going to end well.

[5 Year Contract]

Look at the bright side another loss closer to someone having the intelligence and balls to get rid of Cartwright. Another wasted game and honestly for ****s sake how can we still leave Zillman at fullback. Deadset I cannot fathom in any way shape or form why he is there let alone Captain. Enough is enough. The only solace I can take is the fact the players also feel the same as many of us do.

[DIEHARD]

6 in a row. Bloody hell. The Gold Coast Seagulls are back!

A very good likelihood that it will be 7 in a row as we are up against Souths next!

[Titanic]

That article quoting Cartwright is one of a drowning man … Facebook is full of dissent and the article I just read about the Suns v Titans is just shameful except that it offered this classic: the Centre of ExSearlence

[karnage]

I thought you guys said they edited the Facebook page???????

My first ever look there and it is more bitter than this place is.

[DIEHARD]

I thought you guys said they edited the Facebook page???????

My first ever look there and it is more bitter than this place is.

Isn't it grand? The irony is sweet. But the sicken has well and truly set into the fanbase. It needs to be purged. No more clamshell games. The Titans need a rebirth!

[DIEHARD]

I thought you guys said they edited the Facebook page???????

My first ever look there and it is more bitter than this place is.

Isn't it grand? The irony is sweet. But the sicken has well and truly set into the fanbase. It needs to be purged. No more clamshell games. The Titans need a rebirth!

[Toads]

Now would be a good time for Searle to offload his 48% while it's still worth something..

[Smakked]

Any odds on us going 10 loses in a row? I will put money on that *****

[titanslurker]

this is really it for us tbh. we lose this game and its the nail in the coffin for our season.

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haha that was meant for the souths thread.