Stone’s stepping up to the challenge
TITANS backrower Sam Stone was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Out of the NRL side, he had to fight his way back into the team but had no games of football in which to do it.
With the Intrust Super Cup cancelled due to COVID-19, it was time on the training track and scrimmage games against other NRL squads where he had to prove he was ready to go.
“I was just biding my time, there isn’t really reserve grade at the moment,” Stone said.
The 22-year-old would have been playing for his dad, Rick, at the Burleigh Bears in normal circumstances but says he still turned to the former NRL coach for advice.
“He just said keep training hard and put your best foot forward and the coaches will notice.
“We only got two in (scrimmages) but they really helped rather than just running up and down the field, you get the footy in your hand and simulate what it is like to go out there and play again.”
Stone has impressed since his return to the NRL squad and says his goal is to now lock down a spot for the rest of the season. “It’s hard to get into the NRL and it is even harder to stay there,” he said.
Off the back of a win against the New Zealand Warriors at Cbus Super Stadium, Stone says the team is confident as they head north this week to take on the Melbourne Storm on the Sunshine Coast.
“I think the boys have confidence that we can win games. It won’t be easy, Melbourne are always good, so we’re going to have to hold our gloves up and do our best.”