Titans captain Ryan James has delivered a stern message to his fellow forwards that they must relieve the pressure on Jai Arrow to see the lock unleash his full potential.
Arrow produced a mammoth effort last Saturday against the Sharks, running for 290m from 28 carries, producing seven tackle breaks and working hard in defence to make 27 tackles.
James said his men in the middle must do their share, and accept the challenge of meeting Arrow’s benchmarks against the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Sunday in Sydney.
“Jai’s effort was enormous, but we can use him better,” James said. “If we can use him half as much but at twice the speed, that will help us roll forward.
“We need more forwards to do more carries and share it around.”
James could be forgiven for being a little off the pace in the first two rounds after spending the final six weeks of pre-season training off his feet with a knee injury, but the Bilambil junior says the time for excuses is over.
“I’ve been a little slow to start after having six weeks off, and I was a bit crook last week,” he said.
“It was a bit tough to play long minutes, but I’ve played enough footy to get through it.
“We need to play better and start winning some games.”
Winning their first game of the season does not get any easier this weekend for the Titans, with a roadtrip to Sydney to take on the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium.
The Rabbitohs have started the year with two victories from two starts and have strike power all over the park.
“They’ve been going well,” James said. “The Burgess boys go forward, and then they have the off-the-cuff plays from Adam Reynolds and Cody Walker.
“Cameron Murray is playing electric footy, and they’ve got Cooky (Damien Cook), the quickest hooker in the game.
“We need to slow the big fellas down or the backs will play off the back of it.
“They’ll throw some structure at you, but as soon as they get a quick play the ball, Cook just plays off the back of that.”
The Titans travel to Sydney on Saturday before taking on the Rabbtiohs at ANZ Stadium on Sunday afternoon from 5:10pm (QLD time).
