Gold Coast Titans coach Garth Brennan hints at selection shocks
TRAVIS MEYN, The Courier-Mail
an hour ago
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TITANS coach Garth Brennan could wield the selection axe in a bid to fix the Gold Coast’s sloppy defence as halfback Ash Taylor battles a nagging hamstring injury.
The Titans are the NRL’s worst defensive team after seven rounds, conceding 197 points in a mixed start to the season.
The Titans have shown they are a sharp team with the football and have little trouble scoring points when they can maintain possession and build momentum.
However attack means little when you concede too many points.
Poor ball handling and ill-discipline crippled the Titans in Saturday’s 26-14 loss to the Cowboys at 1300SMILES Stadium.
The Titans conceded 12 penalties, including 10 in the first half, and made 11 errors to gift the Cowboys a 26-2 lead.
To make matters worse, Taylor was icing his troublesome hamstring on Sunday which has already caused him to miss a game this year.
And he would not guarantee the same 17 would run out at Cbus Super Stadium to face Cronulla on Saturday in the Gold Coast’s first home game since Round 1.
“You never know,” Brennan said when asked if he would show faith in his team.
“There were a lot of positives there. We’re a side that’s building. There is no need to panic.
“Yeah I’m disappointed, but there’s no panic stations here at all.
“We need to be better than that for 80 minutes instead of playing for 15 minutes. If we do that we’ll trouble most teams.
“If we’re not going to stick to what we do all week we’re going to make it hard on ourselves.”
Despite the Titans boasting a squad that was expected to do little this season, Brennan holds incredibly high standards and has guided them to a 3-4 start.
The rookie NRL coach will not accept what he called “schoolboy” errors, in particular players dropping the ball early in sets and from scrums.
Titans prop Jarrod Wallace said the Gold Coast had to accept Brennan’s brutal “dumb” assessment.
“What he meant by that was we had a game plan and didn’t stick to it,” he said.
“We went away from it at times and the Cowboys hurt us. When we did it we scored tries.
“We played dumb footy because we were going away from our game plan which we knew worked.
“That’s what’s so disappointing. We could score points like ‘that’. We are such a good attacking side. We’re not a consistent enough team to do it for the whole 80 minutes.”
Brennan’s suspect left side of Kane Elgey, Phillip Sami and Tyronne Roberts-Davis was brutally exposed by the Cowboys.
Giant Cowboys forward Coen Hess made a beeline for five-eighth Elgey every time he got the ball and Brennan said his 42-game pivot need to be better. They are young guys, but they’ve all had NRL experience,” he said.
“They’re not rookies, it wasn’t their debut. Kane has played a lot of footy. Sami has played junior football in the centres.
“It wasn’t ideal, but they’ve got to learn. We are a young side and that’s what we’re going to go through at his point in where we’re at.
“It’s going to take some hard knocks but those kids have got to learn from that. The NRL is a tough industry.”
Thanks Nols I was just looking for that article
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Actually its just Meyn regurgitating the post press conference.
The title is misleading but I wish was true.
Game is at 5:30pm, not 3:30 as per the OP.
PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Sharks spine feels settled: Townsend
https://www.nrl.com/
It may have taken seven rounds but the key players in Cronulla's all-important spine are finally showing some promising signs.
With Matt Moylan back at five-eighth the Sharks turned in one of their better attacking performances of the year with a 26-22 home win over the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.
Halfback Chad Townsend has had to regularly adjust to various alterations to the spine, playing alongside both Moylan and Trent Hodkinson in the halves and Moylan, Josh Dugan and Valentine Holmes at fullback.
Townsend believes the Sharks are finally feeling comfortable with the new-look combinations. He hopes that they build on Sunday's performance and use it as a springboard for the remainder of the season.
''There has been a few changes and things like that,'' Townsend said.
''We don't want to use that as an excuse but on the weekend we felt really comfortable. We were able to score 26 points which was enough to get us the win.
''Moving forward, if we can now build on that combination and get some solidarity there, hopefully we can string some performances together.''
Moylan showed plenty of attacking flair against the Panthers, earning high praise from Sharks hooker Jayden Brailey.
Brailey said the former Panther's playmaker's leadership and positive attitude on and off the field shone through in his impressive performance.
''I thought he [Moylan] was outstanding,'' Brailey said.
''Everyone around him knew what they were doing and he took a big job in leading us around the park, so I think he's going to keep kicking on from here and have a good season.
''I think he plays his best footy when he's confident and happy. He seemed really relaxed through the week and I think that was the difference.
''We had a pretty good attitude all week. He led that for our team and we were just very positive.''
Despite the pressure of not having their senior players in Paul Gallen and Wade Graham and losing Luke Lewis is the 13th minute, Townsend said it was the Sharks' camaraderie that drove their success.
''Our backs were against the wall during the week,'' the 27-year-old said.
''To lose some of our senior players and some of our leaders in our forward pack, and then to have guys come in and really stand up and play well and to get a win at home was definitely something we needed.
''We really wanted to lift our energy and make sure we were feeding off positive vibes, and we were showing plenty of encouragement. It was just about keeping it simple and playing for each other."
PUT EM TO THE SWORD! SHOW SOME STEEL!
Moejoe: "REMEMBER!!!! SLIP - SLOP - SLAP in the sun. Skin Cancer is a growing problem. It could happen to anyone!!"TITANS, DIEHARDS, WARRINGTON WOLVES, MAROONS, KANGAROOS, HONG KONG THUNDER
Well it's team list Tuesday and If TRD is named in the side today that is my yardstick for a loss. Simple as that.
Would be interesting to know how many of TRD's appearances in the NRL have been in a winning side? I'm guessing not many if any.
I would drop TRD for Elliot and Hurrell for brenko, don't think Hurrell will be dropped though as he's brennans favourite centre, bit I think he needs some time in q cup to work on his defence and handling and show everyone that if your not playing good enough you won't be in the team, like Cleary did with nofalouma in round 1
I think hurrel just needs not thrash so much once tackled. I realise he's fighting for a quick ptb but I'd happily give up a second or 2 to be able to hold onto the ball. A bit deeper backline in attack and he should be right. His defence isn't the worst but he just seems like he's too heavy sometimes... Not sure how considering he played the World Cup In the off season.
I’m glad you mentioned that our backline should stand deeper ... when we do we look much better. Flat passes at the line should be magic balls and not stock plays.
Regarding Hurrell he looks unfit and desperate to do something grand. Muscle-up boy, go hard and don’t think too much ... currently he reminds me of a bush turkey; scratching around aimlessly
Four reasons to escape to Queensland: Sun, Surf, Sand & the Titans.
Anyone else hearing LG is going to be dropped and Cartwright his replacement?