Retiring fullback Michael Gordon says the Titans are in very safe hands when it comes to future fullback AJ Brimson.
Gordon thought his long career might have been cut a month short when he went down with a hamstring issue against the Broncos two weeks ago, but is grateful to the Titans medical staff for getting him back on the field to finish up on his own terms.
Gordon believes Brimson is more than ready to take on the full-time role at the back and only needs to work on the very small details of the position.
“He’s got all the tools and all the tricks and everything, maybe just (needs to work on) a little bit of positioning line sort of stuff,” Gordon said. “But that’s just finer detail stuff. Physically, he doesn’t really need to do much. He’s got all the skills.
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“He’s only 20 games into his career, so that will come with time. He’s just such a great kid and I think he’s got a long and great rep career ahead of him as well. I’ve got no doubt he’s going to be fine.”
Gordon says the role of the fullback has completely changed since his debut way back in 2006, but says the role will come easily to Brimson in time.
“It’s probably just studying the opposition a bit,” Gordon said. “When I was first playing fullback it was certainly nowhere near as structured.
“These days it’s all about line organisation, and teams are so structured in attack, you can almost replicate what they’re doing in defence and have your numbers set.
“When I first started it was just sort of following the ball around, but now it’s got a lot more technical.
“It’s not hard to learn, it just takes a bit of time and a bit of understanding.”
Gordon expressed his desire to stick around the club after his playing days to help mentor Brimson and the new generation of exciting outside backs coming through the ranks at the Titans.
“I’ve been speaking to Mal and the club about potentially staying on for a small role next year. I’d be up for that,” he said.
“Whether that’s with AJ or the backs or whatever, just being involved with the club because I know they’re heading in the right direction and I want to be a part of it going forward.”
