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Laffranchi injury last thing Titans need
Liam Butterworth and Russell Jackson - SMH
April 10, 2011
GOLD COAST will be sweating on the results of scans to back-rower Anthony Laffranchi's right ankle tomorrow as the Titans prepare to get their NRL season on track against the Wests Tigers.
Laffranchi played little part in the second half after leaving the field in the Titans' 22-12 loss to the Cowboys on Friday night.
A Titans spokesman confirmed that Laffranchi would see a specialist tomorrow and said it was too early to speculate on the severity of the injury.
There was some good news for the Titans, who have one win from five games, with lock Ashley Harrison progressing well after missing the Cowboys game with a hamstring injury. He is rated a good chance of playing against the Tigers at Skilled Park on Friday night.
One man who will definitely be there for the Titans is five-eighth Greg Bird, who returns from suspension.
Bird, the field-goal hero in the Titans' round-four win against Canberra, missed the Cowboys match after pleading guilty to striking Raiders halfback Matt Orford.
Coach John Cartwright welcomed back Nathan Friend to the side on Friday night for the first time this season after recovering from a shoulder injury.
"Friendy is Friendy; he'll work hard and he'll continue to do that," he said. "It was hard for any of our guys with the ball to do too much as we did a lot of hard work out of our own end, but he'll be better for the run for sure."
Also hoping for a better run against the Tigers, who are coming off a 30-6 win against South Sydney, will be captain Scott Prince, a late inclusion in the Titans squad after passing a fitness test.
Prince admitted to feeling a little off his best after missing the Raiders match with a hamstring injury.
"The hamstring felt all right, a little bit underdone and I was probably off the pace a little bit," he said.
"At the end of the day, it's positive and we'll build on that next week.
Cartwright said his side found themselves in an unfamiliar situation at the bottom of the table, but believed it was only a matter of time until they turned the results around.
"It's a different start to the season to what we've had in the past and we've got to reassess where we are," Cartwright said. "I've got no problem with what we can do and what we're getting close to. There's a lot of effort there and we turned that around at half-time and we've got to roll up our sleeves and get ready for the Tigers."
Cartwright said the Cowboys produced some of the best football of the season in the first half. "They're hard to defend to, I've got to take my hat off to them for that," he said. "That's probably the best footy I've seen for a long time in the first half."
He added that Matt Bowen's 38th-minute try put the game beyond the Titans' reach.
Cowboys coach Neil Henry was relatively satisfied with the home win.
"Good first half, I was pleased with our defensive effort and the tries on the back of working pretty hard out of our own end, so happy with that," he said.
"When we look at it in the context of three matches in 12 days, two wins and a loss by two points, I think we can take that."
Thurston said despite the dominant first half, there was a feeling of disappointment in the sheds after the game. "There's some confidence there in the team and we were pretty happy to get the two points, but there was a bit of a sombre mood when we came off because everyone was disappointed with our second half and our completion rate," he said.
Liam Butterworth and Russell Jackson - SMH
April 10, 2011
GOLD COAST will be sweating on the results of scans to back-rower Anthony Laffranchi's right ankle tomorrow as the Titans prepare to get their NRL season on track against the Wests Tigers.
Laffranchi played little part in the second half after leaving the field in the Titans' 22-12 loss to the Cowboys on Friday night.
A Titans spokesman confirmed that Laffranchi would see a specialist tomorrow and said it was too early to speculate on the severity of the injury.
There was some good news for the Titans, who have one win from five games, with lock Ashley Harrison progressing well after missing the Cowboys game with a hamstring injury. He is rated a good chance of playing against the Tigers at Skilled Park on Friday night.
One man who will definitely be there for the Titans is five-eighth Greg Bird, who returns from suspension.
Bird, the field-goal hero in the Titans' round-four win against Canberra, missed the Cowboys match after pleading guilty to striking Raiders halfback Matt Orford.
Coach John Cartwright welcomed back Nathan Friend to the side on Friday night for the first time this season after recovering from a shoulder injury.
"Friendy is Friendy; he'll work hard and he'll continue to do that," he said. "It was hard for any of our guys with the ball to do too much as we did a lot of hard work out of our own end, but he'll be better for the run for sure."
Also hoping for a better run against the Tigers, who are coming off a 30-6 win against South Sydney, will be captain Scott Prince, a late inclusion in the Titans squad after passing a fitness test.
Prince admitted to feeling a little off his best after missing the Raiders match with a hamstring injury.
"The hamstring felt all right, a little bit underdone and I was probably off the pace a little bit," he said.
"At the end of the day, it's positive and we'll build on that next week.
Cartwright said his side found themselves in an unfamiliar situation at the bottom of the table, but believed it was only a matter of time until they turned the results around.
"It's a different start to the season to what we've had in the past and we've got to reassess where we are," Cartwright said. "I've got no problem with what we can do and what we're getting close to. There's a lot of effort there and we turned that around at half-time and we've got to roll up our sleeves and get ready for the Tigers."
Cartwright said the Cowboys produced some of the best football of the season in the first half. "They're hard to defend to, I've got to take my hat off to them for that," he said. "That's probably the best footy I've seen for a long time in the first half."
He added that Matt Bowen's 38th-minute try put the game beyond the Titans' reach.
Cowboys coach Neil Henry was relatively satisfied with the home win.
"Good first half, I was pleased with our defensive effort and the tries on the back of working pretty hard out of our own end, so happy with that," he said.
"When we look at it in the context of three matches in 12 days, two wins and a loss by two points, I think we can take that."
Thurston said despite the dominant first half, there was a feeling of disappointment in the sheds after the game. "There's some confidence there in the team and we were pretty happy to get the two points, but there was a bit of a sombre mood when we came off because everyone was disappointed with our second half and our completion rate," he said.
