Round 26: COWBOYS vs TITANS

[K2G]

Really happy to see Ryan James back into the Front Row. I expected this to be his breakout season, but I think the position switch set him back a few steps. Ultimately I believe (hope) this season will prove to have been a crucial one for dark, in that it has given his body a year to develop away from the heavy demands of the front row, while still getting heaps of game time and a bit more to think about on both sides of the ball. Hopefully next year he stays in the front row, and begins pushing for those rep jerseys again.

[JunctionBlock]

Really happy to see Ryan James back into the Front Row. I expected this to be his breakout season, but I think the position switch set him back a few steps. Ultimately I believe (hope) this season will prove to have been a crucial one for dark, in that it has given his body a year to develop away from the heavy demands of the front row, while still getting heaps of game time and a bit more to think about on both sides of the ball. Hopefully next year he stays in the front row, and begins pushing for those rep jerseys again.

Problem with putting him in the front row is that he can't stay injury free playing as a fringe 2nd rower. If we pay him up front we will see even less of him.

MT, Warriors are another one. Johnson breaks his ankle and the warriors can't win another game. But how do WE overcome this? I don't see that we have anymore depth in our key positions for next year as we did/do this year. Hopefully there are still a couple more signings for next year or Shillo convinces a couple of friends to follow him up to the Coast.

[Mexican titan]

MT, Warriors are another one. Johnson breaks his ankle and the warriors can't win another game. But how do WE overcome this? I don't see that we have anymore depth in our key positions for next year as we did/do this year. Hopefully there are still a couple more signings for next year or Shillo convinces a couple of friends to follow him up to the Coast.

Spot on re the Warriors and a perfect example of relying on one player.
As for us, well hopefully LG and Taylor both come on well and if one goes down then the other will still be there to guide us around. We will also have Tyrone R in the mix to give us depth. Hopefully it will allow us to avoid playing blokes like Bird and Hoff in the halves who are clearly unsuited to that role. It is a difficult one though and it will be interesting to see how the halves and the team as a whole develops.

[Titanic]

We should get a good look at Taylor this week.

[shamus]

1 – Josh Hoffman
2 – ............ <--- Insert winger here
3 – James Roberts
4 – Brad Tighe
5 – Nene Macdonald
6 – Daniel Mortimer
7 – Kane Elgey
8 – Luke Douglas
9 – Beau Falloon
10 – Ryan James
11 – Agnatius Paasi
12 – David Taylor
13 – Lachlan Burr

Interchange
14 – Matthew White
15 – Eddy Pettybourne
16 – Nathaniel Peteru
17 – Kierran Moseley
18 – Kalifa Faifai Loa
19 – Matt Robinson
20 – Leva Li

[TitanSam]

1 – Josh Hoffman
2 – ............ <--- Insert winger here
3 – James Roberts
4 – Brad Tighe
5 – Nene Macdonald
6 – Daniel Mortimer
7 – Kane Elgey
8 – Luke Douglas
9 – Beau Falloon
10 – Ryan James
11 – Agnatius Paasi
12 – David Taylor
13 – Lachlan Burr

Interchange
14 – Matthew White
15 – Eddy Pettybourne
16 – Nathaniel Peteru
17 – Kierran Moseley
18 – Kalifa Faifai Loa
19 – Matt Robinson
20 – Leva Li

What?

[TITAN PETE]

What?

Meady is not traveling with the squad

[Nols of the Goldy]

Is his baby due? Could this be the reason I wonder.

[TITAN PETE]

Cowboys v Titans preview

Wed 02 Sep, 2015, 1:30pm
By Steven Ross*, North Queensland Correspondent, NRL.com

Cowboys v Titans preview
North Queensland Cowboys v Gold Coast Titans
1300SMILES Stadium
Saturday 7.30pm

On paper this is a dead rubber but in reality it is a chance that North Queensland desperately need as they seek a complete 80-minute performance before finals.

Cowboys coach Paul Green described this week as "about putting our game together and making sure all parts are ticked off"; and there is certainly much to work on.

In a performance full of poor fifth-tackle options it took them 79 minutes to register points against the Storm last week, but Green noted an improved defensive effort on the try line.

Two weeks ago it was the polar opposite – their pack dominated and they kicked well, but leaked points close to the line.

Things need to come together fast for a side that some are worrying has peaked too early.

For the Gold Coast, Saturday night signals the end of the line in a season featuring more heartache than an Ed Sheeran album.

From the Daly Cherry-Evans backflip that torpedoed their recruitment strategy to a casualty ward currently housing 10 Titans, the club from Robina will lick their wounds as this year's hard luck story.

In team news, Green welcomes back James Tamou to the Cowboys side after a week-long layoff from a neck concern, which pushes Ben Hannant back to the bench and Ben Spina to 18th man.

Titans coach Neil Henry gets back future leader of the club Ryan James who lines up next to Luke Douglas in the front row, while Matt White and Eddy Pettybourne drop back to the bench. Kalifa Fai Fai Loa is 18th man.

Watch Out Cowboys: The Titans' back five all have speed to burn, but have not been able to stretch out as much as they would have liked this year. Headed by right centre James Roberts, they are probably the league's fastest quintet, yet due to turbulence in the halves this year have not received enough quality ball to be more impactful. The Titans are also in fine offloading form, registering 15 last week, and rank second in the category.

Watch Out Titans: The Cowboys' middle has been soft as marshmallow in recent weeks and that doesn't bode well for the Titans on finals' eve. Numbers have dropped significantly for star forward Matt Scott (including a second sub-100 metre performance since being rested in Round 22), sparking fresh concern regarding the prop's fitness. However, Green has named the Test and Origin veteran for this dead rubber. Along with Tamou, lock Jason Taumalolo rounds out North Queensland's forward triumvirate, and along with displaying his acclaimed running power the 22-year-old will be keen to atone for recent defensive lapses that saw him benched against the Storm.

Key Match-Up: Gavin Cooper v Dave Taylor. Here we have two of the most diametrically opposed players of the same position in the NRL. Cooper is a beanpole of a forward with a fantastic motor, and stretches every sinew of his wiry 197-centimetre frame to get through half-holes generated by right-hand man Johnathan Thurston. From a steady and safe 80-minute performer on both sides of the ball to Taylor, who will win man-of-the-match honours with superhuman size and strength one week only to have coach Henry tearing his hair out the next. Cooper is Mr Intangible for the Cowboys, running over seven decoys (fourth in the league) and 14 supports per game (league's best forward), compared with Taylor's two and four respectively. Cooper has also amassed 12 turnover tackles this year compared with Taylor's three, along with 31 tackles per game to Taylor's 19. The pair will be in direct opposition for hopefully the full 80 minutes in the juiciest subplot of the evening, which also serves as Taylor's last NRL game before heading to Catalans Dragons for two years.

The History: Played 15; Cowboys 7, Titans 8. The Titans saw the best and worst of North Queensland last season, with Thurston's memorable on-field spray toward his side in their 13-12 loss at Robina in Round 4 backed up by a 20-point demolition job at 1300SMILES Stadium when the Cowboys were the league's form side in Round 21. Both teams have an equal number of head-to-head wins since 2010.

What Are The Odds: Sportsbet punters were quick to snap up the huge price for Gold Coast. Sportsbet is actually holding more money on the Titans than the Cowboys in head-to-head betting. Latest odds at Sportsbet.com.au

Did You Know: An inscrutable figure on the Gold Coast, Kalifa Fai Fai Loa was equally enigmatic in his three years scoring freak tries under Henry at the Cowboys between 2011 and 2013. Making use of the new cornerpost rules at the time, Fai Fai Loa was one of the pioneers of the 'superman' try. But from Superman to Skater Boy, he is still one of the more entertaining tryscorers in the league, having bagged a brace twice in the last three weeks. Listed at 18th man, it would be fitting for the 25-year-old to make the 17 and touch down for a try on familiar soil.

Match Officials: Referee: Henry Perenara; Assistant Referee: Chris Sutton; Touch Judges: Jason Walsh & Belinda Sleeman; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell & Luke Phillips.

Televised: Fox Sports – Live 7.30pm

The Way We See It: The Cowboys will be determined to prove a point to both themselves and the rugby league public, while the Gold Coast have finally stumbled to the finish line of a forgettable season. Nevertheless, they will want to strike while the iron is hot after two consecutive wins, but we see this as entirely one-way traffic. Cowboys by 20.

[DIEHARD]

Cowboys will be gunning to regain some form for the Finals. Hoping for a solid outing, hoping to get a win.

Really we are more focused on next season, this will make it official.

[TITAN PETE]

Near misses to drive Titans forward

Tony Webeck Fri 04 Sep, 2015, 7:30am
By Tony Webeck*, Chief Queensland Correspondent, NRL.com

If they can shock the pundits one more time and upset the Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night, the young players in the Titans will have learnt the NRL's harshest lesson according to prop forward Ryan James.

Having been used on the left edge for the vast majority of the season James returns from suspension in the Gold Coast front row where he will face off against Test props Matt Scott and James Tamou.

Despite the controversy that has surrounded their season the Titans could conceivably finish just two wins outside the top eight and having lost four games by less than six points James said it is a lesson in what is required to be a finals contender in the NRL.

"[A win over the Cowboys] would be good for everyone's morale and all the younger players coming through. Realising that we are that close to the top eight and having to be on for 100 per cent of the season instead of 60 or 70 per cent of it," James said.

"Just winning those tight games comes into play and all the players who have had their debut season will take something out of this year knowing we definitely could have [qualified for the finals].

"It's just a learning curve for them and all the older players know what we have to do and it's going to be a learning curve for us.

"It's disappointing. There are a couple of games in there we could have won and we lost by a point or two points and you look at the ladder now and we're on 22 points and the Dragons are sitting on 26 so we win a couple of those games and we're in the top eight."

Six of the 17 Titans named to play North Queensland this week had played only a handful of games prior to this season or have made their debut in 2015.

The likes of Kane Elgey, Agnatius Paasi, Nene Macdonald, Kierran Moseley and Lachlan Burr have gone from no-names to regular NRL starters and James is confident they will avoid the dreaded second-year syndrome to build a positive future for the club.

"There were about four or five who were in their debut season but looking at them now you probably wouldn't think they were in their debut season," said James, who will play his 68th NRL game on Saturday.

"Guys like Agnatius Paasi has played excellent over the last few weeks and has been solid all year, Lachlan Burr's been great for us and Elgey's been great along with Kierran Moseley.

"They're all in their debut season and all playing excellent footy so hopefully they can take it into their second year."

Despite being the most penalised player in the competition through 25 rounds James has played more than 20 games in a season for just the second time in his six-year career, a foundation he believes will hold him in good stead heading into next year.

"I've pretty much got through the whole season injury free which was one of my goals at the start of the season," said the 24-year-old. "I was just happy to get through the majority of the season without any sort of major injuries.

"I'll take that and put it in the back of the head knowing I can just work on my game a lot more in the off-season and try and get a lot fitter next year.

"I'll just have to work on my fitness and strength over the off-season."

[JunctionBlock]

"I've pretty much got through the whole season injury free which was one of my goals at the start of the season,"

??? I thought he had been battling a shoulder complaint for the latter part of the season. Maybe after previous seasons he classifies this as injury free.

[Bayside Titan]

Anyone know the final team make up at all ?

[Hail Sezer]

Anyone know the final team make up at all ?

Jimmy is definitely in, travelled up with 20s and they're saying hes playing

[indoallstars]

Last game of the season fellas, I know a lot of the great banter will stop after this game most likely till the beginning of next year as there won't be too much happening, hopefully we can secure a couple more signings. But I will continually be checking League of Titans (greatest forum on this earth) to hopefully see some inside goss on how the boys have been training, and hope to see some signing articles, cause let's face it everyone here posts the articles up way before the nrl do which always gees me up for the day.

Wishing all my fellow L.O.T comrades all the best for the end of the year and new year to come, and hoping our boys puts us out on a good note against the Cowboys. We may be a small club with no brown paper bags, we may not have the biggest players, but we got the heart and something to look forward too, not too mention top 3 hottest cheerleader squad in the NRL (our players are probably distracted) but up up the mighty Titans bring on next year, can't wait to see what Elgey might become!!