Rivals admit shock over a call to snub Austin
RICKY Stuart’s shock ploy to bench Canberra star Blake Austin even took his Gold Coast counterpart Garth Brennan by surprise.
Austin has been a central figure at the Raiders for years now but was overlooked for a starting halves spot, with Aidan Sezer and Sam Williams instead given first crack.
Austin will wear the No.14 at Cbus Super Stadium tomorrow night.
Stuart has opted to include three halves in his side plus hooker Siliva Havili as they try to cover for injured English rake Josh Hodgson.
“Yeah it probably did (surprise me) a bit,” Brennan said, two days before his first NRL game in charge of the Titans.
“Blake is a class player. I had a bit to do with Blake at Penrith when I first went there and he is a quality player, and himself and Sezer have had a strong combination over the last few years.”
He is wary of Williams though, who has returned from the English Super League after six seasons as an NRL fringe playmaker.
“Sam Williams has been there I think three times so he knows the club, he knows the players. He controls the game very well,” Brennan said.
“I think they have got a really good mix there with what they are doing.
“Obviously there’s some possibility that one of their halves may end up going to nine but I’m not too concerned about Canberra, it’s more about us and that’s what we’ve focused on all week.
“They are a threat, there’s no doubt about that and we are well aware of that, but we need to get our own backyard in order … if we can do that, we can be a threat to anyone else and they can worry about us.”
The match starts at 5.30pm.