Copley knows he’ll have hands full
DALE Copley will have no time to waste in getting back up to speed with a showdown this weekend against the man he considers the best centre in the game.
After missing the past three rounds with a hamstring injury, Copley’s comeback pits him against Melbourne premiership winner Will Chambers, a veteran of seven Tests and seven Origins.
Copley feels there is no greater challenge in the game for a centre.
“You always like testing yourself against the best and I think Will is probably the best centre in the game and probably has been for a while so it doesn’t get much harder,” he told the Bulletin.
“He just does everything really, really, really well.
“He is a brilliant defender, he plays really physical and gets through a tonne of work.
“It’s hard to pick a fault in his game to be honest. He’s one I really like to watch.”
Adding to the challenge is that Copley’s fresh-faced edge, including 20-year-old winger Phillip Sami and 19-year-old debutant half AJ Brimson, will be taking on a threatening Melbourne right side.
“(Felise) Kaufusi will go pretty close to playing Origin this year and (Suliasi) Vunivalu is one of the elite wingers in the comp too so it’s a real challenge for us guys on the left edge,” Copley said.
The former Bronco and Rooster backed Brimson to shine under pressure though, having caught the eye of senior players all pre-season.
“The moment he came into the squad at the start of November, for everyone in our building it was more of a case of what position he would play as opposed to if he was going to debut here,” he said.
Chasing their first win in more than a month, the Titans are taking confidence from their recent Suncorp Stadium successes: 38-36 against Melbourne last year and 26-14 against Brisbane on Easter Sunday.
“It’s not a real daunting place I suppose to go to, we have had a bit of success there,” Copley said.
The 5.30pm Saturday match will precede a Manly v Brisbane game as part of the Brisbane double-header.