Round 14: Wests Tigers vs Gold Coast Titans

[patskE]

dont want to wait till sunday
i h8 the wait to see our boys play

[tom91]

cant wait to see how prince and laffranci play against there old club,,looking forward to seeing how rogers and bailey play aswell. i havnt been this exited about one of our games since the broncos

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

i don't think bailey will play which will be a massavie blow.

[DIEHARD]

Prince, Laffranchi in eye of the Tigers

TITANS Scott Prince and Anthony Laffranchi are expecting to face a hostile reception when they return to the Tigers den for the first time at Campbelltown on Sunday.

The pair, who were instrumental in Wests Tigers' fairytale 2005 premiership win, have proven to be two of the Gold Coast's biggest strike weapons since linking with the Titans this year.

And while they both still harbour many fond memories from their time with the Tigers, there will be no sense of nostalgia when they return with their new teammates looking for two competition points this weekend.

"I am sure I will get a pasting from the crowd," said Prince.

"There is a bit of feeling there but you have to put the feeling and the emotion aside.

"They are there to support the Tigers and the beauty about the Tigers supporters is they make the opposition side feel unwelcome.

"They love their football so I will be expecting a few boos when I run out."

With Queensland halfback Johnathan Thurston under a cloud for the third State of Origin clash after injuring his hand in Game 2 on Wednesday night, Prince has been thrust to the forefront of consideration should the Cowboys gun fall short.

It is a fact that will no doubt be in the back of Prince's mind when he runs out at Campbelltown.

In the front of his mind is improving the Titans dismal away record which has seen them win just one from five on the road so far this season.

"We have got a job to do and we haven't travelled too well so that is one of the things I would like to change," said the star halfback.

"I have spent a lot of time under (Tigers coach) Tim Sheens and I have learnt a lot off him.

"He is definitely the one person who knows my game inside out.

"But at the end of the day we are a team and hopefully the boys can step up.

"I will be out there trying my best and if I do get shut down well then so be it."

Laffranchi circled the crunch match at the beginning of the year and while he would like to experience a 'warm welcome' from his former supporters, he knows he will be treated like the enemy.

"The Campbelltown crowd is always really vocal and it is a nice warm welcome if you are a Tiger," he said.

"Hopefully we still get a nice warm reception when we go down there as Titans.

"I have got a lot of good mates in the team but it is football, I am not expecting any light-heartedness.

"It is going to be a tough battle down there and their forwards have been going really well so we have to muscle up in that area."

Source: http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/

[bigjim]

Probably being a tad selfish, but I hope all hands are on deck for this game.

This will be a real test for the Titans. If they can beat the Tigers at home, it would be as good as the win against the Broncos.

The reception that Prince and Laffranchi get could be just the ticket to fire them up.:woot:

[bigjim]

All hands that are able of course. Don't want to risk unnecessary long term injuries.

[patskE]

presto is out just read
n bull is like 20-80 chance :S

[DIEHARD]

Friends forever but enemies for a day

WESTS Tigers utility Liam Fulton still finds it hard to believe Scott Prince is now a Titan but he intends to forget the good times when he tackles his old mate for the first time tomorrow.

Prince, the Tigers' 2005 premiership-winning captain, will be the enemy when he leads the Gold Coast out at Campbelltown Stadium.

It will be some 20 months after he led the host club in their victory song when parading the grand final trophy at that ground a day after defeating the Cowboys to take the NRL title.

"I've never played against him before. I've always played with him, so it's going to be quite strange," said Fulton, who's back to full fitness after his 2006 season was wrecked by a shoulder injury in the opening round that required a full reconstruction.

"I didn't really play last year, so it still feels like I've just been playing alongside Scotty not long ago.

"I know and respect him a lot because he helped us win a grand final so it should be interesting."

Prince keeps in touch with plenty of the Tigers and was one of many to send Fulton a good luck message before he made his return to football this year after his injury lay-off.

They chat about non-football matters regularly, with Fulton sad to see Prince and fellow Titan Anthony Laffranchi leave the Tigers at the end of last year.

"They've got family up there and they had good offers," he said.

"You don't lose those type of friends.

"I learnt a lot off Laffranchi about forward play and (prop) Bryce Gibbs can say it too.

"They were pretty much best mates. They drove to training together just about every day.

"It was sad to see them go but we're not going to be mates with them on the field this week."

The Tigers are sitting in third spot on the NRL ladder with North Queensland after seven wins while the Titans are seventh among four sides on 14 points.

Tim Sheens' team had won five straight before a belting by Parramatta but they bounced back to beat Newcastle on Sunday.

"Coming when it did it probably gave us a kick in the ****," said Fulton of the hammering they copped from the Eels in round 11.

"At the time we didn't like it but it's probably what we needed. (Assistant coach) Royce Simmons and Tim could feel our defence was dropping off and it could turn out to be a good thing."

Fulton will start off on the bench having spent a lot of time at five-eighth since star Benji Marshall suffered his latest shoulder injury.

http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/

[DIEHARD]

Coach set to give teacher a lesson

MORE than two decades ago Tim Sheens handed a lanky 19-year-old kid by the name of John Cartwright the Penrith jumper for his first grade debut.

Tomorrow Cartwright will be looking to hand Sheens a pasting.

Rookie Titans boss Cartwright and Wests Tigers coaching supremo Sheens will go head to head for the first time on the sidelines when the two teams clash at Campbelltown, inking yet another chapter in their extensive history.

"I gave Carty his first ever run, I graded him many years ago," said Sheens. "He seems to be handling (coaching first grade) really well.

"He is probably going a little too well as far as we are concerned.

"John is showing a lot of promise in his first year as coach but he has got a long way to go yet and I'm sure he would admit that."

Cartwright grew up at the base of the Blue Mountains watching then Panthers prop and Penrith icon Sheens, who was the first player to reach 150 games for the club.

Following his retirement, Sheens took up his first top grade coaching job at Penrith in 1984.

In 1985 he blooded local junior Cartwright, who went on to play 184 games for the Panthers and represent NSW and Australia.

Last year both men were named in the greatest Panthers side of all time, Sheens in the No.10 and Cartwright in the No.11.

Cartwright said the chance to line-up in the coach's box opposite mentor and good friend Sheens was something he had been looking forward to since the start of the NRL season.

"It is definitely going to be very challenging," said Cartwright, who was Sheens' assistant coach for City NSW last year.

"I think they are one of the best coached clubs.

"I came through Penrith when he was coaching there and he was always huge on his skills.

"He was probably the first coach to be so skill-orientated and you can really see that when you are watching the Tigers."

After a slow start this season, the Tigers have transformed into competition hotshots, winning seven of their past eight games.

The Gold Coast are faring well with two wins on the trot before having the bye last weekend.

But the Titans have struggled away from home, winning just one game from five on the road, while the Tigers are traditionally strong at Campbelltown, where they have won five of their last seven matches.

"I don't believe in that stuff, the NRL is a week in, week out thing," said Sheens. "If we think, 'they haven't won a few games away so that is going to help us win' then we are kidding ourselves."

Cartwright is sweating on the availability of co-captain Luke Bailey, who is in doubt after damaging his pectoral muscle and suffering a corked hip playing for NSW on Wednesday night.

Livewire fullback Preston Campbell's return from a knee injury looks set to be pushed back at least a week, with the game breaking star still not 100 per cent.

There is also an injury cloud over backrower Kris Kahler, who has a rib problem. Campbell and Kahler will have fitness tests at the Titans final training run this morning before the team departs for Sydney this afternoon.

Prop Bailey, who remained in Sydney following Origin 2, will be given until kickoff at 3pm tomorrow.

http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/

[RLfan]

So is Luke Bailey playing or not? Can't find a definitive answer.

[Ryan]

So is Luke Bailey playing or not? Can't find a definitive answer.

....Prop Bailey, who remained in Sydney following Origin 2, will be given until kickoff at 3pm tomorrow....

So I'll guess you'll have to wait till 3pm tomorrow

[patskE]

kahlar is replacing baily i think :S
gramham could make a bigger impact then him
argh

[BringBackWillie]

As I understand it - Bailey is definitely out and Preston is not returnign this week

[patskE]

just read an article
pretty much said that "bringbackwollie"
kahlar in :S which is fkn gay i rkn
should of got grahman!

[qld power]

10mins try whaturia for the tigers:hissyfit"