Titans have score to settle with Broncos
KEVIN Proctor says the Titans will be fighting for redemption as well as a finals lifeline when they face the Broncos in an attempt to erase the embarrassment of last year’s humiliating loss.
The Broncos walloped the Titans 54-0 at Cbus Super Stadium last year, the disastrous result starting a chain of events that led to the axing of coach Neil Henry against the wishes of senior players including Proctor.
And while the Titans upset ‘big brother’ at Suncorp Stadium in Round 4 – their first win in eight meetings – Proctor said there was still unfinished business at home.
“It’s a little bit personal because they came down here and flogged us last year,” Proctor said. “It’s still stinging on some of the boys and it’s a bit of redemption.
“It’s always a bit of a heated clash when the big brother – so they say – comes down to play the little brother.”
It’s a critical match for the Titans, who sit six points outside the eight and need a win against the eighth-placed Broncos if they are to have any chance of making finals.
“If they win, they go to eight points (up) and it’s slipping away from you there.”
Proctor has faced a frustrating time since joining the Titans last year from the Melbourne Storm where he’d had only success as a player.
Injuries, a club and country suspension after taking cocaine following a New Zealand Test last year and the Titans poor form have tested Proctor but he is fighting back. He was on the cusp of a recall for the Kiwis before injuring his groin last month and is determined to regain the form that had him one of the most feared edge forwards in the competition.
“(Playing for the Kiwis again) would have been sweet but I don’t blame them because I’d only played one game in four weeks or whatever, I’d keep going off at halftime and I wasn’t playing consistent footy,” he said.
“But they’ve got that (three-Test series against England) at the end of the year and hopefully I keep fit and stay on the field.
“(New Zealand coach Michael Maguire) gave me a call a couple of times and just said, keep playing the way you’re playing at the moment, keep pushing for the end of the year.”