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Gold Coast need an attitude adjustment after woeful start to 2019 season

After four straight losses and just two wins from 10 matches the Titans are teetering on the brink of disaster. Can the ailing Gold Coasters claw their way out?

Late Mail NRL Powered by Ladbrokes - 2019 Round 11

The under-siege Gold Coast Titans must find their resolve under pressure if they are to salvage anything from an abysmal 2-8 start to the season.

That’s the view of veteran winger Anthony Don, who is conscious of his side’s failure to convert leads into competition points.

“It’s hard to put a finger on exactly what we’re doing wrong once we hit the lead,” Don said.

“I don’t know whether we’re playing too defensively or stop attacking with the ball or we’re coughing up too much cheap possession and then once momentum is against us, we struggle to win it back.”

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The Titans held halftime leads over both the Sharks and Bulldogs before falling to successive defeats – a statistic Don is eager to rectify by controlling momentum better.

“If momentum goes against us, we’ve just got to work really hard on the things that we do well – ‘D’ up, hold onto the pill and kick long. That’s the way to wrestle momentum back,” he said.

That match awareness must be steered by halves Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts, who came under scrutiny yet again after the Bulldogs loss.

The Titans have lost four straight. Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images.
The Titans have lost four straight. Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images.

Taylor has openly admitted to being below his best footy this season but the halfback’s game-breaking abilities may yet reappear if teammate Jarrod Wallace’s words are anything to go by.

“Our halves have really stood up this week and taken control, and if they can do that on the weekend and our forwards keep doing what they’ve been doing, we can get a good result against Manly,” Wallace said.

Wallace, whose last-gasp charge down almost stole the game for Gold Coast last week, said his side needs to stop over-complicating their plays and play simple structured football to retain their leads.

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/titans/gold-coast-need-an-attitude-adjustment-after-woeful-start-to-2019-season/news-story/23cacfa3f5d724e7bae3d2e5b9c23790