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Round 16: KNIGHTS vs TITANS (2022)

Jarrod Wallace sent-off, David Klemmer sin-binned as Knights win 38-12 over Titans
https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/
Travis Meyn

Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook is under mounting pressure after the Titans sunk to a new low in an embarrassing 38-12 loss to Newcastle on Friday night.

If Holbrook wasn’t already fighting for his job, he must be now after a club record five tries from Knights winger Edrick Lee and a Jarrod Wallace send-off helped Newcastle snap a five-game losing streak at home.

The Titans have now lost 11 of their past 12 games and are anchored to last spot on the NRL ladder – a fry cry from last year’s drought-breaking finals appearance.

After an encouraging 18-10 loss to Cronulla a fortnight ago, the Titans somehow regressed terribly over the representative bye weekend and the blowtorch is firmly on Holbrook amid a catastrophic slide.

The 26-point margin flattered the Titans, who were totally outclassed by a Newcastle team that is far from premiership contention and hadn’t won at home since round 2.

“It was awful,” Holbrook said.

“We didn’t know what we were doing out there (defence). We’ve got a lot to fix up.

“I am (lost for answers) tonight. In the last game we competed hard against the Sharks, then tonight we’re a million miles off. We have to look at the team and who’s running out there.

“There’s been a lot of things (go wrong). We’ve got guys in positions not doing their job well enough for the NRL.

“We’re so disappointed. We’ve got to make a few changes now and get back into it.”

This was the worst the Titans have played this season as they made 2022 Anthony Milford look like 2015 Anthony Milford in a first half masterclass from the Knights five-eighth.

The Knights became the first team in premiership history to lose five straight games at home by 24 points or more and only scored a total of four tries in 400 minutes.

Against the Titans they bagged five in the first half alone to lead 22-0 at the break, with Tex Hoy’s poor goalkicking (two from six) keeping Gold Coast in the game.

Wingers Lee and Dominic Young scored a hat-trick and double respectively in the opening 40 minutes as the Gold Coast’s limp defence was repeatedly exposed.

When the full-time siren sounded, Lee had a stunning five tries next to his name and Young bagged three.

“Edrick is very popular among the playing group, he always has a smile on his face,” Knights coach Adam O’Brien said.

“I’m really pleased for him. He’s battled with big injuries and a long absence from the game.

“I was really happy with our start. We built the game nicely in the first half. We applied some early pressure and got in the game cycle.

“I’m really pleased for the players. It’s a happy dressing room.”

The Titans sacked performance chief Klint Hoare last week but efforts like this have nothing to do with fitness. It was pure rubbish from the opening whistle.

In typical Titans fashion, Gold Coast mounted a late comeback before Wallace was sent off with 10 to go following a dangerous tackle which prompted a punch in the face from Knights prop David Klemmer.

TIME TO PREPARE FOR 2023

Holbrook keeps saying he hasn’t given up on making the finals this year. Well, now it’s time to accept reality.

If the Titans are going to continue backing their coach they must at least demand he begins preparing for the future because 2022 is officially a write-off.

Holbrook can start by axing Dolphins-bound players Wallace and Jamayne Isaako, who don’t need to audition for contracts.

Wallace has been one of the Titans’ better players this year but Holbrook can invest in the future while Isaako looked like he has never played the game before with his shocking defensive reads that allowed Lee to dominate.

Centre Brian Kelly should have been dropped weeks ago and backrower Sam McIntyre offers little starting ahead of David Fifita, who was impressive with 108m in his return from a knee injury.
 
Ah…my Telly $h1t itself when the score was 18-0. So didn’t get to feel any extra pain.

Side note…. I have a 75inch LG Smart TV. 26 months old. Only has 12 months warranty. Cost me $1.5 grand. Anyone reckin’ I have a chance with Aust Consumer Law?
 
Well anybody want to argue with that assessment? Wallace, Isaako, Kelly, McIntyre (who came with potential and has had it coached out of him) then add the snail Sexton, clueless Clarke, Turner, Liu, Ese and Lisone. Proctor’s retirement had already begun circa 2019.

And here’s the thing, basically the same mob nearly won a semi last year and that tells me that a lot of them are taking the p!ss.
 
I never want to see Wallace in a Titans jersey ever again. The MRC will probably be responsible for four weeks of that.
He can take "Tontine" Liu with him.
 
Liu is the least of our problems.

Something stinks at the club. The players’ actions and body language are atrocious and remind me of the end of Garth’s tenure. Proctor out bowling instead of supporting his team, Wallace carrying on like a ******** every week and smirking like he doesn’t give a **** when he gives away frequent penalties, Herbert’s constant dummy spits, Toby hanging his head like Ash in 2018-19.

Wasn’t there a rumour earlier in the year that a formerly popular coach had lost his dressing room due to flouting his own rules? I wonder if it was JH.
 
Titanic said:
Lime jelly wrestling in the Nations Capital on our dime.

Forgot I predicted after last game that we wouldn’t win another game, well that’s a tick. And without Ponga we wouldn’t get done by 30 and that’s another.
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Sorry to big note mate but I predicted after game 3 we wouldn't win another game (close enough).

A big mistake most people are making is that we play good in patches but from what I can see that is mostly the opposition going to sleep.

Spoon certainties unless we boot Hurricane & Co this week.
We have taken on so much water I'm not sure salvage is ever possible?
 
shamus said:
Ah…my Telly $h1t itself when the score was 18-0. So didn’t get to feel any extra pain.

Side note…. I have a 75inch LG Smart TV. 26 months old. Only has 12 months warranty. Cost me $1.5 grand. Anyone reckin’ I have a chance with Aust Consumer Law?
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100% mate. You're covered under Consumer guarantees if the TV just sh*t itself out of the blue. You're paying for a product that needs to be of acceptable quality. Warranties are good to save the hassle but definitely not necessary, never pay for extra warranty
 
Dobes said:
100% mate. You're covered under Consumer guarantees if the TV just sh*t itself out of the blue. You're paying for a product that needs to be of acceptable quality. Warranties are good to save the hassle but definitely not necessary, never pay for extra warranty
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You’re partially correct. When they conduct their forensic analysis and discover you’re a Titans fan and were watching our soft coqs implode then they will deem your claim “null and void”.
 
'We were awful': Titans slide from bad to worse

AuthorBrett Keeble NRL Reporter

Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has had enough.

In a bid to salvage something from the Titans’ woeful 2022 campaign, Holbrook has forecast changes to his struggling side after he reviews their 38-12 loss to Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium.

It was the Titans’ sixth straight loss and 11th from their past 12 games, leaving the 2021 finalists languishing at the bottom of the ladder on six points with eight games to play.

Knights wingers Edrick Lee (five) and Dominic Young (three) had a night to remember, combining to score all eight Newcastle tries on both edges of the field as playmakers Anthony Milford, Adam Clune and Tex Hoy were given too much space around the fringes of the rucks.

“We were awful. Awful. Hundred per cent,” Holbrook said. “We didn’t know what we were doing out there, getting a few wrong, then just got worse, so we’ve got a lot to fix up, that’s for sure.”

Asked if he felt lost for answers, Holbrook said: “I am tonight, definitely.”

“Go back to our last game [an 18-10 loss to Cronulla on June 18] and we competed hard against the Sharks, nearly score right at the death to get really close, but then tonight we were a million miles off, so we’ve got to have a look at the team and who’s running out there, that’s for sure now.”

Would that mean personnel changes?

“Yeah, definitely,” he said, without indicating who was facing the axe. “We’ve just got guys in positions that aren’t doing their job well enough for the NRL.

“Tonight we got two attacking chances and came up with two errors early, then we got the ball back twice and we dropped it playing the ball on play one, so it’s a lot of individual errors.

“That hurts you then and makes it hard with inexperience, and we’ve got a young half [Toby Sexton] trying hard, and our five-eighth [Paul Turner], we’ve lost some experience there and he’s only played a couple of games.

“So our kicking game got lost there in the first half and it makes it hard on every position, then we’re all getting a little bit lost and a little bit out of sorts and that’s when you get a scoreline like that tonight.”

Titans prop Jarrod Wallace was sent off in the 71st minute for his part in a dangerous lifting tackle on Knights utility Simi Sasagi but Holbrook had no issue with referee Chris Butler’s decision.

“Obviously it was a dangerous tackle, purely one of those ones that get out of control,” he said. “There was no deliberate action, but it did look bad, so I only see what you saw.”

The Titans have a bye next week to regroup and reassess, then face Brisbane, Canterbury, Canberra, Melbourne, Manly, St George Illawarra, Newcastle and the Warriors in the run home.

Though the finals appear out of reach, their immediate goal is climbing off the bottom of the ladder.

Holbrook spared fullback AJ Brimson, whose try early in the second half sparked a brief rally, and captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui from criticism, though the Queensland Origin lock was not so forgiving.

“I guess it’s our fault, just errors and not defending well – especially myself in the middle there – and we all need to be better. It’s hard when we’re doing that,” Fa’asuamaleaui said. “It doesn’t give us the best chance to win.”

Fa’asuamaleaui said Titans fans deserved better than what the team had served up after qualifying for the top eight last year, then opening this season with wins against the Warriors and Wests Tigers and narrow losses to the Eels and Raiders in their first four games.

“It’s unfair on them, especially those loyal ones, but it’s unfair,” he said. “We need to play better. You can get away with it if you lose and you put effort in, but tonight there was no effort, bloody lazy, and I do feel bad for the fans.

“We need to pick our game up and finish strong so at least they can have a smile at the end of the season, but so far, it’s been pretty bad.”

https://www.nrl.com/news/2022/07/02/we-were-awful-titans-slide-from-bad-to-worse/
 
Boy oh boy

Haven’t read this thread, and have been pretty quiet the last 5 or so game threads just observing this team and watching a replay or two (yes I love to punish myself) to break down how they’re tracking in the key areas they’ve been deficient all year.

Despite personnel, and all else, the deficiencies have genuinely gotten worse. Player morale has dived and season-fatigue is well and truely kicking in. It’s all reflected in effort, attitude and executing some pretty fundamental professional standards that have all gone backwards week to week. Our work with the ball is very poor - but our work without the ball is even worse, and a large reason why we’re under constant pressure when we eventually get possession.

I’ll admit I didn’t expect things to keep trending this badly in this direction and my concern is now that you can’t un-coach what has crept into this group and how they’re playing, and continuing to decline. This team now is even worse than this team 5 weeks ago, which was worse than the team 5 weeks before that.

Very interested to see what direction the board & administration take from here. I can tolerate deficiencies with some execution, extra effort areas, lack of creativity etc because they’re fixable in a variety of different ways. What we’ve got now is waaaay beyond that
 
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Yes HS even the hardiest of us are past it. I wrote to the Board last night, didn’t rant or threaten to quit, just pointed out that I expect better.
 
Hail Sezer said:
Boy oh boy

Haven’t read this thread, and have been pretty quiet the last 5 or so game threads just observing this team and watching a replay or two (yes I love to punish myself) to break down how they’re tracking in the key areas they’ve been deficient all year.

Despite personnel, and all else, the deficiencies have genuinely gotten worse. Player morale has dived and season-fatigue is well and truely kicking in. It’s all reflected in effort, attitude and executing some pretty fundamental professional standards that have all gone backwards week to week. Our work with the ball is very poor - but our work without the ball is even worse, and a large reason why we’re under constant pressure when we eventually get possession.

I’ll admit I didn’t expect things to keep trending in this direction and my concern is now that you can’t un-coach what has crept into this group and how they’re playing, and continuing to decline. This team now is even worse than this team 5 weeks ago, which was worse than the team 5 weeks before that.

Very interested to see what direction the board & administration take from here. I can tolerate deficiencies with some execution, extra effort areas, lack of creativity etc because they’re fixable in a variety of different ways. What we’ve got now is waaaay beyond that
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I am like you in that I don't believe there is any situation in a footy side that can't be fixed. And lets face it, any new coach we sign will have to have the same mentality. I've said many times before how to fix a side that's down on confidence, so I'm not going to rehash that opinion. There's plenty of opinion rehashing on here already.

Here's what I've come to believe. I don't think Holbrook has forgotten how to coach (albeit that everyone that knows how clubs work knows that coaching a team is only probably 15/20% actually talking footy and tactics to players. That's why a head coach needs assistant coaches they can trust to do their jobs)

I listened to Tino speak before the game, and I listened to Tino speak after the game. He seems genuinely concerned, to the point of controlled anger, about his team mates. And no, I don't believe it's because of the (c) beside his name that he has to put on a show. He said before the game that he intends to lead by example and he hoped his team mates would follow him. I found that extraordinary. I was leaving for work at the time, and his repeated comments stuck with me all night. A captain should have full faith in his team and vice versa.

I now believe there may be some serious white anting going on in the playing group. Is Wallace pissed off/jealous of Tino's rise in our group/SOO etc? Does he, as a senior member of the group have any interest in supporting or guiding young blokes in a team he's leaving, or would he get more satisfaction out of telling the blokes around him how he can't wait for next year? And what does Holbrook expect from someone like Wallace? Or...what would Wallace think he owes Holbrook or the Titans? You can understand Issako being picked to take goal kicking pressure off Sexton...but he is either a low quality player or...

It's time for Holbrook to cut the dead wood (and any withering branches it's had an affect on). It seems to me that he has backed the wrong horse, and that horse (and his mates) might just be wanting to leave the stable at the end of the year in such a white anted rubble, that the only way to move forward will be to rebuild completely.

Some will think I need to put on my tin foil hat...but we've seen it before. Very recently actually. Seibold had it happen to him at the broncos. Ikin came in and fumigated the place and swept the white ants out. Holbrook however may have left his run too late if the foundations are gone.

It's time to rebuild, and if I were Holbrook, I'd be getting my chainsaw and white ant spray and getting to work. If we go down the road of a new coach...he and the club will have to be ready to fumigate on day one.

JMO.
 
Breaking his own rules or pandering to the likes of Wallace or the unrelenting support for Sexton plus many other possibilities or all of them mean he’s not the senior coach we need and the locker room is lost.
 
Titanic said:
Breaking his own rules or pandering to the likes of Wallace or the unrelenting support for Sexton plus many other possibilities or all of them mean he’s not the senior coach we need and the locker room is lost.
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What were the rules he broke?
 
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