STATE OF PLAY
With Origin getting closer, what are the Titans’ selection prospects?
TITANS enforcer Shannon Boyd has all but ruled himself out of the running for NSW selection next month, with the former Test prop admitting his form is “not worthy of Origin”.
Three years on from the last of his five Test appearances, Boyd is still fighting for a maiden Blues jumper in a Gold Coast side struggling near the foot of the NRL ladder.
The 26-year-old has been solid but far from spectacular since arriving in the off-season as a big-money recruit from Canberra, averaging 92m, 21 tackles and 37 minutes in his seven appearances to date.
He was again serviceable in Friday night’s 28-14 loss to the Cowboys, with a season-high 34 tackles limiting his running metres to just 77.
But having missed NSW’s series win last year, he knows it will take more to earn a place in the Origin opener in Melbourne on June 6.
“There’s a lot of good forwards out there playing great and we’ve got to win some games and do that first before I can even try and get looked at (for NSW). My form, it’s definitely not worthy of Origin,” Boyd told the Bulletin.
“I’ve been a bit up and down. Last week I thought I played alright, I got through a fair bit of work but I just need to work on those quick play the balls and those bigger, more aggressive runs.
“It’s just hard when you’re giving away so many penalties and doing so much defence. For our four starting middles (against the Cowboys), Jai Arrow did 44 tackles, Jarrod Wallace did 36, I done 34 and Mitch Rein did 50.
“So you look at that and it takes a lot away from your attack and those good things that you can do. I’m not making excuses or anything, we still need to be better and give our halves and edges a bit better platform.”
Now preparing for Thursday night’s Magic Round encounter with Cronulla at Suncorp Stadium, Boyd said discipline was a key focus for the Titans but stressed they were “not too far away”.
“We showed what we can do against Penrith and the Knights but we still have those lapses at times,” he said.
“That’s where good teams are going to put us away and that’s why we’re not going to win games, so if we can put together 80 minutes of good footy I think it’s going to go a long way towards beating a lot of teams.” LOST TITANS: Thursday