The Aquis Gold Coast Titans will be without both halves Aidan Sezer and Kane Elgey for Sunday’s clash with Canberra Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium which is the Titans’ Members Appreciation Round.
Elgey has not recovered from a hip injury suffered against Melbourne in round 22, while Sezer will visit a specialist tomorrow to discover the extent of a shoulder injury suffered against the Bulldogs last Sunday after an MRI scan showed he will not require surgery but may be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
Daniel Mortimer will slip back to halfback and partner Josh Hoffman in the halves against the Raiders.
Lachlan Burr will also be missing after taking an early plea after being charged for a shoulder charge against the Bulldogs.
However, skipper Nate Myles and second-rower Ryan James will both return from shoulder injuries and young hooker Kierran Moseley will return to the bench.
Sezer and Elgey have played just two full games together since round 13 because of injuries, the successive games against Parramatta and Melbourne in rounds 21 and 22. Elgey injured his ankle just 15 minutes into the round 13 victory against Wests Tigers and Sezer suffered a hamstring injury two games later against the Warriors.
They were reunited against the Broncos in round 20 but Sezer was replaced after 44 minutes with concussion.
“With Kierran Moseley overcoming a slight calf injury and having Beau Falloon also at hooker, it was logical to put Daniel Mortimer to halfback with Josh Hoffman outside,” said coach Neil Henry.
“We will have to rely on others to do the role around the halves to help Hoffman and Mortimer. Greg Bird has a bit of creativity and has been playing wider and will continue to so that and we have plenty of speed out wide, and as James Roberts showed against the Bulldogs, we need to find a way to get some good ball to them.
“We’ve conceded tries in the last 20 minutes of the past two games and been blown off the park so that’s something we have spoken about and want to rectify.
“We welcome back Nate and Ryan James and they will both add their experience to the team.
“We have good experience in the pack but certainly we are inexperienced in the backline, but there is plenty of pace and enthusiasm there.
“Canberra are a big team and their pack has been their strength all year. Not to mention Jack Wighton at the back and Blake Austin who has been in great form at five-eighth and their pace on the edges.
“We’ll need some good solid go forward to match them and create some opportunities for our backs to take some advantage of.
“We need to contribute across the park. We have two home games in a row and we haven’t had too many wins at home in the past two seasons, so that’s a real focus, to give our fans some joy against the Raiders and the Dragons.”
The team:
1 – David Mead
2 – Leva Li
3 – James Roberts
4 – Nene Macdonald
5 – Kalifa Faifai Loa
6 – Josh Hoffman
7 – Daniel Mortimer
8 – Luke Douglas
9 – Beau Falloon
10 – Nate Myles (capt)
11 - Ryan James
12 – Agnatius Paasi
13 – Greg Bird
Interchange
14 – David Taylor
15 – Eddy Pettybourne
16 – Matthew White
17 – Kierran Moseley
18 – David Hala
19 – Nathaniel Peteru
