Gold Coast coach John Cartwright says he has no issue with Jamal Idris’s weight after the giant centre’s solid performance in the Titans’ 24-14 win over Newcastle on Saturday.
The former Canterbury star looked way heavier than his official weight of 115kg, but Cartwright defended the former NSW representative and said his condition had been noted by the club’s training staff, but was not an problem.
“Because he is so big you probably don’t look at how talented a footballer he is,” Cartwright said.
“People just look at his size, but he’s a really talented footballer. He has a great set of hands on him.
“Defensively he reads things as good as any centre in the game and he can cover a lot of spots.”
Weight was always an issue during his time at the Bulldogs but Idris started this season looking in the best shape of his career.
However, Cartwright said the fact he was coming back from an injury and been unable to train had not helped him.
“He’s had a bad run with injury since he has been with us and because he is such a big man it is hard to get some miles in his legs at the moment,” he said.
“He’s conscious, we’re conscious of it.
“We monitor him and we work him hard but the fact is he hasn’t been able to do much training.
“He’s naturally a big boy. But he’s learning. He’s only a young kid and I couldn’t be happier with him.”
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