SHOW AND AGGRO

Titan Cartwright left out in the cold after backflip saga

TWEED Heads have been left scratching their heads after a bizarre QRL backflip cost Gold Coast forward Bryce Cartwright the chance to push for more NRL game time.

After playing just eight minutes in the Titans’ entertaining 42-34 win over Manly on Friday night, Cartwright had been given the green light to take the field the following day for feeder club the Seagulls in the Intrust Super Cup.

That is, until their opponents Ipswich complained and had their protest upheld, leaving the Seagulls less than impressed.

With Cartwright and Titans fringe player Brendan Elliot flying back in from Sydney on Saturday morning after the Tweed bus had already departed, the duo were making their own way out to the Jets’ field when the news came through.

Cartwright consequently turned around and headed home while Elliot continued on to line up in what would become a 52-16 loss.

“We had been told previously that if they play less than 15 minutes and we get approval from the QRL, they can still back up the next day,” said Tweed coach Ben Woolf, who had raised the matter two months earlier.

“The QRL approved that in the morning for us but then Ipswich complained so they reneged on it.

“They (Ipswich) reckoned it was in the rules that you can’t do it … I don’t know where they got their rules from because we went through the operations manual and there is nothing in it.

“It was just a bit of a stuff around to be honest.”

QRL major competitions manager Dave Maiden confirmed Woolf’s version of events but said the final ruling was correct under current protocols.

“Ipswich made a protest on it and quite rightly in sight of our rules,” Maiden said.

The Cartwright saga happened on the same weekend that Canterbury’s Rhyse Martin played a mere four seconds in order to qualify for their reserve grade finals campaign before backing up at NRL level hours later.

TITANS captain Ryan James said his team needed the paintpeeling berating they received from coach Garth Brennan after an insipid first-half effort against Manly on Friday night.

Former policeman Brennan is not afraid to call a spade a spade but has been generally encouraging of his young Ti- tans as they struggle to find the consistency that can propel them into the top eight next season.

But the affable Brennan reached his breaking point on Friday night after the Titans’ woeful showing in the opening 40 minutes, with James saying the dressing down was just what the team needed.

“It was colourful to say the least,” James said of Brennan’s halftime address that helped turn around his team’s attitude and spur their 42-34 win against Manly. “We needed it.”

After their capitulation to the Panthers a week earlier, the Titans were determined to start strongly and while they scored first against Manly, the next half-hour was woeful.

Brennan might be a patient nurturer of talent but he was ropeable after the opening half.

“The first half wasn’t acceptable defensively, there’s no doubt about that,” Brennan said. “And it was disappointing.”

Repeated sprays are becoming a relic of the coaching past but a well-timed bollocking – especially from a coach that is usually restrained – can be particularly effective and Brennan’s disappointment in his side was palpable.

“It needed a response and I believe in the guys and they weren’t dishing up what I knew they were capable of doing,” he said. “Our attack was never a concern for me, it was just our attitude in defence and our attitude just wasn’t there.”

The Titans finish with clashes against Melbourne and North Queensland, who will both be farewelling legends of the game.