Under fire Cartwright rolling with the punches
TITANS forward Bryce Cartwright has hit out at his detractors, claiming savage criticism of his form is not warranted and he is determined to succeed at the Gold Coast.
Cartwright has been demoted to 18th man for Saturday’s home game against Newcastle following a slow start to his career at the Titans.
The 23-year-old has been criticised heavily by the likes of Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, Queensland legend Gorden Tallis and former NSW Origin hooker Michael Ennis, who claimed Cartwright was “taking the piss” at the Titans.
Speaking for the first time following Ennis’s stinging assessment, Cartwright said he had grown used to criticism during his 79-game NRL career.
“It’s nothing new to me, I’ve always been criticised,” he said.
“I do my best to block it out. Sometimes it’s hard but I’ve got a great support base. The people here are awesome and look after me. I put my head down and work hard.”
When asked if the criticism was warranted, Cartwright said: “Not at all..
“No one sees how much I work behind the scenes. That’s why it doesn’t bother me.
“I worry about my family’s opinion, my teammates and the Titans club.”
The nature of his defensive efforts, which included missing seven tackles against Canberra, has been a concern and prompted the most criticism.
“Of course, it’s always somewhere where I’ve not been the best at,” Cartwright said when asked if he had to improve his defence. “I’ve got to keep working on it and fix it. I’m pretty comfortable out on the edge in the second row.
“Hopefully, I can keep my spot there and in the near future push for a starting spot.”