Storm has respect for Titans’ grit

MELBOURNE Storm prop Christian Welch is wary of what an out-of-sorts Gold Coast side could produce in response to a selection shakeup.

The Storm are hot favourites to win the first match of the NRL double-header at Suncorp Stadium today.

And they may well have the bulk of the Brisbane crowd in their corner, given the presence of Queensland State of Origin trio Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cameron Munster.

The reigning premiers have their own score to settle after last weekend’s loss to St George Illawarra snapped a run of three consecutive wins.

But the Titans stunned Melbourne to win the corresponding fixture in a thriller last year and Welch reckons a team with their backs to the wall like them should never be written off.

“We’re expecting a really tough 80-minute performance from the Titans,” he said yesterday. “They’ve certainly got star players all over the paddock with Ash Taylor and Jarrod Wallace, plenty of those emerging Queensland players who are really solid for them.

“Last week they were down to 14 players and were a really gritty team.

“We’ve seen their performances earlier in the year — the Raiders, round one, they were down by a fair margin and came back to win it.”

Coach Garth Brennan has dropped Bryce Cartwright to the bench and misfiring centre Konrad Hurrell back to the Queensland Cup in an effort to shock his side into form.

They’ll also be without Jai Arrow (rib) after the Queensland Origin hopeful’s injury in the 32-18 defeat to Canberra at the weekend prompted a reshuffle in the forward pack.

Alexander Brimson, 19, will make his NRL debut and becomes Taylor’s third halves partner of the season.