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Titans back-rower Bryce Cartwright.

Titans coach Justin Holbrook is prepared to be without anti-vax duo Bryce Cartwright and Brian Kelly indefinitely as he takes a pragmatic approach to their absence from training.

The duo were stood down by the club from training on Friday after the Queensland Government reinforced its edict that NRL players must have a flu vaccination for the code to return to action in the Sunshine State.

Holbrook said on Monday that he was unsure what the short or long-term outcome of the duo’s decision would be.

"As a club, we want to follow the protocol of the NRL, and more importantly the government," Holbrook said.

"Those boys can't come to training at this stage so we have to crack on without them.

Titans unclear on timeframe for Cartwright and Kelly return

"It is not ideal. You want all your players here and you want them training, as a coach. So it will be great if this situation can be resolved quickly.

"If not we have to prepare for a game to play in three weeks and we have enough players to fill those spots."

Holbrook was not critical of the stance taken by Cartwright or Kelly. He did make the point that they held a minority view.

"I am one of the 98 per cent of the community who would say 'get the shot and come back to work' but there are two per cent with different views and different circumstances," he said.

Holbrook said he was unsure whether the pair would be prepared to sit out the season over their position.

Titans outside bac Brian Kelly.
Titans outside bac Brian Kelly. ©Scott Davis/NRL Photos

"It could be resolved in a couple of days, it could be weeks and they may not play for the rest of the season," he said.

The Titans did engage in full contact in an early morning session on Monday for the first time since March.

"It is a big part of our game the contact side of things and I understand why there has been progressions in what we can do,” he said.

"It has been great to be able to come back and train but we had to be able to do that fully and we’ve been able to do that as of today.

"It is more good news for us and something we’ll be able to ramp up over the next couple of weeks.

 "We have got three weeks until we are officially playing and that is enough time to get the players up to speed."

Acknowledgement of Country

Gold Coast Titans proudly acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout South East Queensland.