Gold Coast Titans forward Sam Stone impresses in NRL loss to Melbourne Storm

The Titans debut of Burleigh junior Sam Stone was a bright light in Gold Coast’s fourth straight NRL loss on Sunday.

THE Titans debut of Burleigh junior Sam Stone was a bright light in Gold Coast’s fourth straight NRL loss on Sunday.

Stone had not played first grade since lining up for Newcastle in June 2018 but wasted no time in making a positive impression on Titans senior coach Craig Hodges.

The 21-year-old made 25 tackles and tallied 85 running metres off the bench in the 38-18 loss to Melbourne at Cbus Super Stadium.

“I thought he was our best,” Hodges said.

“I was really happy for him. He showed a lot of the qualities that we talked about and even some parts of the game that don’t come naturally to him, he disciplined himself to get them done.

Sam Stone takes a hit-up against the Storm. Picture: AAP Image

“Often their first effort is a strong effort, they have got a lot of adrenaline, a lot of excitement and they have got a lot to play for, but he set himself a good standard (on Sunday) for moving forward.

“I was impressed by Sam.”

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Hodges was further pleased by his selfless approach to play lock instead of his more familiar second-row role: “He rolled his sleeves up and asked, what’s next?”

Stone is tackled by Dale Finucane and Cameron Smith. Picture: Getty Images

Stone wasn’t getting too ahead of himself and simply hopes to get another chance when the Titans host Brisbane on Saturday.

“It’s good to be back playing at the top level and I thought I did OK out there but obviously it’s a team game and we’re looking for wins out there. We’ve got a lot to improve on,” he said.

“They (Melbourne) are obviously the pinnacle around the ruck in the comp. I think they were just a little bit too quick for us so that’s probably where we have got to get back and get some practice and have a look at some video and work on that.”