The iSelect Titans under-20s will face their toughest test of the season at Hunter Stadium tomorrow against a Newcastle side that has led the competition just about all season and will be charged up for the round of matches named in honour of club mate Alex McKinnon.
It will be an emotional challenge in front of the largest club crowd any of the team have played before, who will be vocal in support of the Rise for Alex fundraiser. But Titans coach Ben Woolf is treating this game like any other.
“I don’t think it being the Rise for Alex weekend will make a difference for us,” Woolf said. “They’ll [the Knights] have the pressure of getting the win. There is no pressure on us, we just have to go down and play our game.”
Coming off of two wins, and their first win at home, and with the team largely unchanged for three games straight the side is certainly more confident than they had been during a period of frustrating close losses but the Knights are undoubtedly the form team of the competition. It’s been about having better focus on retaining possession and building pressure.
“We’ve watched the tapes and just know that if we control the football, we can do damage through the middle. We just need a good kick and to grind it out,” he said.
There is a change to the line-up with Brian Kelly is out with a hamstring injury. Jayden Connors will fill the position.
The Holden Cup side to play the Knights is:
1 – Jahrome Hughes (capt)
2 – Jayden Connors
3 - Jaiden Hawkes
4 – Connor Broadhurst
5 – Zac Spring
6 – Christian Hazard
7 – Kane Elgey (capt)
8 – Francis Fifita
9 - Deacon Fletcher
10 – Mitch Sharp
11 – Harrison Hughes
12 – Anthony Colman
13 – Jackson Clarke
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14 – James Iodice
15 – Caleb Morehu
16 – Shaun Hudson
17 – Karl Lawton
