Sami Needs To Talk Himself Up

Makeshift Titans fullback Phillip Sami is hoping good friend AJ Brimson and club legend Michael Gordon can help him continue to adapt to the new role of fullback during the club's injury woes.

Brimson was earmarked to take over from Gordon this year but is sidelined with a back injury while Tyrone Roberts – named to start there in round three – pulled out with an ankle injury.

Sami said the talk and organising has been the biggest difference from playing wing but he has some good people at the club to give him a hand.

"It's been a bigger challenge than playing out on the wing, it's a lot more running," Sami said.

"I'm trying to adapt to it. There's a lot of work I need to do while AJ is injured, and Tyrone Roberts.

"I need to work on my talk ... I just need to be there for support play and opportunities and supporting through the middle, that's something I need to work on.

"Last week wasn't a really good result for us but for me personally I know I need to be better at the back with my talk and support play."

Brimson had been very supportive, Sami said.

"We're really close friends, we have our banter here and there. He's injured at the moment but he does give me a few tips here and there.

"And we all know 'Flash' (Gordon) is one of the best fullbacks to play the game and we've got our defensive coach Jimmy Dymock so I've got people to help me."

Sami expected to be there again against the Wests Tigers on Sunday unless Roberts made an unexpected recovery.

The fact the club has to take its home games to Suncorp until at least round nine is no issue, he added.

"I don't think it's going to affect how we play, it's a drive down the road," Sami said.

"We're not going to use that as an excuse driving down to Brisbane. We've played down there quite a few times, we have to treat it as a home game."

Regardless of the venue, the Wests Tigers would be a challenge after their impressive win over the Sharks, he said.

"They were really good, they've got [Luke] Brooksy and [Benji] Marshall there who are good organisers and have a good kicking game so for me personally playing out the back I need to be good with my positioning and a lot of talk to help out the forwards," he said.

Another player asked to step up for the injury-hit club is halfback Jamal Fogarty, who is going into his fourth NRL game and second of this season after several impressive seasons in the Intrust and Canterbury Cup competitions for Burleigh and Wentworthville.

"Jamal's a really good player as you know watching him through Q Cup and NSW Cup," Sami said.

"He's a really good talker so he's someone out there who organises the team really well. We need to work on our combinations there but the more we play with each other the better we can be."