Struggling Titans have to take the game to the Rabbitohs
Without a win and struggling with injuries, no one is giving Gold Coast a chance against South Sydney. But if 17 blokes give it their all, it is amazing what can happen in rugby league, writes GORDEN TALLIS.
Opinion
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It is a line-in-the-sand day for the Gold Coast Titans.
Very few people give them a chance against South Sydney.
They haven’t won a game yet and have been hit very hard by injuries while the Rabbitohs are flying.
But there are two things that the Titans can do about it. Bring the right attitude and have 17 blokes put in their absolute best effort across 80 minutes.
It is amazing what happens in rugby league when a team does those two things.
You don’t have to be perfect. But you do have to have a red-hot go.
There’s no excuse for not having a crack. You can have excuses for anything and everything these days but save them for September.
Last week against Cronulla, Jai Arrow was incredible for the Titans with all those hit-ups and running metres while Ryan James was good too.
The Gold Coast need all of their players to bring that effort on Sunday.
The modern game gets a little too wrapped up in stats. This is not about stats for the Titans. Efforts plays don’t always show up on the stats sheet but those one percenters all count towards the one number that matters — the final score.
The Titans can take heart from what St George Illawarra did to the Broncos on Thursday night.
Like the Gold Coast, the Dragons went into Round 3 out of form and with a 0-2 record.
They had injuries to key players and also lost Gareth Widdop in the second half. The Titans have also been decimated on the injury front that got worse with Nathan Peats doing his pec this week.
They were also up against a side that was coming off a fairly comprehensive win after the Broncos belted the Cowboys in Round 2.
But St George Illawarra found a way to win. They hung tough. They had a great attitude and turned their fortunes around.
The Titans can do the same. No excuses.
The great Johnny Lang once said that the great players show up in case they are needed, not because they are needed.
He was talking about players who always seem to be in the right place, at the right time because they give you multiple efforts that go unrewarded.
They’ll back up down the middle of the field all day just to be on the receiving end of that one pass to score the one try that is the difference at full-time.
Johnathan Thurston is a modern-day example of that kind of player. Terry Lamb back in the 80s and 90s was another example. Kevvie Walters would often handle the footy two to three times in the one movement for the Broncos because he never gave up on the play.
And that’s the key for the Titans today. Never giving up on the play.
Because you never know what can happen. And you never know unless you have a go.
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