Round 5: TITANS vs BRONCOS

[shamus]

Bit harsh IMO mate. Without him we wouldn't have even scored a try vs the Sharks..yes he makes some poor decisions but he brings more good than bad and the plan last night was clearly to give him ball in space (it's just a shame that ended up being our 5th tackle play - poor execution). Last night was the first game he got too much ball than he knew what to do with, generally he gets 0. He will learn from it and I wouldn't say he is in danger of being dropped

Hey HS.......You obviously don't know yet. Never, ever read my posts after 10pm.

[Hail Sezer]

Hey HS.......You obviously don't know yet. Never, ever read my posts after 10pm.

I'm disappointed in myself for not knowing that. I'll show myself out

[Supergoose]

I think the Roberts issue tonight was a result of Bird being on his edge. Need to work out where to put Bird in attack because he kills whatever edge he is on. Taylor is a beeter option on the edge and James is doing a good job on the left. Agree with the commentary on Mead, he was excellent. Based on the difference in our play from when Zillman and Hoffman was at the back we have to persist with Hoffman there for a few games.

I think we should be playing Mead inside Roberts more as he seems to have a better feel for when to pass. I have been an advocate for Bird playing left centre in the past. I think he would be less disruptive there and would be a great weapon for us.

I still thought we were heaps better than the result showed last night and I love what Elgey is showing and believe we should persist.

[mup23]

While I still hold a candle for our top 8 chances for this year, as soon as Henry took over we were all looking forward to 2016 more than we have for any season in a long time.
There's still a lot of Carty that needs to be coached out and Henry has only been able to do so much with the squad. Especially with the off field dramas.

Early errors and late penalties are killing us more than anything.

It's a work in progress and the future looks brighter than it has for a long time. Our young guys will get better and our underachieving older guys will get moved on.

We have gone close in all but one of our gamed, and even the Panthers game we could've been up 12-0 early.
We're doing much better overall than we were last year when we fluked our way to the top of thr ladder early.

[DavidBouveng]

if we use this year as the rebuilding year it is (as will next year and year after if we're fair dinkum), let LG and Moseley learn on the run, keep learning how to use the ball and certain players ill be so happy.

there are definite signs of better play and effort. only one player who really doesnt belong at this point.

also, Burr has copped abit of flak and some deserved...but the team that puts up with some short term pain with him ironing out errors, will get a huge framed beast of a back rower / prop. he is a line bending metre eater just waiting to be unleashed.

[isaiah]

This game is so frustrating! We've been playing some of our best fopty yet we ar down by 12?

Credit goes to the master coach who has them defending so well

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If you're referring to Bevan French then it's pretty hard to compete when Parra offer him a 1st grade training contract before he's even played a game of 20s...

Why not offer him that, he is guaranteed to make it eventually and his signing could have attracted others

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Ray Hadley, Wally Lewis, Daryn Lockear and Justin Hodges on the commentary team - this won't be biased or anything - also, Yvonne Sampson can be my wife if she plays her cards right.

Wally captain coached a previous Gold Coast franchise and many would say the Broncs shafted him late in his career. If you want biased, listen to mmm.

[Titan4Life]

Just got back from the GC. Really enjoyed my first home game and loved the stadium. Will definitely be returning again when I can Here is my take anyway:


-Elgey had a few bad errors but that's expected for a rookie who has only played 2 games. Will get a lot better as weeks go on. Hopefully he doesn't get dropped for Mortimer.

-Pettybourne, Paasi and James all had solid games. Pettybourne ran the ball hard and was our best forward by far. James got through plenty of work in attack and defence.

-Burr also dropped the ball a few times at the end there but he should not be dropped. He has only played 4 or 5 NRL games and will get better as he plays more.

-Zillman should be on the outer but obviously won't be. Didn't play terrible but his crucial errors puts us on the back foot. Crampton should be promoted but won't be.

-Hoffman has to be fullback over Zillman. We look so much better with Hoff at the back and you could tell at the 15 minute mark that the team's performance dropped once Zilly went back.

-Moseley should be our long term hooker. Adds spark to our attack and we look more dangerous when he is on the field.

-Mead showed so much heart like he always does. Never scared to take a hitup or get under the high ball. Also shut down plenty of Bronco attacking opportunities. Don and him are great wingers.

-Roberts was relied on too much. He needs to be given a lot of ball but on Friday night it seemed he was our only go-to-man. Being marked by Jack Reed who is a great defender limited his chances.

[DIEHARD]

Long time lurker, first time poster, yadda, yadda, yadda. What is it with Zillman being in the side week in, week out? Everyone jokes about it - and it is a joke - but there's no way Neil Henry can be this obtuse. He seems capable of making the hard calls (mostly) with other players, but with Zillman...hell, Zillman could actively be scoring tries for the opposition and he'd still be chosen every week. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy who spends his days off volunteering in soup kitchens and all that sort of stuff, but I genuinely want a frickin' answer from the coach on this. Can any of you veteran forum members shed some light on this? Am I crazy to think that not everything is...above board with team selection?

Welcome to the forum! Always love having lurkers take the plunge.

I agree with Zillman. Im glad he is being slowly shifted away from fullback. But don't want to see us playing two fullbacks.

Maybe we will see a change soon. I think so.

[DIEHARD]

Really excited about Egley. Im surely many in the RL world took note. I wouldnt blame him for chancing his arm. I like that in a halfback.

Roberts was great. James had one of his best games in a long time. Moseley really adds some fire, really pleased with him. Cant overstate how important the hooker role is for us. Paasi was also a good performer.

Was frustrating early on, we were playing well but the Broncos still were smashing us. One of their tries was particularly dodgy. But their defence was rock solid. Was Bennett even there? I didn't see him on the TV at all.

I hate losing to the Broncos. But there are many glimmers of hope.

Well done to everyone who made it out to the stadium.

[DIEHARD]

Titans v Broncos: Five key points

The Broncos' defensive wall continues to hold firm, Anthony Milford battles a perception he has been down on confidence and Titans back-rower Ryan James is being discussed as an Origin bolter... again.

Strong early defence sets the tone

It's almost a given in the modern game that if you can absorb early pressure and keep your defensive line unbroken, points will invariably follow at the other end. The Titans hammered away at the Broncos' line for the first quarter of the game and came up with nought, before Brisbane scored three tries in the space of six minutes when they finally got their hands on the ball.

A Titans try directly from a Broncos error in the 34th minute was just the second first-half try Brisbane have conceded in their past four games.

"I always think that's probably the way the game works, get strength from your defence. It gives you confidence," said Broncos coach Wayne Bennett.

Titans skipper Nate Myles said: "We started well but definitely the polish on our attack is the downfall for us."

"We're building pressure but not consistently and when we do let them off we really let them off."

No issues with Milford's confidence

He had not yet displayed the same spark in his first month at the Broncos that was regularly on show with the Raiders last year but any suggestion Anthony Milford was down on confidence was a fabric of the media's imagination. That was the assertion of Broncos coach Wayne Bennett after a match in which Milford opened his try-scoring account at Brisbane with a first half-double and finished the match with a game-high five tackle busts.

"I didn't think he was un-confident anyway. You guys (the media) are running his career at the moment and we're just on the sidelines," Bennett said.

Stand-in skipper Corey Parker was a little more expansive on Milford's performance, highlighting the platform laid by the Broncos' forwards.

"The monkey is off his back now from you guys but if the guys in the middle aren't doing their job it makes it very hard for those two guys (Milford and Ben Hunt) to create," Parker said.

"Fortunately tonight there were some opportunities for them off the back of some quick play-the-balls and they fed off that."

Sezer and Elgey worth persevering with

He cut something of a disconsolate figure at the Titans' post-match function but the addition of Kane Elgey into the halves alongside Aidan Sezer looks to be a combination worth sticking with. First-choice halfback Daniel Mortimer is not expected to be available for selection for another fortnight with a wrist injury, but Elgey has shown enough in two games to suggest he brings an extra dimension to the Gold Coast attack.

The 21-year-old challenged the line with his running game and has a more varied kicking game than Mortimer, but Titans coach Neil Henry said that it remains a steep learning curve.

"I thought defensively at times he was quite good but he is young and inexperienced," Henry said.

"It's all new to him but he's our option at the moment and with 'Morts' out in particular we're not flush with other options. In saying that, he's gaining confidence and he's certainly got the support of his teammates."

Copley's defence worthy of regular centre spot

It was the only question mark over his ability to nail down a regular spot in the centres last season but Dale Copley's strength in defence against the Titans highlighted the need to find a permanent place for him one spot in from the wing. Brought in for the injured Justin Hodges, Copley delivered some crunching hits on the likes of Ryan James, William Zillman and Josh Hoffman as well as having two tackle busts and running 95 metres from limited attacking opportunities. Having missed the past three weeks with a calf injury, a spot needs to be found for Copley even after Hodges' return.

Ryan James is looking Origin worthy... again

Coach Neil Henry described his past two performances as his best games for the club, while captain Nate Myles believes Ryan James is producing the type of football to put him into the frame for New South Wales Origin selection. James was a tower of strength on Friday night, running for 178 metres as well as making 28 tackles, four tackle busts and a line break and Myles had no hesitation in endorsing his Origin credentials.

"His last two weeks he has stepped it up and hopefully he keeps improving because he has that ability," Myles said of his Origin prospects.

"I think Ryan himself is a little bit over people talking about what he can do; he just wants to do it now and he's on his way. I only wish the best for him but he'll be on the other side too."

http://www.nrl.com/titans-v-broncos-...5/default.aspx

[Jonathonbcode]

How does Zillman stay in the team?

[nimud]

Really excited about Egley. Im surely many in the RL world took note. I wouldnt blame him for chancing his arm. I like that in a halfback.

Roberts was great. James had one of his best games in a long time. Moseley really adds some fire, really pleased with him. Cant overstate how important the hooker role is for us. Paasi was also a good performer.

Was frustrating early on, we were playing well but the Broncos still were smashing us. One of their tries was particularly dodgy. But their defence was rock solid. Was Bennett even there? I didn't see him on the TV at all.

I hate losing to the Broncos. But there are many glimmers of hope.

Well done to everyone who made it out to the stadium.

Good summary of the game. It's great to see Ryan James playing well. We've always known he has potential, but injuries have really held back since he has made grade.

Very happy Moseley is given a chance over srama.

Jimmy Roberts has that ex factor, but he needs to learn to pass at certain times. Mead had a certain try if Roberts passed instead of being barged over the sideline.

The dodds "try" was a typical example of the state of refereeing ATM the moment. So many "officials" and still get it wrong when all commentators & fans see it as a thaiday knockon. Take that try out of the game, and fate of the game may have been different (pending burr knock ons!)

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Probably the best game I have seen Myles play for a very long time. Amazing what happens when a contract is expiring...hope he keeps it up. We need leaders in the forwards.

[Titanic]

Although I totally agree that if Roberts had passed to Mead, and if Mead had caught it then there probably would have been a try but how often do we see similar decisions made every week by every team … lighten-up lads, he scores way more than he bombs. And as for Burrs errors, they were mostly from over-exuberiance, something that we have been lacking.

[DIEHARD]

Jimmy Roberts has that ex factor, but he needs to learn to pass at certain times. Mead had a certain try if Roberts passed instead of being barged over the sideline.

Yea one instance of that cost us a try. But next time he did pass to Mead to score, so hopefully he learnt.

But he really was dangerous and exciting. Not something I ever really have equated to Titans centres in a very long time.

[DIEHARD]

Yea hard luck for Burr. I forgive him.