Who takes the kicks? While the Titans made big strides across the board last year, one area – the goalkicking – remained an area of concern. Gold Coast went at just 65.2 per cent from the tee in 2020, good for the worst record in the competition, and with that came the question: Who will take the kicks in 2021? An interesting subplot of the All Stars clash was two would-be Titans kicking options, Jamal Fogarty and Patrick Herbert, taking the tee for their respective teams. Fogarty was good with his attempt on the stroke of quarter-time to give the Indigenous side a 2-nil advantage, while Herbert muffed his later in the contest. Unfortunately the wet weather made for a low-scoring affair and as such, we didn’t see much kicking from either player. All Saturday proved was that Fogarty and Herbert will likely remain options for the top kicking job with Ash Taylor, who went at 66.7 per cent last season. Peachey at lock, again? When the Titans signed Tino Fa’asuamaleaui from the Storm, conventional thinking was the rising star would move off the Melbourne bench and into the Gold Coast 13 made vacant by the outgoing Jai Arrow. But coach Justin Holbrook has maintained the jack-of-all-trades Peachey remains an option to start at lock, with Fa’asuamaleaui able to cover in the second row. Though Holbrook was not pulling the strings on Saturday night, he would have watched with interest how Peachey went in the 13. The veteran had a mixed night, finishing fourth in tackles (26) and seeing 10 in the bin for a professional foul in the second half.Herman Ese’ese was also tapped as an option in the 13, though if we read into his inclusion in the Titans’ line-up for the Burleigh trial, meaning he is unavailable for the Warriors clash in Lismore, it is likely a race in two between Peachey and Fa’asuamaleaui for the 13. Fit Fifita firing already? With Broncos rookie Jordan Riki tapped as David Fifita’s replacement at Red Hill this season, there were more than a few interested eyes on how the two faired running opposite each other on Saturday night. Fifita was quiet early as Riki quickly caught the eye with some impressive runs – and when he crashed over the line in the 49th minute for the first try of the match, it looked like the 21-year-old would have the better night of the two. But Fifita, whose fitness has passed at least the eye test in recent weeks, did a power of work in the second half to eventually lead all-comers with 141 run metres. His 62 minutes also led all Indigenous forwards on the night. Broncos fans can be happy with what they saw in Riki, but it was telling that Fifita – who didn’t necessarily catch the eye at any point – was the statistical leader where it mattered. Did Thompson and Herbert do enough? Fans rejoiced when Corey Thompson was drafted in late to play for the Indigenous All Stars – but did he do enough in his extra dress rehearsal to lock down a spot in Holbrook’s 17 for Round 1? And what of Patrick Herbert for the Maori?With Phillip Sami a nailed on starter at either wing or centre, that leaves three spots open in the outside backs to fit what suddenly is a position of great depth at the Titans. Thompson ended 2020 as the preferred wing option opposite Anthony Don, but the two could now be competing for the one spot with Herbert’s arrival and Sami’s return. Herbert started on the wing for the Maori, and if his kicking is valued by Holbrook that might push him ahead of his Titans contemporaries. Young Tonumaipea’s departure leaves a hole at right-centre that again, Herbert could fill, though the Burleigh trial form of Treymain Spry and Greg Marzhew has thrown up more questions than answers. The outside backs battle could be the most interesting storyline to follow when the Titans face the Warriors in Lismore. Did we miss something? Head to Gold Coast Bulletin Sports Forum on Facebook to let us know, or email: [email protected]‘No doubt’: Presto’s stunning call on AJ BrimsonFrom February 1, 2021 – Nic DarvenizaTitans legend Preston Campbell has declared AJ Brimson is already the greatest fullback in club history after just 23 games at the position. The 22-year-old had caught the eye of the club’s foundation player in previous seasons but his transcendent form to close out 2020, capped off by a Maroons State of Origin debut, erased any doubt in Campbell’s mind who that honour truly belonged to. “For me he is the best fullback that the club has seen,” he said.“I know I played here for five years but what he’s been able to do in the small amount of time he’s played, he’s definitely been the best fullback the club has ever seen. “He’ll be one of the great fullbacks to come.”Campbell is regarded by others as the greatest Titans fullback after 64 appearances in the No. 1 jersey, scoring nine of his 15 tries for the club there. Brimson is young enough to make the position his own for the next decade, eclipsing even long-serving fullback Will Zillman, who wore the jersey on 95 occasions. Zillman is among a chorus of Titans supporters hoping Brimson can better the club record he set between 2009 and 2017.“To lock up the century in the No. 1 jersey would be fantastic,” Zillman said.“He’s an absolutely fantastic player, and for a young guy who’s only played 23 games (at fullback) in the NRL he seems to have a very well-rounded game. “He’s stacked with talent and I’m glad he’s with the Titans. We’ll want to hang on to him for a long time.”Zillman stopped short of endorsing Brimson as the greatest custodian in Gold Coast’s history, placing his vote in Campbell instead. “I think Presto would have to be one of the most humble people I’ve had the pleasure of playing with,” he said.“He was a superstar for the club on and off the field.“Presto’s on the money when he talks about the talent of AJ but in my mind Presto is right up there.”Zillman won 45 of his 95 matches at fullback for a winning record of 47.3 per cent, surpassing Campbell’s 46.8 per cent win rate (30/64) at the position. David Mead is the Titans’ most successful custodian with 14 wins from 27 starts (51.9 per cent). If Brimson (9/23, 39.1%) can lead the Titans to 16 wins from 24 matches this season he will end season 2021 with the best win rate of any Titans fullback. GOLD COAST TITANS WINNINGEST FULLBACKS1. David Mead (2012-2016) – 14/27, 51.9%2. Richard Mathers (2007) – 3/6, 50%3. Will Zillman (2009-2017) – 45/95, 47.3%4. Preston Campbell (2007-2011) – 30/64, 46.8%5. Josh Hoffman (2015-2016) – 8/19, 42.1%6. Kevin Gordon (2013-2014) – 2/5, 40%7. AJ Brimson (2018-present) – 9/23, 39.1%8. Jarryd Hayne (2016-2017) – 4/15, 26.6%9. Michael Gordon (2018-2019) – 9/34, 26.5%10. Jordan Rankin (2011-2013) – 2/10, 20%FOGARTY: PROCTOR DESERVES CAPTAINCYGOLD Coast halfback Jamal Fogarty has voiced his total support for Kevin Proctor as leader of the 2021 Titans, regardless of who is appointed captain. Fogarty came from nowhere to skipper the Titans on four occasions in 2020 despite only joining the team after the Christmas break. Coach Justin Holbrook has been open that both players are in contention for the honour but said he would need more time to make his final call. Fogarty was emphatic that Proctor was the man who deserved to lead.JAMAL FOGARTY OR DWAYNE ‘THE ROCK’ JOHNSON? SEE JAMAL’S INCREDIBLE NEW RIG“We’ve got the right leader at the club in Kevvy,” Fogarty said.“He’s our most experienced player, he’s played internationals and won a Grand Final.“He’s someone who leads with his actions. “His throat injury doesn’t help his communication so I sort of picked that up for him.“My role in the team is the communication.“If we need direction my job as a half is to give that communication, to voice my opinion and let the boys know what we’re running and what’s going on. “We’ve got a great leader in Kev and the rest of the boys, Ash (Taylor), myself and the spine need to back him up.“Kev as a leader being an actions man, then myself and Ash being in the halves as the voice for him to back him up.“Whatever the coaching staff picks will be for the best of the team.Whispers from inside the Titans camp lean towards a co-captaincy arrangement, which Titans fans have seen before as recently as last year. Holbrook appointed Ryan James and Kevin Proctor as co-captains for the 2020 season before James suffered a major knee injury, handing the reins to Proctor solo. Holbrook is expected to confirm his captain after the Warriors trial in Lismore on February 27.NEW FAVOURITE EMERGES TO UNDERSTUDY FIFITATITANS backrower Beau ­Fermor has emerged as the early favourite to understudy Kevin Proctor and David Fifita as Gold Coast’s 17th man in 2021. Fermor, 22, started in the centres just once in his eight-game debut season but that versatility is set to give him the edge in a three-horse race for the final spot in the Titans’ matchday 17, with fellow backrowers Sam Stone and new recruit Sam McIntyre also in the hunt. Coach Justin Holbrook has worked throughout pre-season to groom Fermor into the ideal forward utility, able to be injected across the entire backrow and both centres as required. “Justin has been making a conscious effort to put me in at centre … and doing different drills at centre and backrow to make sure I’m ready to do the job if I need to,” Fermor said. “If I’m on the bench and someone goes down I’m always an option there for Justin to throw me in.“I played a bit of centre throughout my juniors and a fair bit in the under-20s so it wasn’t an unfamiliar role to me at all.“If I’m playing off the bench my versatility is going to help my spot out.”Fermor has hit top speeds of 33km/h during pre-season, evidence that he has the pace to match it with the NRL’s quickest players.His ability to break the line was on display from his first game, when he torched Cronulla for 121 metres from six carries on debut. The missing piece is the defensive side of the ball, which has been an area of focus with defence coach Jim Dymock.“There’s always something to work on but my defence is probably the biggest thing,” Fermor said.“I’ve been doing a lot of work with JD to nail down my defensive movements. “Hopefully come Round One I’ve got them down-pat and I’m doing the right thing.” Former Titans centre Clinton Toopi backed Fermor to overcome any defensive shortcomings and become a valuable contributor at either position. He is a fair judge as a former junior backrower who blossomed into a 156-game NRL career in the centres.“You underestimate (the difficulty of defending at centre) when you’re so used to playing backrow,” he said.“He (Fermor) has been caught a bit flat-footed at times but that will happen when you’re playing against some of the best players on the planet. “Even the best centres can find it tough and it’s only a matter of time before that can be fixed.“It’s hard to find quality centres but once he knows the do’s and don’ts he’s more than capable (of playing there).”With a backline already full of multidimensional footballers, selecting a backrower as centre cover ensures the Titans have insurance against injuries to half the players on the field with just one selection.Centres Brian Kelly, Treymain Spry and Patrick Herbert are also capable wingers, while Phillip Sami can cover wing and fullback.GENERATION SPEED: TITANS STOCKPILING PACE WEAPONSTHE Gold Coast Titans are using their senior development squad to stockpile an arsenal of speedy flyers, including the son of club legend Preston Campbell – who already rivals AJ Brimson for speed.Three of the Gold Coast’s five fastest players in 2021 are members of their four-man senior development squad.Lightweight fullback Jayden Campbell, 20, signed with the Titans on a three-year contract in November, 2019, but is already one of the fastest players in the senior squad.Campbell hit a top speed of 34.6km/h while playing for the Burleigh Bears against the Southport Tigers in Round Eight of the Rugby League Gold Coast season.That is just 0.3km/h slower than speedster AJ Brimson’s top gear of 34.9km/h, which he showed against the Cronulla Sharks in Round 14.Only ‘The Hound,’ Phillip Sami, recorded a faster pace at the Titans in 2020 with a blazing 35.9km/h to equal the speed hit on his chasedown of Josh Addo-Carr the year before.Though Sami was the fastest Titan in the NRL last year, young gun winger Alofiana Khan-Pereira maxed out at 36.5km/h to set a new team record as the fastest timed player while playing for the Burleigh Bears.Centre/winger Treymain Spry was the fifth fastest Titan in 2020 with a 34.0km/h run against the Melbourne Storm in Round 10.Spry is set to graduate from the Titans development squad at the conclusion of this pre-season as he grapples with speedy recruit Patrick Herbert for the No. 4 jersey.The fourth member of the development squad is back-rower Tristan Powell, another Burleigh Bears weapon who reached 32.0km/h in the Rugby League Gold Coast grand final.That speed is was just 0.4km/h behind the top 2020 speed of NRL winger Anthony Don.Fastest 2021 Titans in 2020 (Data: NRL Telstra Tracker / Supplied)1. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, wing: 36.5km/h (Burleigh v Southport, RLGC Rd 1)2. Phillip Sami, wing: 35.9km/h3. AJ Brimson, fullback: 34.9km/h (v Sharks, Rd 14)4. Jayden Campbell, fullback: 34.6km/h (Burleigh v Southport, RLGC Rd 8)5. Treymain Spry, centre: 34.0km/h (v Storm, Rd 10)6. Patrick Herbert, centre: 33.6km/h (v Panthers, Rd 4)7. David Fifita, edge: 33.2km/h (v Cowboys, Rd 1)8. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, lock: 32.6km/h9. Anthony Don, wing: 32.4km/h (v Broncos, Rd 7)10. Tristan Powell, edge: 32.0km/h (Burleigh v Runaway Bay, RLGC GF)Titans enter race for off-contract Maroons ace Xavier CoatesThe Gold Coast Titans have moved to correct one of the biggest recruitment misses of their recent history by entering the race for off-contract Maroons winger Xavier Coates.The 19-year-old flyer is now one of the NRL’s fastest players but slipped under the Titans radar as a late bloomer at Currumbin Eagles.Brisbane Broncos scouts were the first to identify Coates’ potential as a 16-year-old and poached the prospect to Red Hill in 2017.His meteoric rise, through the Tweed Seagulls national championship-winning under-18s and an international debut for Papua New Guinea, to a 100 per cent tryscoring strike rate for the Maroons in the 2020 Origin series – all by the age of 19 – has made the Gold Coast product rugby league’s most wanted man.The Titans missed the boat first time around but player agent Nash Dawson confirmed the club is among a score of NRL suitors hoping to woo the second fastest man in rugby league.With the prospect of retirement looming for stalwart Anthony Don, Coates’ signature would deliver the Titans a fitting successor to a club legend and complete an outside backs trio unrivalled for speed across the competition.Coates’ family still lives on the Coast, where his younger brother attends high school.Melbourne Storm legend Matt Geyer, Coates’ former high school and club football coach, said the opportunity to play in front of a home crowd was a powerful drawcard in the Titans favour.“That opportunity can be a tough one to knock back,” Geyer said.“He’s a Gold Coast boy and he was disappointed the Titans’ junior development system showed no interest when he was young.“He was always our best and fairest player at Currumbin but he just had no recognition at the next level so at 16 he talked about not playing (rugby league).“I wish they would have come on board when he was 16 but that chance to play in front of mates and family in a home crowd is some enticement.” Coates’ blistering 36.9km/h was the joint-fastest speed in the NRL until it was eclipsed by 0.3km/h by Josh Addo-Carr in the competition’s penultimate round.Unlike Addo-Carr, who built his game around his speed, Coates’ 194cm, 100kg frame allows the young Bronco to challenge defenders with his aerial ability and physicality as well as that potent pace.“What’s enticing clubs to go to him is in such a short period of time, he’s gone from being a 16 year old who couldn’t make a local rep team to playing Origin, one of the best wingers in the game, at 19,” Geyer said.“People look and think, imagine what he’ll be at 24.“You can imagine if Addo-Carr was 20 kilos heavier and four inches taller and could leap tall buildings in a single bound, that’s what people are imagining with Xavier.”Coates returned to training with the Broncos this week and will not make any decision on his future until he has at least tasted life under new coach Kevin Walters.His loyalty to the club who gave him the chance no-one else did, and his desire to erase the memories of the Broncos first ever wooden spoon season, would be the reason Coates stays in Brisbane.But the Titans have as good a chance as any rival to lure back one of the game’s top young talents to his home patch.HEARTBREAK DRIVING TITANS RECRUITThe death of Gold Coast Titans recruit Patrick Herbert’s 17-year-old sister is the constant heartache driving the rising Kiwi rugby league player to sacrifice everything to honour her memory.Herbert was just 20 years old himself, having left his family home in Whakatane to test himself in a foreign rugby code with the St George Illawarra Dragons, when a phone call from home shattered his perspective on football.The voice on the other end of the line informed him that his teenage sister Teresa Mae had taken her own life.Herbert says her loss three years ago remains the hardest obstacle he has ever overcome.“She always looked up to me,” he said.“I was her older brother; she was 17 at the time.“That was a pretty tough time, not just for me but my family as well.”The support of Herbert’s fiance Kiki was the first step in translating his pain into the strength to carry Teresa Mae’s memory onto the field with him.“With her by my side it made it a lot easier,” Herbert said.“Obviously it was still pretty tough but I use that as motivation now.”Herbert signed with the New Zealand Warriors to be closer to his healing family in 2019 but was cut adrift by the club at the conclusion of the 2020 season after 21 games.Gold Coast, via Herbert’s former Junior Kiwis head coach and Titans recruitment manager Ezra Howe, were quick to express their interest in bringing in the former New Zealand schoolboy rugby star to partner rising star Brian Kelly.“I definitely want to but it’s going to be a grind,” Herbert said of filling the Titans No. 4 jersey.“There’s great depth at this club, so many talented players.“They’re all good dudes, honestly. I can’t say a bad work about them.“They’re all real professional, all just having a dig. It’s different to the Poly (Polynesian) boys back home. You can hang out with anyone, it’s like everyone is on the same level here.“You see eye-to-eye with everyone. There’s no egos over there (at Warriors) but it’s just everyone is real easy to talk to at the Titans.”A point of difference in Herbert’s favour in the centre race is his talent from the goalkicking tee.The 23-year-old has kicked 18 from 25 career goals at a 72 per cent success rate; better than the career averages of both incumbent Titans kickers Ash Taylor (68%) and Jamal Fogarty (60%).“I’m no Jonathan Thurston but I like goalkicking and I’ve worked hard at it,” Herbert said.“I’d love to do it but I have to get in the team first.“I haven’t gone through what the goalkicking process is here but I’ll put my hand up 100 per cent.”



Source link