Mateship promise drives derby quest
GOLD Coast Titans centre Brenko Lee believes his side’s consecutive wins at traditionally testing venues is reflective of a pledge they made to “have each other’s back”.
The Titans on Sunday have the chance to shut out the Broncos across both of their annual regular season clashes for the first time in their history.
They will enter the contest at Cbus Super Stadium riding the confidence of victories at Belmore Sports Ground and Leichhardt Oval.
“We have had a massive talk about having our mate’s back and I think it has shown in the last two games that we all have each other’s back,” Lee said.
Lee’s form has improved in recent weeks but he admitted to making some defensive errors against the Tigers that will need fixing before he likely marks up on Kiwi international Jordan Kahu.
“I’ll put my hand up with some of them … I was just kind of going (in) when I didn’t really need to,” he said.
“That’s what video is for and that is what we need to work on and I put my hand up straight away because I need to work hard on it. At the end of the day it is professional rugby league and we need to be better.
“Even though we were good, we need to be better.”
Coach Garth Brennan is confident AJ Brimson will not be daunted by a derby clash as the rookie five-eighth braces for a backline duel with Brisbane’s $1 million man Anthony Milford.
Brimson has been one of the finds of the NRL season, with the Titans teenager having been named in the Queensland under-20s side to face NSW at Suncorp Stadium next Wednesday night.
Brimson scored a try in the Titans’ 30-12 thumping of Wests Tigers last Sunday and Brennan believes the speedy pivot has developed the confidence to relish a showdown with Brisbane halves Milford and Kodi Nikorima.
“AJ put up some good kicks last week – he is feeling more comfortable to take on a role in our team,” Brennan said.
“That is great for Ash (Taylor, Titans scrumbase partner) ... it takes the pressure off him as well.
“Wayne Bennett (Broncos mentor) is a great coach and he will have them ready to go, but we have to worry about ourselves more than Brisbane. If we train well and put in the extra effort, we’ll get what we deserve.”
Currently eighth, the Broncos are three wins ahead of the 11th-placed Titans, who must overcome the loss of Origin forward duo Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace to keep their season alive.
Brennan concedes a Broncos victory would almost certainly consign the Titans to another failed season.
“Mathematically, we can still make the finals,” he said. “But if Brisbane win, it will certainly make it hard for us.
“We can only look at it week to week. We can’t be looking too far ahead. We have to work hard to keep getting better.
“We are back home and I hope the crowd gets behind us against a powerhouse like the Broncos. We need their support.”