James expects a battle

TITANS captain Ryan James has the chance to press his Origin case today as Blues captain Boyd Cordner fights for his representative future.

James expects to face a desperate Roosters on the Central Coast this afternoon as Cordner responds to criticism of his form just 48 hours before the NSW Origin side is named.

After a slow start to the season following knee surgery, Cordner’s form has been roundly criticised and James expects that to sting the backrower into action against the Gold Coast.

“We know that they’ve got a couple of boys that are pushing for selection spots and a couple being scrutinised in the media, so they’re probably going to come out and try to prove a point, which adds to the occasion,” James said.

“Our boys need to rise to the occasion and put their hand up as well.”

The Titans are expected to welcome former co-captain Kevin Proctor back from a groin injury and with Jai Arrow and Jarrod Wallace fighting for spots in the Maroons’ squad and Nathan Peats and James looking to put their best foot forward in case of injury later in the series, the battle of the packs will be epic.

“I’m just trying to play my best footy for the Titans,” James said.

“We know we’ve got a couple of boys putting their hands up for Queensland jerseys, in Jarrod Wallace and Jai Arrow, so hopefully we can go out and put on a good performance for them.”

Cordner will be named by the Blues on Monday but he would have been stung by criticism from former NSW mentor Phil Gould, in a nasty omen for the Titans.

And with front-rower Dylan Napa’s ears still likely to be burning after Wayne Bennett’s scathing assessment of his hit on Korbin Sims, the Titans need to be on alert against a Roosters pack that will be out to make a statement.

Titans coach Garth Brennan is an unabashed Cordner fan and knows his men face a massive task today.

“I think Boyd’s one of the best backrowers in the game and one of the best backrowers I’ve ever seen,” Brennan said.

“I’ve got a massive opinion of him.

“I’ve known Boyd for a long time and I’m quite happy to say I’m a fan of Boyd Cordner’s.”

But he also believes his men can cause an upset, especially off the back of last week’s morale-boosting win against the Knights.