Petersen keen to cement his wing spot
Saturday, April 28, 2007 - 12:01 PM
Playing against his old NRL club Parramatta at Carrara on Sunday doesn't hold any special meaning for Gold Coast winger Matt Petersen.
He's just delighted to be playing again after a frustrating injury-marred start to the season.
Coach John Cartwright has axed out-of-form winger Lelea Paea from the 17-man squad for the clash with the Eels, drafting Petersen into the starting team following his recovery from a neck injury.
"I'm just happy to be back in the side," Petersen said after training on Saturday.
"I haven't placed any significant meaning on it (playing against the Eels).
"It's just another game and we have to play well to turn around the loss (20-6 to Manly) from last week."
Petersen played only eight games for Parramatta last year following the emergence of excitement machine Jarryd Hayne.
He underwent a shoulder reconstruction in the off-season and then injured his knee in the lead-up to the Titans' historic season-opener against St George Illawarra.
"I just want to settle down and try and cement my spot," said Petersen, who has been sidelined for the past two rounds.
"I missed games against the Dragons and the Broncos so there's a couple of big ones."
Some might say the Titans wingers are cursed after Steve Turner and Brian Carney both abandoned the club in the pre-season, Chris Walker broke his thumb before becoming involved in an alcohol-fuelled nightclub incident and Paea and Kiwi international Jake Webster have been playing poorly.
In contrast the Eels are more settled and their halves combination of Tim Smith and Brett Finch are improving every week.
"I think they're a bit off peaking yet," said Parramatta and Kangaroos back-rower Nathan Hindmarsh.
"They've still got a lot of good footy in them yet."
Petersen added: "It's round seven this week and it was always going to take time for them to gel.
"They are starting to play well and when you've got players like that on either side of the ruck that can control the play so well, it does make it hard."
Hindmarsh, Eels skipper Nathan Cayless and Titans co-captain Luke Bailey will be playing their third game in nine days on Sunday.
Cartwright said Bailey's workload would be carefully monitored during the gruelling representative season.
"He's just got a tremendous work ethic and he's very tough," Cartwright remarked.
"We'll monitor him. He's coming into a tough time of the year, especially if he makes State of Origin.
"We'll have to keep a close eye on him. It is tough but everyone wants to see the best players on the paddock in all forms of the game."
Eels back-rower Ian Hindmarsh has been ruled out of Sunday's clash after sustaining a nasty head clash from a collision last weekend with Bulldogs forward Chris Armit.
Source: AAP