Elgey edges closer
Titans are set to revert to their mid-season formation with Tyrone Roberts returning to fullback, Jarryd Hayne switching to the centres and Elgey promoted from the bench.
Copley is one of three players who will be put through their paces at captain’s run this morning, along with second-rower Kevin Proctor (hamstring) and utility Karl Lawton (shoulder).
Gold Coast coach Neil Henry said his preference would be to reshuffle the backline rather than inject Lawton straight into the centres, where he made his NRL debut last year.
“I don’t think I would risk starting him in the centres, he hasn’t played footy for a while now. I think it would be a tough ask for him,” he said.
Hayne is the club’s bigmoney asset and has made no secret of his desire to play fullback but a late Copley withdrawal would leave the Titans with few options but to move the star out wide.
Their versatility has particularly taken a hit now that it has been confirmed Chris McQueen will miss the rest of the season with a neck injury.
Teenager Phillip Sami, who has one game to his name, is the only other outside back option in their 21man Round 21 squad.
Having been sidelined with a sternum injury and given no guarantee of walking back into his No.6 jersey, Elgey last started an NRL match on June 10.
Henry meanwhile questioned the seven-figure price tags being thrown about in the current player market following revelations that young halfback Ashley Taylor could become the NRL’s next million-dollar man.
The veteran coach referred to how superstars such as Johnathan Thurston had earnt mega-pay cheques on the back of years of countless breathtaking performances.
“They weren’t on that (sort of money) for the first five, six, seven years of their contracts until they had proven they were week in, week out matchwinners, they were genuine gamebreakers, they made a difference in leadership and commitment,” Henry said.