KEY POINTS:
Broncos assistant coach Ivan Henjak laid down the law to his players yesterday, telling them not to expect the return of star halves Darren Lockyer and Peter Wallace to guarantee a win over the struggling Bulldogs today.
Less than 12 hours after the Titans sprung the upset of
the season and outsiders Newcastle followed it up with a second upset, Henjak put his players on notice not to simply expect Lockyer to turn up and win the game for them.
"Both favourites got beaten last night and I think it came down to attitude and not so much the talent or ability of those teams," Henjak said.
"I'm really conscious of falling into the trap of thinking just because Darren's back and Peter Wallace is back and our Origin players are back that the job is going to be done because they're there."
Lockyer is expected play between 50 or 60 minutes in his first appearance since orchestrating a last minute 30-26 win over Parramatta in May.
"He'll probably have a break in the first half and come in the second, that's the plan anyway," Henjak said.
Brisbane have a firm plan in place for Lockyer's third comeback attempt from a troubling knee injury and, regardless of how the game unfolds, won't be deviating from it after learning from past experiences.
"We've learned, but I think he [Lockyer] has which is the main thing," said Henjak.
"When we get to the time he has to come off, he has to come off. The season's too important for us to be trying to risk him around this time of the year."
The Bulldogs have lost their last five games but managed to beat Brisbane in five of their last seven trips north.
GOLD COAST stand-in skipper Preston Campbell says they are using being written off as finals no-hopers as motivation for defying their injury troubles to fight for a maiden appearance in the playoffs.
The Titans produced the finest victory in their short history with a 32-28 upset of pacesetters the Sydney Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night to maintain their place in the top eight.
The win came despite their massive injury toll which includes co-captains Luke Bailey (foot) and Scott Prince (arm), Ashley Harrison (ribs), Mark Minichiello (ankle), Aaron Cannings (leg), Brett Delaney (groin) and Luke O'Dwyer (shoulder).
But disposing of the high flying Roosters is just the first step in a massive mountain to climb to the finals as the Titans play five of their last eight games on the road, including away games against Melbourne, Brisbane and Manly.
"You tell a team enough that they're going to lose it's going to fire us up," said Campbell. "We were quietly confident coming down here [to play the Roosters].
"We have that belief in the players that we have got."
The victory over the Roosters snapped a three-game losing streak for the Titans but more importantly it was their first win since losing halfback Prince for the season to a fractured forearm.
While Prince has been the dominant architect in attack the Gold Coast were still able to create six tries against the Roosters and also keep them scoreless in the second half.
PENRITH COACH Matthew Elliott has blamed himself for his side's meek showing against a Kurt Gidley-inspired Newcastle on Friday night.
The Panthers let slip a golden opportunity to shore up a spot in the eight in the 30-18 loss to the injury-plagued Knights.
Elliott said he had to take responsibility for his team's lack of intensity ahead of Saturday's away clash against Gold Coast.
Elliott said he could accept that some players could be off their game in any given match but not the entire side.
"When your whole team is down I have to accept responsibility that something in our preparation was not right," he said.
- AAP
