Winner turns to grinner

KANE Elgey is gradually putting a smile back on his face and he’s hoping to do the same with Titans fans in the coming months.

It’s been a rough period for Elgey since injuring his knee in the first training session of 2016 but the light at the end of the tunnel is appearing.

The five-eighth has started this season in far better fashion and particularly impressed in the side’s back-to-back wins over Brisbane and Manly.

Elgey, 24, has long spoken of trying to rediscover his enjoyment of footy and said ahead of Gold Coast’s Round 6 match in Penrith tomorrow that his smile was beginning to return.

“Yeah it’s in progress. I have got a smirk,” he laughed.

Teammate Jarrod Wallace said Elgey’s confidence had last year been unnecessarily battered by his good nature.

“He just looks at everything and takes a lot to heart so when we weren’t performing well he carried a lot of that on his shoulders and he didn’t need to do that,” Wallace said.

“That just shows what such a good bloke he is and how much the club means to him.

“He is a big reason why we are winning.”

Coach Garth Brennan has publicly called for off-contract players, including Elgey, to show how much being a Titan means to them if they want to earn a new deal.

Elgey, who has repeatedly been backed by Brennan, again said enjoyment was the first step before contracts entered his mind but admitted his return to form was a “relief”.

“It’s just the rollercoaster as a rugby league player,” he said.

“All you want to do is please the fans and I’m trying to do that and the last two weeks is a good start so I have got to keep going in the right direction.

“It’s a relief but you can’t get ahead of yourself because a lot can change in one week.

“I just want to be that consistent player, that’s the plan for me.”

Meanwhile, prop Morgan Boyle admits he is struggling to hang out the washing, such is the extent of his shoulder injury. Boyle knows he will ultimately need surgery.