With Gold Coast Titans’ centre Jamal Idris facing the rest of the season on the sidelines, pressure has mounted on the Titans’ right-side defence after they were left battered and bruised by a quality Knights side last Sunday.
Newcastle managed to score all 46 points on the Titans’ right side last week in dreadful conditions.
James McManus was the main beneficiary of the weak Titans’ defensive side as he notched up a club record-equalling four tries in just 42 minutes.
The main players who were being punished included the three closest to the sideline in Ben Ridge, Albert Kelly and Anthony Don, who between them hold only 74 games experience.
Inexperience may be a contributing factor, but that doesn’t give this article title justice.
It may be the fact that Idris plays an important part in protecting his much smaller half-back Albert Kelly when bigger opposition are coming at him in attack.
Along with Idris, David Taylor also plays a similar role on the left side of Kelly and his absence was dearly missed as well both in defence and attack.
Statistically, Albert Kelly is the worst defender in the competition missing 59 tackles so far this season; following him is Warriors’ five-eighth Shaun Johnson on 49 tackles.
But you can’t blame the kid, who stands at a mere 177cm and weighs 89kg.
On Sunday Kelly’s defence got caught out, which inevitably affected both Don’s and Ridge’s decision making causing them to come in and help their little number seven.
This gave heaps of space for McManus who, in the wet and slippery conditions, only needed five metres between him and the try-line to slide over.
During the match changes were made by coach John Cartwright, as he put the fullback, William Zillman, into Kelly’s position.
Zillman’s inexperience in his new position was reflected on the score board as he rushed up in defence while Don stood back causing overlaps and resulting in an embarrassing 36-0 scoreline by half-time.
Cartwright’s search for a centre is simple: size and experience.
The likely candidate would be Steve Michaels, who has played 113 first grade games and is a similar build to William Zillman.
Whether Michaels will defend the right side or be placed on the left is still up in the air, after Mead was solid in defence when he was moved to the right side in the second half of the Knights’ match
Nonetheless the Titans’ right side will have to perform much better than last week when they take on an in-form Panthers’ outfit who, by the way, scored all their tries on the Dragons’ right side defence in their recent encounter.
Their defensive game this weekend in Darwin will prove to critics whether they are still top eight-worthy or not.
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