Coast giant waking
Should the Titans make the finals, can they actually have an impact?
THE Titans still have a massive job to make the playoffs, needing to win at least five of their last seven games just to be in contention for one of the final spots in the eight.
If they manage to get there though, they will arrive in form and high on confidence and with every chance of knocking out a higher ranked team.
For all but the final 10 minutes of Saturday’s clash against the Sharks, the Titans showed they have the ability to match it with any team in the league.
Yes, James Maloney was out for the defending premiers and they had another four players backing up from Origin. But the Titans had three Origin players of their own and their win was no fluke, coming on the back of a Round 8 victory over the Sharks at Cronulla. There’s a belief that to make an impact in the finals you have to finish in the top four. It’s certainly easier to push towards the grand final from there but it’s not an impossibility from the bottom-half of the draw. If the Titans can get their first-choice team on the field, they can compete with anyone.
After pushing into eighth place last season, the Titans suffered a controversial loss to the Broncos and feel they have unfinished business in the post-season.
With Nathan Peats the latest player to have signed for 2018 and beyond, the Coast’s best chance of a premiership is in the coming years.
But there’s no doubt they will be an outfit rivals fear this season and many would be relieved to see them miss the eight. DEBATE about whether a side is finals material starts now.
Truth be told, and there are ample stats to support this, those on the fringes of the playoffs aren’t playing for premiership glory.
No. Their “title” would come in the form of simply making the finals. Anything above that is a bonus. It’s proven that eighth place is too far behind the pack to be a genuine title chance.
Few, unless propelled by a Hayne Plane (think Eels of 2009), last more than a week or two when the crunch is on.
Thus the Titans, in my mind, can’t have an impact on finals.
Realistically, the Gold Coast’s NRL club can’t aim any higher than sixth at this stage. That’s not sentiment, or a lack thereof. Just look at the ladder. Grand final medals aren’t handed out yet but there’s an obvious gulf between the pace-setting Storm and the rest.
But that’s another issue.
Any coach will tell you about the elusive search for consistency.
Put your hand up if your side has been a steady Eddie this season. Sure, those 2009 Eels and a few others along the way have caught fire. But what exactly did it deliver? Sadly, for all the fanfare about their flying form, nothing. Why? Because they were forced to come from too deep. Would we all love the Titans to go on a charge? Absolutely. The reality, though, is that you simply can’t win the comp from this far back, regardless of whether you have a Hayne up your sleeve or not.