Four rounds in ... five big questions for Titans

The NRL season is only one month old but Titans boss Garth Brennan must be asking himself some big questions. The Bulletin looks at five big issues Gold Coast will be mulling over.

THE NRL season is only one month old but Titans boss Garth Brennan must be asking himself some big questions. The Bulletin looks at five big issues Gold Coast will be mulling over.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE BULLETIN FOR JUST $5 A MONTH FOR THE FIRST THREE MONTHS

GETTING IT PEACHEY

We all know of Tyrone Peachey’s talent. What we don’t know is how to best employ the gamebreaker. If the opening month has proved anything it’s that an X-factor player like the NSW utility is a must in every side. But he simply hasn’t had enough ball to make the most of his speed and agility.

IT MADE ME FEEL SICK: BURLEIGH PUNCH SHAME

Tyrone Peachey is still finding his feet. Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

PROCTOR OR JAMES

It seems ludicrous that you can’t fit a New Zealand Test forward and fringe Blues player in the one line-up. Yet Kevin Proctor and Ryan James have so far thrown up the same questions at opposition sides. You can’t have a pack full of explosive players but alternatively can you field one with too many workhorses?

Kevin Proctor runs the ball during a Gold Coast NRL training session on March 28, 2019 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

HALF A BATTLE

Sure, injuries have robbed the Titans of any continuity in the halves. Yet at some point those excuses must stop. The Cowboys reached an NRL grand final without Johnathan Thurston. All it takes, as Michael Morgan proved in 2017, is for one playmaker to step up and say ‘right, I’m running things now’. Who will it be?

Tyrone Roberts of the Titans is tackled by Agnatius Paasi, left, and Isaiah Papali`i of the Warriors during the Round 4 NRL match between the New Zealand Warriors and Gold Coast Titans at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, April 5, 2019. (AAP Image/David Rowland) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

ARROW HELP

It is an impossible question but how can the Titans find more Jai Arrows? The former Bronco remains the ultimate weapon in the pack and his consistency is now a feature of his game. So how do you replicate that? That’s a huge test for coach Brennan.

Jai Arrow of the Titans (C) looks for a gap during the round 4 NRL match between the Warriors and the Titans at Mt Smart Stadium on April 05, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall/Getty Images)

NEXT GEN

Fortune favours the brave. Last season may not have gone to plan but throwing AJ Brimson into the mix was a masterstroke. At what point is a similar leap of faith taken on those now on the fringes? History shows the rewards often come to those willing to make a tough call on an older head sooner rather than later.

AJ Brimson and the Titans team train at CBus Stadium in Robina. Pics Adam Head