Campbell ‘back to himself’ for Tweed
JAYDEN Campbell is back, and ready to answer a Gold Coast Titans SOS.
As the attack of the NRL outfit struggled to make a dent in their rivals defence, Campbell shone in the Queensland Cup in a performance that showed no ill effects of the concerns which hindered the fullback’s campaign.
Fresh off his return from a rib cartilage injury, the 22year-old turned in an emphatic display for Tweed Seagulls in their gutsy 38-34 defeat to Wynnum-Manly.
Campbell’s 80 minutes on Saturday yielded a try, 219 running metres, two linebreaks and 11 tackle busts in just his second game since being sidelined in the Glitter Strip’s round three clash with Canberra.
His combination with fellow Titans contracted youngster Paul Turner also sparked plenty in attack, with the pair linking up frequently on the right edge to put winger Scott Galeano over for a double.
Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has said he would not call Campbell back into the NRL unit until his confidence and game fitness had spiked. Despite being available for the club’s clash with Penrith, AJ Brimson shifted to the back.
However with the team now in a fight to salvage their season, Tweed coach Ben Woolf believed the young custodian was playing with the same freedom that won him the club’s No.1 jersey in the first place.
And he backed Campbell to have the tools to make an impact should he earn an NRL call up.
“He was back to himself, last week he was probably a little bit off and not in the game as much,” Woolf said.
“We got a little bit more time with Paul and JC on that right edge (and) they could build a combination
“He was back to his normal self. From my perspective he was back in good form and similar to what he was last year when he got his call up.
“I don’t think it will hurt him building his confidence at the moment, whether that takes weeks or a month that’s up to the Titans, but he’s very talented and playing good footy.” While the Titans shocked the Penrith Panthers with a 4-0 halftime lead on Friday night, their attacking linchpins in Brimson, Toby Sexton, Will Smith and Erin Clark were unable to orchestrate any further scoreboard pressure.
Now that they have slipped to a 2-6 start the season, Campbell’s comeback could be accelerated before their campaign ends without a shot being fired.
However Holbrook was quick to defend his playmaking quartet after his side’s eventual 18-4 defeat.
Given Brimson failed to take the field in round 1, and Campbell was injured in round 3, the coach said his ideal maestros had been unable to find any consistency together. Nevertheless, he said whoever assumed those jerseys needed to step up before their season slipped away.
“I think the hard thing is what we trained pre-season – AJ gets ruled out going into round one, JC (Jayden Campbell) gets an injury halfway through game three. Our seven, six and one after eight games have played one and a half games together,” Holbrook said.
“I think that’s obviously the area we have to get right because our middles are trying so hard, our outside backs were brilliant again.
“It’s those key positions, we need them to be playing better collectively and we have to because we’re in a bad spot.”