David Fifita won't flinch in Suncorp return

29th April, 2021

Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook expects more of the same from his barnstorming backrower David Fifita when he returns to face former club Brisbane on Friday.

Brisbane have reinforced their right edge in expectation of another David Fifita raid but the Gold Coast backrower’s coach doesn’t expect him to flinch in his Suncorp Stadium return.

Broncos coach Kevin Walters will plant his own wrecking ball Tevita Pangai Jnr in front of Fifita on Friday night while big-bodied halfback Tyson Gamble has been picked for a first-grade return to defend alongside him.

Fifita scored two tries against Brisbane in their round-two victory this season – his first outing against his former team – and has hat-tricks in two of his last three NRL games.

The Broncos have scored just six points in three games and 12 in the other in losses since their win against Canterbury – just their second in the club’s last 25 games.

The 21-year-old’s high-profile exit remains such a touchy subject at Red Hill that Walters refused to mention Fifita’s name in Thursday’s pre-game press conference.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook expects Pangai Jnr to press Fifita’s buttons but doesn’t think the occasion will get to his demolition man.

“You can’t go out of your way (to target someone)…I mean Tevita will do his best to do that but you’ve just got to get on with the game and it’s playing the 80 minutes that counts for us,” Holbrook said.

“It won’t bother him at all because he’s such a good player, but obviously the Broncos will be out to try and do their best to stop him.

“We’re aware of that, but we’re just going to keep the focus on ourselves.”

The Titans lost seven straight games to Brisbane but have since won six of their last eight, including the last three.

“It’s our derby game and we’ve been good enough to win the last few, so we want to keep that happening and obviously the more you win the more the opposition get keen to change that,” Holbrook said

“We’re well aware of what’s coming and we’ve just got to be better than them.”