Late bloomer Anthong Don could play as a centre for the Gold Coast Titans
TERRY WILSON GOLD COAST BULLETIN
DECEMBER 09, 2014 10:20AM 2
THE Titans underrated “Mr Fixit” Anthony Don could find himself moved a little closer to the action for next year’s NRL season.
Regarded as a specialist winger, Don has been given the chance to trial as a centre by new Titans coach Neil Henry and is looking forward to a move that will serve to reinforce his value to the club.
“I guess calling me (Mr Fixit) is pretty accurate because I haven’t really cemented my position,” Don, 27, said.
“But I haven’t really started a season yet, so that’s my main goal — to try to play every game of the NRL season.
“I played the last game of this year at centre and Neil has asked me to train a bit in centre for the pre-season and try to add another string to my bow and be able to play both positions.”
In AFL circles Don would be called a mature-aged rookie, yet he finished the season as leading tryscorer for the Titans and earned a reputation for *reliability under pressure, rarely making mistakes.
He did not enter the NRL system until he was 25 after moving from Grafton to play Queensland Cup for Burleigh before his elevation to the *Titans.
“There were guys younger than me who had played 80 to 90 NRL games, so that put them in good shape against someone who hadn’t played much at all,” Don said.
“So hopefully next year I’ll have a change of luck and I can start the season.”
Another of the Titans “Mr Versatile”, regular fullback Will Zillman, has declined to comment about the arrival of former Brisbane Broncos custodian Josh Hoffman.
Zillman acknowledges the recruiting of NRL regulars such as Hoffman will only serve to heat up competition for places in the side, he remains coy about his situation.
“No, I don’t really want to talk about that,” Zillman said before joining a PGA Championship promotion with Don and golfers Steven Bowditch and American Boo Weekley at Royal Pines yesterday.
Don and Zillman fared better than Bowditch and Weekley when they tried kicking a ball through setup uprights.