Myles of running left for season
TITANS captain Nate Myles has emerged from his 10th Origin campaign in the best shape he has for years and is now hoping his Gold Coast teammates will step up alongside him to seal a finals berth.
Myles was back to his best in Queensland’s record-setting 52-6 win over NSW at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night.
The 30-year-old prop will head into the back end of the season with a clean bill of health.
In previous years, Myles has had to carry sternum, groin and shoulder injuries through the money end of the season.
The skipper has done well to battle through the problems but is relishing a relatively pain-free finish to 2015, his last year at the Titans.
“(I’m feeling) a lot better (than previous years),” he said.
“I might not look it but I feel fantastic at the moment.
“It’s a credit to the work that our club does with our players.
“For some reason I’m feeling a lot better.”
Myles will take on his 2016 club, Manly, in Monday night’s Round 18 closer at Cbus Super Stadium.
It will be the first time he comes up against the Sea Eagles since signing with them for three years but there won’t be any time for pleasantries.
The Titans are 13th on the NRL ladder and facing a tough run to September.
“We’ve got to come home with a wet sail, there’s no doubt about it,” Myles said.
“We’ve probably been the most inconsistent team of the competition.
“We need to make sure our consistency is where it needs to be otherwise we just won’t be competing at the right time of the year.
“Injuries don’t help but that’s not an excuse.
‘‘The guys we have on the park can do the job.
“The Roosters game (a 20-10 Round 16 away loss at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford) was there to win.
“We all need to step up, take it a little bit more personal and keep trying to perform for each other.”
Myles’ next Origin match will be his 30th appearance.
He is confident Mal Meninga’s Maroons still have plenty of running left in them after they romped to a ninth series win in 10 years.
“We don’t want to (slow down),’’ he said. ‘‘There’s a lot of new faces. “Some of us have been here for 10-12 years and others are debuting. ‘‘There’s a bit of a mix. “Mal is changing with the way he approaches it and the way the weeks are. “They create good mix. ‘‘There’s still a lot left in us.”