Pining for some form
Benched star Cartwright faces same fate as Taylor: Tallis
BRYCE Cartwright’s turbulent time at the Titans has continued and Gold Coast ambassador Gorden Tallis fears he could become the NRL’s next Dave Taylor.
Rookie playmaker Alexander “AJ” Brimson will be thrust into an NRL baptism of fire in Saturday’s doubleheader against Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium after coach Garth Brennan axed Cartwright to the bench for the second time this season.
Brimson will wear the Gold Coast No.6 jersey alongside halfback Ash Taylor in his first-grade debut, where he will face Queensland Origin five-eighth Cameron Munster.
After being lambasted by former NSW Origin hooker and Fox League analyst Michael Ennis for “taking the piss” with his limp defensive efforts, Cartwright has again found himself on the Gold Coast’s bench.
He was first sent to the pine in Round 4 and played just one minute in the Gold Coast’s upset victory against Brisbane.
Cartwright missed seven tackles in the Gold Coast’s loss to Canberra, the club’s fourth straight defeat, on Saturday and has rarely run the ball with any vigour this season.
The NRL career of the supremely talented Dave Taylor whittled away at the Titans and former Queensland hardman Tallis said Cartwright had to get his hands dirty.
“I hope he is not another Dave Taylor,” Tallis said. “Dave Taylor could have been the greatest forward ever to run on a rugby league field. That’s a huge statement.
“He was unbelievably talented but when something becomes so easy and you don’t have to work at it, you tend to go away. I hope he doesn’t become one of those players. Sometimes I think he can get his game mixed up and doesn’t do the tough team things you need to do.
“He plays in a dinner suit, not a boiler suit. He’s got to get a little bit dirtier.
“I’m pretty sure Garth Brennan will be having him work really hard. He’s known him for a long time. If anyone is going to get the best out of him it should be Garth.”
Cartwright, 23, has not fired a shot on the Gold Coast since arriving from Penrith on the eve of the season as Brennan’s high-profile recruit.
Cartwright’s defence has been as bad as Kane Elgey’s, prompting Brennan to blood the 19-year-old Brimson, who has been starring at fullback for Tweed Heads in the Intrust Super Cup.