Titans coach Des Hasler was full of praise for his halves Kieran Foran and Jayden Campbell after they steered his side to a resounding 66-6 win over the Warriors in Round 16.
Campbell has answered his critics with a record-breaking performance but the Titans ace may have to wait a little longer to play his 50th NRL game after being placed on report in Gold Coast’s win over New Zealand.
Titans coach Des Hasler was forced to jump to Campbell’s defence after questions arose about his ability to play in the halves.
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Campbell, 24, set a new record for the most points (26) scored and goals kicked (11) by any Titans player in a single game.
“It was always a case where he just needs to play footy now and get as many continuous games as he possible can. He showed today just how dangerous he can be,” Hasler said post-game.
“He has got that capability about him. He creates points and he can create line breaks and I thought he was backed up by the no.1 (Keano Kini) as well.
“I thought our forwards were very strong and commited through the middle.”
Fox Sports commentator and former Brisbane Bronco’s lock Corey Parker added: “What a performance it has been from Jayden Campbell.
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“He is a footballer and a wonderful player who is still in the infancy of his NRL career. He has just played football and played what he has seen.”
But Campbell faces an anxious wait to see if his milestone game will be delayed after being put on report for a hip-drop tackle on Warriors player Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
Titans captain Kieran Foran said he didn’t see the blowout performance coming and praised Campbell’s ability to dominate under pressure.
“(Campbell) is a special player isn’t he. He has been building over the last couple of weeks. He has taken that no.6 with both hands. His full set of skills were on show,” Foran said.
The statisticians were kept busy as records tumbled on the Gold Coast.
Prior to this game, the most points scored by the Titans in a single game was 44, while the most recent time eight goals were kicked by a Gold Coast player was eight by Jamal Fogarty.
Scott Prince previously held the record for most points scored in a game with 20 back in 2009, only for Campbell to shatter the record agains the Warriors.
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Foran looked back to his best, producing four try assists for the first time since Manly’s premiership season in 2011 while playing under Hasler.
“Well if you rub a fossil long and hard enough you get a diamond,” Hasler joked about his star playmaker.
Kini produced the best performance of his career at fullback, forcing the Titans coach to decide what to do when AJ Brimson returns.
Brimson is expected to return from a groin injury in round 18 after Gold Coast’s bye but Kini’s display against New Zealand may force Hasler to shuffle the lineup to fit both livewire’s into the team.
“Yes it’s a good headache to have isn’t it,” Hasler said.
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Gold Coast’s performance was underpinned by the ability of the forwards to succeed despite Josiah Pahulu going down with a suspected ankle injury 15 minutes into the first half.
Campbell and Warriors half Te Maire Martin avoided being sent off but were put on report for hip-drop tackles in the first half.
Valentine Holmes was binned for the same action earlier this year but uncertainty remains over what constitutes a dangerous enough hip-drop that warrants being sent off.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was also controversially put on report for a dangerous tackle on Campbell in the second half that barely went past horizontal.
Source Agencies
