Coach hopes to surge on big wave of emotion

TITANS coach Neil Henry is wanting his players to ride the home crowd’s wave of emotion into a first NRL finals series in six years.

Gold Coast officials expect a crowd of almost 20,000 at Cbus Super Stadium for today’s crucial clash against the in-form Penrith Panthers, where a Titans’ victory will deliver them to the finals for the first time since 2010.

While some coaches would insulate players from the emotion surrounding the game, Henry wants his players to feed off the energy.

“I think we need to ride on the back of a fair bit of emotion the crowd can generate and willing us to make it to the finals,” he said.

“We know we’ll be up for a tough fight against a side that’s got some real momentum and has scored plenty of points lately. I think we need to feed off the environment.”

Penrith have won five of their past six games to be sitting in seventh position on the ladder.

“We had to win last week and that was a bit of a danger game against a side with nothing to lose – and the week before we got up by a point,” Henry said.

“If we’d lost a game or two (over the last month) we wouldn’t even be a chance of making the finals, it’s that tight, so that’s been there in the background but we’ve just focused on each game.

“In the outside backs they’re dangerous.

“(Matt) Moylan’s a handful, their forwards are playing well, (Bryce) Cartwright the world’s biggest five-eighth … (Trent) Merrin, I think, is in the best form of his career and (Nathan) Cleary’s been sensational.