SINK OR SWIM
Proctor on carrying the weight of expectation
THE Gold Coast Titans today begin the journey to what they hope will be the club’s first finals berth in five years. Co-captain Kevin Proctor says the pressure to perform will lift the team. “It’s a sink-or-swim mentality for us,’’ Proctor, pictured with co-captain Jamal Fogarty, told the Bulletin.
KEVIN Proctor believes the weight of expectation surrounding the Titans this season can only lift the team to perform to the standard, as the club takes aim at a first finals berth in five years.
“It’s a sink-or-swim mentality for us,” the Gold Coast skipper said.
“I think the expectation is a good thing. If the boys are feeling that kind of pressure to play well, they’re going to do everything right to live up to those expectations.
“For some people it can affect them differently … but everyone here is thinking about it as a positive thing.
“We’ve had so much negative stuff here in the past two or three years, it’s nice to have some (optimism) around the club now.”
The Titans enter Saturday’s clash with the Warriors at Gosford as favourites to win their first NRL season opener since 2018.
It took until Round 4 for Gold Coast to get its first win in 2020 and Proctor hopes for a faster start this time around – though he won’t be overreacting if it isn’t.
“The start to our season is really important, especially after the way we finished last year,” he said.
“Hopefully the boys can take some confidence from that into Round 1. But if it doesn’t go our way in the first couple of rounds that isn’t a bad thing either, as long as we’re hitting our straps at the right time.”
The Titans began their stirring run of five straight wins a touch too late last season, narrowly missing out on finals in the shortened 20-week fixture.
But that run has fuelled the off-season optimism at Parkwood and with a host of fresh faces at the club, the excitement continues to build.
“It’s all excitement at the moment but it’s really nothing until we do something – we haven’t done anything yet so it’s not special yet,” he said.
What is special to Proctor is retaining the captaincy, alongside incoming co-captain and fellow Palm Beach Currumbin High alumni Jamal Fogarty.
For two Gold Coast products to share the reins as Titans captains, and lead the club back into finals contention for the first time since 2016, would be a proud moment for the 250-game NRL veteran.
“(The club has) gone out on a limb for me and if I was able to do that (return the Titans to the finals) it would mean the world to me,” Proctor said.