BOYLE: HENRY GAVE ME CONFIDENCE TO CRACK THE NRL
BULLOCKING forward Morgan Boyle has paid tribute to coach Neil Henry for helping instil the belief he could become a regular NRL player.
As rumours swirl about whether Henry has lost the backing of the player group, Boyle revealed the coach had played a pivotal role in helping him make the transition from handy under-20 player to NRL regular as the Titans announced they had re-signed the rising star until the end of the 2020 season.
Boyle had attracted interest from several NRL clubs but chose to stay on the Gold Coast where he can learn from a pack that has already locked in Ryan James, Kevin Proctor, Jarrod Wallace and Nathan Peats to long-term deals.
“I’ve been here just under two years and I like the Gold Coast and the people that I’m surrounded by, so in the end it wasn’t a hard decision,” he said.
“I always had my eyes set on the Gold Coast.
“They gave me my opportunity and I just want to
repay them for that.
“I’ve been talking to Neil (Henry) and talking to Hodgo (assistant coach Craig Hodges) and all the boys.
“I like what we’re doing here for the future and we’ve got Kevvie (Proctor) and Konrad (Hurrell) and (Ryan James locked into long-term contracts), so I want to be a part of that.”
Boyle, the son of former Canberra Raiders player David, moved from the Raiders program ahead of the 2016 season to link with the Titans and made his NRL debut – ironically against Canberra – in Round 6 this year as the club battled an injury curse.
While he is on a secondtier contract for 2017, he has played now 12 games due to injuries to members of the top 25 squad.
And he said it was Henry that helped give him the confidence to make the transition to the top squad.
“He just gave me confidence,” Boyle said.
“He came up to me at the start of the year and he said: ‘I’ve got confidence in you playing first grade this year’, and that’s pretty much all I needed from him.
“He’s the first grade coach and he just gave me that little bit of insight. He gave me that first taste against Canberra and I’ve just been soaking it up since then.
“It’s still pretty surreal. “I didn’t expect to be getting so much game time but it was there in front of me, so I took it.”