Mal Meninga column: Bryce Cartwright’s attitude is just the tip of the iceberg at the struggling Titans
BRYCE Cartwright is not the only Gold Coast Titan who needs to toughen up. Cartwright missed a lot of tackles against Canberra, but he didn’t miss all 44 of them, writes Mal Meninga.
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BRYCE Cartwright is not the only Gold Coast Titan who needs to toughen up.
Cartwright has been a lightning rod for criticism in the past few weeks, and I have to say there has not been a lot of it that I felt was unwarranted.
Cartwright clearly has a problem with attitude. A player with all of his attributes – which includes a 193cm, 107kg frame – should not be producing the type of performances he has dished up this year.
The Titans’ problem though is that Cartwright is far from the only bad apple in the Gold Coast barrel.
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The Titans’ performance against the Raiders last weekend was beyond poor.
The scoreboard may not have been embarrassing, but missing 44 tackles in a game certainly was.
How many times do we say that defence is an attitude? The reason we say it so many times is that it is true.
Cartwright missed a lot of tackles last weekend, but he didn’t miss 44 of them.
Some of the senior players at the Titans would have been very happy to see Cartwright targeted as the scapegoat for that performance, because it kept the spotlight off themselves.
Yes, there were some factors that counted against them. Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace, probably their two best forwards, were both gone through injury by the 18-minute mark.
But the fact the Titans’ best forward against the Raiders was an 18-year-old kid making his first grade debut off the interchange bench should make the rest of the Gold Coast pack hang their heads in shame.
In 41 minutes on the field in his first game in the NRL, Moeaki Fotuaika had 12 runs for 105m, made 21 tackles with only two misses, made one tackle bust, one offload and registered one try assist and one linebreak assist.
Fotuaika’s performance was exactly what the Titans needed – an injection of determination and enthusiasm.
It is the same reason I think bringing AJ Brimson in at five-eighth is the right move. The kid is coming in with a lot of wraps, but he doesn’t need to be the star.
All he needs to do is bring the energy and enthusiasm he has shown with Tweed Heads this season and he will be a standout for the Titans.
The rest of the Titans squad should frankly be embarrassed that their coach is relying on two rookies to show the rest of them how it is done.
The most frustrating thing about the Titans is that we have seen at times this season how good they can be.
Their never-say-die win against the Raiders in Round 1 should have been the foundation of their season, but was wasted.
Their skill and determination at beating Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium was a major leap forward, subsequently erased by four timid steps back.
Brisbane have performed poorly at times this season but the Broncos are never out of a match.
Wayne Bennett makes sure that pride in the jersey and respect for their teammates mean that Brisbane never stop fighting, even when they are struggling for form.
The Cowboys last weekend also showed that they have the mental toughness to keep believing in what they are doing, even when their confidence is down in the middle of a form slump.
They knew if they just went out and ran hard and tackled well, things would eventually fall their way. Against Penrith, they did just that.
The Titans face the Storm on Saturday night and need to make a decision about what they stand for because this season is starting to pass them by.
That is critical, not because of the implications for the finals, but for the future of a club that is trying to rebuild after hitting rock bottom.
It is unfair for the Titans to keep asking their fans to make the effort and keep believing when the players can’t be bothered doing it themselves.
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