HURRELL’S HEART INSPIRING THE COAST’S DRIVE FOR NRL FINALS
GOLD Coast must channel the wholehearted effort cult hero Konrad Hurrell has displayed in recent weeks if they are to keep their dream of consecutive finals series alive.
Hurrell was again inspirational in the Titans’ 26-14 win over Wests Tigers on Friday night, scoring two tries, busting five tackles and running a game-high 166m with countless fearsome carries to get his side out of trouble.
But his contributions run deeper than numbers alone and though he earnt a deserved post-match wrap from coach Neil Henry, the Tongan centre told the Bulletin he was not satisfied with his form just yet.
“I would never stop trying for the boys but I guess there are just little things I need to work on – just the play the balls and my defensive reads,” he said.
“I didn’t have any mistakes on Friday … I still need to improve on it for next week.”
It was a mistake in the play the ball that had sparked a passionate outburst from the 25-year-old against South Sydney the previous round.
“I just felt like someone hit the ball off me and they called it a knock-on so that was when I was firing up because I knew I had made a couple of mistakes in the last couple of games and I was trying to be error-free,” he said.
“I just don’t like letting the boys down. It is somewhere in my game where I need to work on, just staying calm when something like that happens.”
That passion though was a refreshing sight for Titans fans and could well be the sort of attribute the club rides on through the back half of the season.
Former NRL coach Matt Elliott this month called into question Gold Coast’s team effort – telling foxsports.com.au, “I haven’t had the feel that they’re trying their backsides off”.
But Hurrell denied that had been a problem this year. Instead, he identified a different area that had caused issues during their four-match losing streak.
“It is just a little bit sticking to the game plan and sticking to our defence processes … on Friday we stuck to it when the Tigers hit back,” he said.
“Even when it is going tough, we have got to manage to stick to the game plan.”
A big positive to come out of the win at Campbelltown Stadium was the threat posed by Gold Coast’s right edge of Kevin Proctor, Ash Taylor, Hurrell and Anthony Don. The Titans next play St George Illawarra on Friday night at Cbus Super Stadium.