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  1. #1

    Default James says brutal honesty is the best policy for Titans

    The Titans boast a new coaching staff and upgraded facilities at the Club’s High Performance Centre at Parkwood, but Ryan James says it could be the dressingroom mirror that has the biggest influence on the Gold Coast’s ability to climb off the premiership canvas in 2020.

    James and the rest of the Titans are back at training this week for the start of their pre-season campaign, with the majority of the squad meeting new Head Coach Justin Holbrook and Senior Assistant Coach Jim Dymock for the first time at a team meeting on Monday.

    The Titans’ other Assistant Coach, Jim Lenihan, is already well known to the playing group after working with the squad late last season, and for his premiership-winning ways with the Burleigh Bears.

    James said he was excited about working with Holbrook, and looking forward to the Super League premiership coach extracting the full potential out of a Titans squad that underperformed badly in 2019.

    But for all the rugby league nous that has arrived at Titans HQ over the past few weeks, James said it would be the willingness of each player to take a good look at themselves and their performance, and take ownership of what the Gold Coast produced last season that would be crucial to the team’s success.

    “We know what we did last year. We know where we finished,” James said. “The only people that can change that is us.

    “A lot of the blame has been on everyone else, but it is the players that go out there and perform every week, that go out there and win or lose games.

    “When it comes down to it, we are the ones that go out there and win games, so it all really relies on us.

    “We need to go out there and put our best foot forward for Round 1.”

    James said Holbrook and the coaching staff had spoken to each Titan individually, to get each player to nominate areas in their own game they felt needed to improve.

    “He is just a down to earth bloke,” James said of Holbrook. “He knows his footy.

    “He was asking what we wanted to do, and what we wanted to work on. We know our game the best, and if they can put things in place that helps us, then that is definitely a plus.

    “It is about knowing your players and being able to get the best out of everyone. That is the hard things about footy – just knowing what makes people drive.

    “That is what Justin is going to have to do over the first month or two, just getting to know the plyers and what is driving them.

    “Winning footy game should be enough, playing NRL should be enough.

    “(but) it is just about making sure that we get those little things right that can get an extra 10 per cent out of someone.”

    https://www.titans.com.au/news/2019/...cy-for-titans/

  2. #2
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    Much more pleasing comments than his “fresh start” effort a few days ago

  3. #3
    One Clubman gotitans101_'s Avatar
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    blah blah blah heard it all before

  4. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Bods View Post
    Much more pleasing comments than his “fresh start” effort a few days ago
    I agree. I don't doubt for a second that the entire squad felt like crap this year, and will be champing at the bit to turn things around next year.

    I think Holbrook will be in a very tricky spot when next season kicks off. He's going to have to gel the team into a cohesive outfit, which could be difficult if everyone ends up with a mindset of, "Leave it to me, I'll get it done". Plus, they'll be playing with the added pressure of contracts (which usually gets players to lift...but they need confidence to do so, and we're pretty low on that front)

    At the start of this year I remember saying that the entire squad will have to be on their toes with the individual capabilities of Taylor, Peach, Roberts and even Cartwright being able to create something out of nothing. That didn't happen though. What did happen? Flick passes to nobody...players staying outside when the ball carrier wanted them to cut inside (and vice versa) grubbers put through seemingly unexpectedly with little or no chase.

    How many kicks in play this year went straight to an opposition player. Nearly every kick! We hardly ever found grass/open space. Jeez that gave me the dry squirts.

    JH and his assistants need to stress and ingrain a solid team mindset into our blokes. If we don't operate as a strong-willed, tenacious, purposeful and relentless unit...it'll be another long year.

    I'm tired of success being just over the hill...or just around the corner...or just a year away.

    I'm banking on a decent set of coaches being able to form a competitive team out of basically the same clay that Garth and Co couldn't.


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