Gold Coast Titans duo Kieran Foran and AJ Brimson are predicting their side will rise to the challenge this week when they take on Melbourne Storm in their first home game of the season.
After posting a Round 1 win, the Titans went back to square one last weekend, going down 32-18 to St George Illawarra Dragons, a side many in the pre-season had predicted would finish with the wooden spoon this year.
Last Sunday, the Titans started well, hitting an early 12-2 lead, before a horror 10-minute period just before halftime saw the Dragons take a lead into the break which they did not relinquish.
As well as losing the match, Titans were hit with further bad news on the injury front and face the Storm without key off-season signing Sam Verrills, who played on last week despite suffering a fractured collarbone, and speedster Jojo Fifita, who has been sent for further scans after a knee complaint.
The pair have been added to the club’s growing casualty ward, joining Ireland representative forward Jaimin Jolliffe, who will miss the next three-to-four months with a torn pec suffered in a training accident last Friday.
Heading into this weekend’s match, the stats are against the home side, with the Titans not having defeated Melbourne at Cbus Super Stadium since 2013. The Storm have also won their past eight games against the Titans overall.
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While some fans may be fearing a return to the lack of mental resilience that plagued the side last season there they would ‘lose the unlosable’ and give up big leads, Foran said the team had learnt from their Round 2 loss and were looking forward to the task ahead.
“(The loss to the Dragons was) really disappointing from our end, we want to be far more resilient in those situations,” Foran told media on earlier this week.
“I felt like we've really done the work on that through the pre-season and certainly in Round 1, we showed that we're capable of being resilient.
“In those moments, but we just fell away badly there, which was frustrating.
“(For this week) I think you've got to prepare as well as you can each and every week, but even more so when you're playing a Melbourne team coming off the back of a loss that they've been sprayed for so, we know what we're in for.
“They're going to be right up for it, they always are.
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“But I think this week it's just about us. It's about us looking at how we can get our best style of footy on, how we can make sure that we don't have those lapses in the game and how we can control the game for the full 80, so that's something we'll be focusing on.”
The Kiwi representative also expected halves partner Tanah Boyd, who had a difficult afternoon with the boot against the Dragons and was unable to fully adjust his kicking game to suit the windy conditions, to bounce back.
“Look, he's his harshest critic, he's an extremely hard worker Tanah, and he knows where he went wrong on the weekend,” Foran said.
“He accepts responsibility on that. But we've all got a job to do around him. Yes, he didn't find touch a couple of times, but at the end of the day, far more went wrong during the game than just that, so we've all got to take accountability for that.
“Tanah will be fine. He'll pick himself back up and get ready to go this weekend. I'm sure he’ll put in a great performance.
“He's a really confident young bloke, he backs his ability and that's all it was with those kicks; he probably tried to bite off a little bit more than he could chew.
“There was a bit of a howling wind out there and he didn't get it wrong by much, but he did get it wrong, and he knows that. But at the end of the day, it takes far more to go wrong than two kicks not finding touch.
“There were five or six tries scored; we could have stopped them and we didn't, so Nudger will be fine. He's perked back up again today and he's ready to go.”
For fullback AJ Brimson, who was one of the better performers for the Titans last weekend, setting up a try and making six tackle breaks, this week’s game against the Storm was going to be a welcomed challenge for the side.
“I am actually stoked they are coming off a loss so they have extra motivation to beat us,” Brimson joked when speaking to media on Tuesday.
“But I actually said to Justin after the game I am stoked we are playing Melbourne and not a usually bottom eight team.
“There is only one way to get some credibility back into your side and some confidence into your team and that’s to beat Melbourne … and all of a sudden, you beat Melbourne and we’re back up to being the team we thought we were and want to be, so I am really looking forward to versing Melbourne.
“I know they have a couple of injures similar to us, but any team coming off a loss, especially Melbourne, is going to be tough, but I think it’s a really good challenge that we can set our sights on.”
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Foran also said he was looking forward to playing in front of a home crowd for Multicultural Round, with the Titans announcing today that they would hold a citizenship ceremony for new Australians before the game.
“We have a lot of extra motivation this week; first game back at home,” Foran said.
“We'd love to get a great turn out, put on a really good show in front of all our fans, so that's always an added motivation for us.
“We love playing at home. It's going to be my first time playing there, so hopefully it'll be a great turn out and really good day for footy.”