Titans must match the brute force of Kiwi side

TITANS coach Garth Brennan has challenged his forward pack to go to another level against the Warriors on Saturday after last week’s horror start against Canberra.

While the Gold Coast walked away victorious on Sunday, Brennan labelled the opening 12 minutes, during which his side leaked 18 points, as “unacceptable”.

He says they cannot allow the same to happen again this weekend, with the Warriors pack posing a similar threat.

Brennan – who named the same 17 from last week – said he would be looking to his middle men to aim up and avoid a repeat of Round 1.

“That start was unacceptable defensively,” he said.

“I think the boys panicked a little bit, if anything. They went out there and just thought it would happen for them.

“They forgot the processes we’ve been working on all preseason.

“The Warriors have always been renowned for that power game ... they are a very similar sort of side (to the Raiders) in the way they play. They rely on their physicality.

“We need to be better up the middle. We need to hold up our gloves a lot better. I’m confident we can do that.’’

The Warriors claimed a stunning 32-20 first round win over the Rabbitohs in Perth last week but have had their preparations for Saturday thrown into disarray due to a stomach bug.

New Zealand coach Steve Kearney yesterday named an unchanged line-up but several players, including playmaker Blake Green and centre Solomone Kata, have got a virus.