TITANS RAIN TRIES ON PREMIERS
Ash finds a new level after chat
KONRAD Hurrell, left, and Kevin Proctor, right, celebrate with Pat Politoni after the Titans’ 30-10 victory over the Sharks in torrential rain at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night. The Titans ran in five tries against the reigning premiers to keep the Gold Coast’s final hopes alive.
ASHLEY Taylor says he has reaped the rewards of a meeting with Queensland Origin mastermind Cooper Cronk, realising he needs to have confidence in himself if he is to be able to lead the Titans to the finals.
Taylor played arguably the best game of his young career in the Titans’ 30-10 win against defending premiers Cronulla in torrential rain on Saturday night, scoring two tries and coming up with two try assists in an upset win that keeps the Coast’s finals hopes alive.
Taylor admitted he had lost confidence at times this season as he analysed his every move in a bid to improve his game.
But the opportunity to sit down with Cronk in Origin camp recently – a move initiated by Queensland coach Kevin Walters as he works to bridge the gap between his ageing superstars and the next generation of Maroons – helped him understand he has to maintain his self-belief.
“I had a good sit down with Cooper and we had a good chat about his preparation towards the game and the Origin match and we just had a general chat, which was awesome,” Taylor said.
“I’ve never gotten to do that before. And I had a little chat to JT … just on the footy field after training.”
Taylor acted like a sponge when he roomed with Thurston ahead of the Indigenous All Stars match earlier this year and he learnt quickly from Cronk, applying his advice to back himself when the Titans took on the Sharks.
“I think it was just to have confidence in what you do,” Taylor said when asked what he had learned from the meeting with Cronk.
“That’s something that all those players at that elite level, the Origin level, have. They’re all confident in what they do.
“I just need to go into more games a lot more confident than what I have been. And that’s what I did (on Saturday night).”
His own harshest critic, Taylor admitted he had lost that ability at times this season as he attempts to improve on a debut season that earnt rookie of the year honours.
“The bye did me good. I moved to my new house and (went into) Origin camp, everything was happening,” he said. “I just had to sit back and just relax today, coming into the game because everything was happening at once.
“Everything has soaked in now and I’m feeling confident in everything I do, so I’m just going to keep taking that into the back end of the season.”
Taylor has a league-leading 23 try assists this season and while most of them have come from the boot, his ability to take the ball to the line was the difference against the Sharks, providing two tries for himself and one for Kevin Proctor from a beautiful short pass.
Titans coach Neil Henry said that was the difference for Taylor on Saturday.
“I think the key there was he’s a good runner of the ball and he took the line on and he’s got good speed and he’s strong,” Henry said.
“It was good to see him show maturity and kick the ball out when he had to, walk to the scrum and wind down the clock a little bit, so that game-play was good.
“He was solid defensively, he’s working on that part of his game as well.
“Certainly it’s a really positive sign for him. He’s maturing all the time and certainly a key part of our team.”