Shannon Boyd says he needs to earn Titans respect as presssure starts to mount
Gold Coast’s marquee recruit Shannon Boyd admits he needs to earn respect at his new club with the former Test prop under pressure to live up to his $600,000 price tag at the Titans.
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Gold Coast’s marquee recruit Shannon Boyd admits he needs to earn respect at his new club with the former Test prop under mounting pressure to live up to his $600,000 price tag at the Titans.
The 126kg enforcer enters tonight’s clash against the Warriors a self-confessed figure of “frustration” after struggling to muscle up in midfield in three consecutive defeats that have left the Titans at the bottom of the NRL ladder.
Trumpeted as the standover man the Titans pack craved, Boyd has been stood down – relegated to interchange for last week’s 28-20 loss to Souths and benched again for Friday night’s clash at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium.
No NRL club can afford to carry one of their highest-paid players on the bench, but Boyd cannot argue after running for just 77 metres in consecutive weeks against Cronulla and his former club Canberra.
Stung by his demotion, Boyd was better against the Rabbitohs, amassing 119m with one line-break, but says he won’t be truly satisfied until he consistently delivers on his reputation – starting tonight against the Warriors.
“I’m frustrated at the moment,” said Boyd, who joined the Titans on a four-year, $2.4 million deal.
“I honestly need to play better footy here and earn some respect in the club.
“I have been brought here as a new recruit and the fans and the players expect certain performances from me.
“As middle forwards, we need to do a better job. We need to get a better roll on for our halves and be more aggressive and a lot of that comes down to me.
“I’m not where I want to be. To be honest, I’m a long way from where I need to be.
“I’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Boyd’s trial form demonstrated his importance to the Titans.
The Gold Coast’s biggest player belted the Broncos in midfield in the opening 20 minutes of their final pre-season hitout at Robina. The result? An 18-0 lead.
With the Warriors hurting after a 46-12 mauling by Manly last week, Boyd is keen to reprise the brutal running game that won him a maiden Australian jumper three years ago.
“I’m not pleased with my efforts in attack,” he said.
“I’ve been doing a lot of defence but I’m not making enough impact with my carries and being a big boy, you can be fatigued if you are making a lot of tackles.
“I’ve got no one blame but myself for my form. I have no excuses. I can’t even worry about playing rep football again. I’ve got a job to do at the Titans first and it’s a pretty simple thing for me to fix.
“Our forwards haven’t aimed up as a pack but there’s no doubt we have the talent to challenge the better teams.
“We need to win our first game. It all starts in the middle of the park. We have to win the battle there.”
Originally published as Shannon Boyd says he needs to earn Titans respect as presssure starts to mount
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