Attack of the clones: Titans' giant bid to bring down Storm
Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has parachuted in a Nelson Asofa-Solomona clone to Titans training in a bid to stress-test his side’s defence before its clash with the NRL’s biggest human.. ALL THE DETAILS >>>
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GOLD COAST coach Justin Holbrook has parachuted in a Nelson Asofa-Solomona clone to Titans training in a bid to stress-test his side’s defence before their clash with the NRL’s biggest human on Saturday.
Teen Titans development prop Isaac Matalavea-Booth, 200 centimetres tall and 123 kilograms, trained with Gold Coast’s NRL squad for the first time this week as the club braces for impact with the Storm at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
The 19-year-old giant is a centimetre taller and nearly 10 kilograms heavier than his Kiwi compatriot and Melbourne Storm captain.
BEFORE THEY WERE FAMOUS: Titans into Maroons
Holbrook said the loss of props Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Moeaki Fotuaika to Origin duty opened a window for Matalavea-Booth to run against the first graders.
“It was great to have him out there,” Holbrook said.
“He has a similar stature to big Nelson so it worked out well.
“We had a lot of forwards out with Origin so we needed players and he’s a great young player.”
There was no full-contact allowed but Matalavea-Booth embraced his chances to mimic Asofa-Solomona in general play.
“It was awesome,” the 2020 Keebra Park graduate said.
“Last week I was watching them on TV and now I’m running against the NRL boys at training.
“It wasn’t heavy contact but I definitely got some body and front checks in.”
In his last start for Burleigh in the Hastings Deerings Colts (HDC) competition Matalavea-Booth dominated the Townsville Blackhawks for 246 running metres on 20 carries.
An invitation to his first training session arrived days later, just in time for the Titans preparation for the Storm.
Keebra Park coach Glen Campbell said the similarities between him and Asofa-Solomona were obvious.
“He’s come to Keebra very raw but he’s a great kid who was willing to learn and he got better and better,” Campbell said.
“He’s a big as Nelson height-wise and the weight could come up (even more).
“What I see in him in this early time in his career is what Nelson came to the table with.
“Nelson got better under Craig Bellamy but when he started he made the same rookie mistakes.
“Isaac has shown similar traits but above all he’s a good footballer and an even better human being.”
He was Keebra Park’s top prop in the run to the 2020 Langer Trophy final and has continued his upward trajectory in the HDC.
Matalavea-Booth said joining the Titans full-time had been his dream since his release from the Warriors development system two years ago first brought him to Keebra Park.
“For the past two years that’s what I’ve been pushing for,” he said.
“I think I’m going to go train once a week or once every two weeks and then at the end of the year I’ll do pre-season with them.”
News Corp understands the club is currently in discussions to upgrade Matalavea-Booth’s junior development deal to a full-time contract.
Scary six-week flop that threatens to deliver unwanted Titans history
FINALS remain the dream but Gold Coast's 2021 NRL season is in danger of being sunk by a defence so leaky it threatens to rewrite club history.
The Titans (five wins, seven losses - 9th) head into Saturday night's 7.35pm clash with the second-placed Storm buoyed by by the fact the competition heavyweight will be without five Queensland and NSW stars.
Gold Coast, though, will miss its own Origin contingent - AJ Brimson, David Fifita, Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Moeaki Fotuaika - as well as be saddled with a horror recent defensive record.
Melbourne has let in just 148 points across 12 matches this season. The Titans? A 12th-best 325.
The picture gets even more grim by the fact 115 points were conceded across the opening six rounds (19 per match) but has since exploded to 210 in the past six (35).
ALL THE TITANS' STATS BELOW
That downward trend has also placed the Titans on track to record its worst defensive campaign ever, even topping the wooden spoon seasons of 2011 and 2019.
Hard-working forward Jaimin Jolliffe admits defence must improve if pre-season hopes of a finals campaign are to come to fruition.
"Obviously we were very disappointed in our performance," he said of the 38-10 defeat to Cronulla last weekend.
"From the get-go we weren't in it.
"It all comes back on us and our attitude towards defence - we haven't been good enough for the past six weeks.
"We have spoken about it and had some tough conversations.
"Time for talking is over and we want to play finals and the way we are defending now is not good enough."
Jolliffe, 28 games into his NRL career, concedes the rapid-fire ruck speed makes defensive improvements "hard to pinpoint" but one truth is evident in the modern competition - "winning the wrestle".
"We do all the training and rip in but we're not taking that on to the field," the Wagga Wagga product, 24, said.
"We need to narrow our focus and make D our priority."
TITANS' WILD RIDE
First six rounds of 2021: 115 points conceded (19.16)
Past six rounds: 210 points conceded (35)
WORST DEFENSIVE SEASONS
2021: 325 points (after 12 games): 27.91 per game
2019: 651 (27.1)
2017: 638 (26.5)
2015: 636 (26.5)
2011: 629 (26.2)
Melbourne Storm v Gold Coast Titans
Sunshine Coast Stadium, 7:35pm (Saturday 5th June)
1. Jayden Campbell
2. Anthony Don
3. Brian Kelly
4. Patrick Herbert
5. Phillip Sami
6. Ash Taylor
7. Jamal Fogarty (c)
8. Jarrod Wallace
9. Mitch Rein
10. Jaimin Jolliffe
11. Kevin Proctor (c)
12. Sam Stone
13. Sam McIntyre
BENCH
14. Tyrone Peachey
15. Erin Clark
16. Jai Whitbread
17. Joseph Vuna
18. Tanah Boyd
19. Esan Marsters
20. Greg Marzhew
21. Darius Farmer
Taylor has finally found a halves partner who understands him - July 2020
Jamal Fogarty and Ash Taylor believe they have the talent to lead the Titans into the finals in 2020 and every year after that.
Refining their chemistry and finding consistency are the missing ingredients that will prove them right or wrong.
It’s now been four years since Taylor last played finals football but a switch to five-eighth appears to have unlocked the attacking spark that captivated Titans fans back in 2016.
Finding a halves partner who understands the road Taylor has walked was just as critical.
Fogarty and Taylor both returned to the Titans from stints in the NRL wilderness of the Queensland Cup last year.
Playing alongside battlers desperate to crack an NRL roster has proven to both where they want to be in 2020.
That fire was evident in Fogarty with the performance of his NRL career against the Broncos while Taylor was man of the match.
“I think it was a good little build in confidence for us,” Fogarty said.
“As a team it was definitely our best performance and for me individually I’d like to think I’m getting a little more consistent.
“To do that against Brisbane was pretty satisfying and hopefully we can carry that on into this weekend’s game against the Sharks.”
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The duo have only played five games alongside each other but things are beginning to click.
“It’s not so much sharing the load but having an understanding that in certain positions (Taylor) wants to do this and I want to do that,” Fogarty said.
“It’s about getting the blend and that combination together.
“We want to have that combination going where we understand each other and things are flowing.
“Hopefully by the end of it we’re just naturally playing instinct footy.”
Their opponent this weekend, Sharks playmaker Shaun Johnson, knows a thing or two about that.
If Taylor and Fogarty can go toe-to-toe with the Kiwi great it’s a sure sign the Titans are heading in the right direction.
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