Gold Coast Titans prop Jarrod Wallace says side has belief to win but must ‘relax’ under pressure

Mal Meninga might want his Gold Coast Titans to be “bigger than the Broncos” but Jarrod Wallace is wary of putting too much expectation on a young side.

Jarrod Wallace and Dylan Napa join the camp for the Queensland Origin Team at Rydges, Southbank. Pics Adam Head

Mal Meninga might want his Gold Coast Titans to be “bigger than the Broncos” but Jarrod Wallace is wary of putting too much expectation on a young side.

Meninga turned heads this month after sharing his vision for the Titans as being a Queensland’s No.1 premiership contender with The Courier-Mail and hopes were high ahead of their Round 1 clash with Canberra.

It’s a different story two weeks on with key injuries and back-to-back losses against the Raiders and Sharks prompting coach Garth Brennan to suggest his side lacked the belief to win games.

Maroons prop Wallace was quick to disagree.

Jarrod Wallace believes his Titans have the belief to win games but must learn to deal with pressure. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

“I don’t think we don’t believe that we can win. I think we definitely know that we’ve got the team to do it. We definitely believe in each other but we’re just putting way too much (pressure) on ourselves, you know,” he said.

“It feels like we’re not gelling and not connecting because … when we have the ball we feel like we need to score tries every time.”

It would be unfair to brand the Titans’ Round 2 efforts poor, particularly given the two disallowed tries to Jai Arrow and Ryan James inside the opening five minutes.

Brennan seems to agree, having named an unchanged match day squad to take on Wayne Bennett’s Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium.

Jarrod Wallace passes the ball during the Round 1 NRL match between the Gold Coast Titans and the Canberra Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

AJ Brimson and Ryley Jacks will combine in the halves again for a crack at South Sydney duo Corey Walker and Adam Reynolds but the forwards battle shapes a defining one.

With Sam Burgess in red-hot form, Wallace knows it will take a level head to upset the Bunnies on their home patch.

“We just need to relax and stay calm. At times, we feel like we’ve got so much pressure on ourselves and we really don’t and we shouldn’t be putting that much on us,” he said.

“We’re only a young team, it’s early in the season and we should be building pressure rather putting so much pressure on ourselves. Until we do that, it’ll just keep happening the way it’s happened.”

Meanwhile Greg Inglis is yet to decide on whether he takes his place in the Rabbitohs line up as he fights to overcome a shoulder niggle.