Titans crew eager to ‘prove a point’
THEY are the Salty Six – the Gold Coast Titans’ former Broncos players ready to inflict more misery on Brisbane.
The Titans will field a remarkable six ex-Brisbane players when the bottom-ofthe-table teams take on each other at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
Queensland Origin forwards Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace head the list of former Broncos now wearing Titans jerseys which also includes Ash Taylor, Dale Copley, Keegan Hipgrave and Tanah Boyd.
While Arrow and Wallace were targeted from the Broncos by ex-Titans coach Neil Henry, the other four were all released from contracts to leave Red Hill.
The Titans beat the Broncos when the teams last met at Suncorp Stadium in 2019 and Arrow said the Gold Coast‘s ex-Brisbane brigade wanted to rack up another win against their former club.
“There’s a lot of us that have come through the Broncos system,”' Arrow said.
“When you come up against your old club you want to prove a point and play the best you can.
“We always turn up for the Broncos. We get up for that game. They are not having the best start to the COVID-19 restart and will be fired up at home. They will have a big crowd cheering their team home.”'
This Queensland derby doesn’t have the usual appeal of a Broncos-Titans showdown.
After claiming last year’s wooden spoon, the Titans are sitting last on the NRL ladder with only one win in 2020 while Brisbane has dropped to 14th on the back of four consecutive losses.
A loss to the Titans would be disastrous for the Broncos and under-pressure coach Anthony Seibold.
Wallace has been recalled after sitting out the past two games while Copley makes his return from an ankle injury and Hipgrave has been promoted to the starting side in place of Bryce Cartwright.
Boyd has been one of the Titans’ big improvers this season in his new position as a bench hooker. At only 19, Boyd has plenty of development ahead of him and has relished his move to the Gold Coast, his home town.
Boyd came through the grades as a halfback but coach Justin Holbrook has chucked him into the NRL as a dynamic dummy-half and Boyd is relishing the role.
“Last year was awesome to get those two games,” he said.
“This year I feel heaps better, a lot fitter and more used to the speed.”
Titans performance boss Mal Meninga said Boyd had a big future.
“He is brave and courageous. He is not afraid to put his body on the line,” he said.