It took until Round 7 for Josh Hoffman to register his first try for the Gold Coast Titans but he did so in spectacular fashion by scoring a double in the side’s 32-6 win against the Penrith Panthers over the weekend.
After spending seven seasons with the Brisbane Broncos, Hoffman has been a standout performer since moving to the Titans this year and the 27 year old said it was good to finally get across the line to score his first four-pointer for the club.
“There was a bit of a drought for myself, I was going into the game wanting to score a try so I think that hunger just really got me over the line. It was good to get two tries in front of a very loud home crowd,” he said.
“I go into each game hungry to score a try, and it (not scoring) is something that does play in the back of my mind but at the same time I know there’s a structured game-plan that we have to stick to and the tries will come.”
Hoffman praised his side’s ability to stick to this game plan against the Panthers and in particular his forwards who helped lay the platform which saw him get across the line.
“Through the middle we really held the ball well, and our attack is starting to come together,” he said. “The big boys in the middle played a big part in the tries being scored out there. Ryan James and Luke Douglas are tremendous players and the got our go forward as well so full credit to them.”
Neil Henry has been switching the fullback and centre position in matches between Hoffman and William Zillman and Hoffman said he feels the transition is working.
“Normally we will swap around that 20-minute mark when the legs and lungs are starting to burn and normally it will be me that makes the call.
“We get a feel for it, especially if one of us is in the centres and the other team is getting a role on. If Zilly is at fullback and he’s in a couple of tackles, then I’ll drop back to fullback and he’ll move to the centre, so we just tinker with that and there’s a bit of smarts to it.”
Hoffman is set to reach another milestone for the Titans by playing in his first ANZAC Day match when the side takes on the New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium next week and the former New Zealand international said he is looking forward to the occasion.
“This game will be a really special one and hopefully we can go out there and put in a good effort for all the soldiers who have really helped out this great country. It is going to be a tough game and a tough task ahead so hopefully we can get the win over there.”
