Round 1: TITANS vs RAIDERS (2018)

[Ausphin]

Good game and effort at the end. Cartwright's flick pass to the ground at the end of the game was very high iq play. It threw the Raiders off. They were all like what the hell is this guy doing and soon after we score. ����

Lol. I think we are going to have to take our lumps with Cartwright. Looks dangerous with ball in hand but needs to improve his defence.

I think if Arrow adds some kgs him and Wallace can be our starting props for a long time to come. Originally I wanted him for lock too, but I think Cartwright adds something in attack that we haven't had for a long time.

James was great tonight but still want to see him on the edge.

Hard to see any changes next week (Wallace still suspended), but I could see Hipgarve coming on the bench instead of Boyle.

[DavidBouveng]

everyone hear has nailed it about Arrow being an absolute standout, and Rein change the team when he came on.

King was great, him and Jai Arrow were tough as hell together, and Matthews played like i didn't know he could.

but the supreme leader Ryan James was EPIC. he moved into the middle, snapped anyone who came his way in half, made bullocking runs all night ( the hard ones too), i could not have been more impressed.

Special mention to Kane and Ash who combined really well at times, and you could see they had a plan and some structures for the entire set and communicated it well.

Koni was king of the backs and ran hard all night too, but all of them did a good job including Sami and Copley. gordon Looked to sweep and ball play more than i realised he could, and once we get more continuity it will flow better i think.

Only disappointment was Carty and his defence ( Makes Kane look like Cement Gillespie )and questionable ball control, although once he moved into a first receiver role he looked better and was giving good shifts to Ash and Kane behind the lead runner. Lets let him warm up and assess after half a season. When Wallace is back i believe Arrow gets the 13 and Carty has to show his wares from the bench for a bit.

two thing i have mentioned previously, but cant be bothered finding is that Garth's decision to play rookies in the first trial really impacted our cohesion and really should have cost us that win. in defence there was no confidence or trust. By second half they were combining well in 2 and 3 man tackles jamming blokes hard.

Secondly - and i've said this for a couple of years but we are a shootout team. Scores are is gonna be 34-30, 36-28, and sometimes higher and we need to score more than most cos we cant defend.

If Garth can, and i think he can, build a defensive structure and tackling techniques that can reduce the tries we let in over next season or two, we are going to be cooking, as our attack should only improve as Ash, Kane, Peats, Koni, Same etc grow and develop.

[Titanic]

That’s the sweet kicker.......Brisbane last and Hayne, failure...... love it x 2

and how did DCE go？lololol

I forgot to mention that we looked intimidated by their forwards for a long period. Coke Zero fondling Rap-a-na-na’s jatz crackers changed the complexion of the game ... looked like he was in up to his wrist

[gothabull]

That’s the sweet kicker.......Brisbane last and Hayne, failure...... love it x 2

So happy Kane and eldgey kicked some srs yewwww!

[Titanic Believer]

Great win and we can only get better as combinations build. In the early stages I would have been satisfied with getting close because I started thinking there have been so many changes in personnell that their understanding of each other would be limited in actual match conditions. So to get a win...wow.

[Mexican titan]

Interesting reading the comments on here at half time and then now when I get home. The Raiders should have had that game in the bag by half time but I thought their big side might hit the wall if we got a mountain of second half possession which happened.
It was great to see LG and Taylor's attacking skills on show and I agree with whoever said we should just cop Cartwright at the moment because he will add something we haven't had for a while. Sure he did a couple of dumb things and his defence was poor but he threw some great passes to LG and AT when he took first pass off the ruck.
But for all that, James had an unbelievable second half and we got home largely on the back of him. That was a real captains knock when we needed him to stand up.
That we won in the end probably covered over some of the first half debacle but it will be an interesting ride this year.

[rj62]

Where is Andrew Voss?

Tosser

[Titanic Believer]

Happy for a win but 46 missed tackles...a fair bit of work to do.

[gothabull]

Where is Andrew Voss?

Tosser

Yes he is , and how good was koni he was outstanding tonite his run up on Crocker was awesome!

- - - Updated - - -

The boys seriously just needed to tackle there steroid legs lower in the first 10 minutes��

[Toads]

First 10 minutes (3 tries) was a cringe-fest, was worried they were going t put 50 on us at that stage, but the lads did eventually come around. And the second half was good to see us finally wear them down and grind out a win. Most impressive bit of the night, all the the lads were there for the full 80 minutes. For the last few years we'd have a few that would switch off. They're showing renewed ticker under Brennan's guidance.

Koni fitness has gone above and beyond I thought he could ever reach, especially when reflecting back on what he was like when he first joined us. Back then, 10 minutes of solid running would pretty well see him gassed for rest of the game. That was the surprise of the night.

Good way to start off the season, wore the Raiders down 'n bagged 2 points two points for the effort. Bring on the Warriors.!

[Canon]

What a win. Complete turn around, back to the old 2016 team of never say die and play for the bloke standing next to you.

...and let the oppostition score 2-3 tries before you start! That part I could do without , but they looked really sharp with the ball tonight. Promising!

[JunctionBlock]

...and let the oppostition score 2-3 tries before you start! That part I could do without , but they looked really sharp with the ball tonight. Promising!

True, it is a roller coaster being a Titans fan.

Carty's little flick passes may have been ill timed on the weekend but it's how he plays, coach and players should be aware of it and use it to our advantage. It worked at Penrith, he needs someone aware to push up with him, he's also an offload king. At the risk of being battered, I found Koni kicking option to be just as frustrating, but he won the game for us so he's all good.

[Canon]

True, it is a roller coaster being a Titans fan.

Carty's little flick passes may have been ill timed on the weekend but it's how he plays, coach and players should be aware of it and use it to our advantage. It worked at Penrith, he needs someone aware to push up with him, he's also an offload king. At the risk of being battered, I found Koni kicking option to be just as frustrating, but he won the game for us so he's all good.

I really think Carty is going to open up the game for the Titans attack. Last night Talyor and Elgey really combined well but when they're on the same side of the ruck the opposition knows where it's going. Having a lock that can ballplay on the other side keeps the defence off balance and keeps some of the heat off the halves. He was ordinary last night but there were glimpses a couple fo times when the Titans were on the attack (and he's only been here a couple of weeks).

[Bayside Titan]

Good first up win and like others was questioning my logic in driving down the M1 to watch the first 15 minutes. But as the the Titans attitude before Hayne signed started to come through. The injection of the likes of King, Boyle and Matthews was great. They didn’t do anything special but did a great job. Matthews put on two great hits just to remind us all that he has something to offer the club. But for mine Arrow and James were great. Anyhow , tick , round one done and 25 to go. Hipgrave must comeback into the squad who sits out ?

[gotitans101_]

What did Vossy do or say? Why is he a tosser?