The Warriors’ big win over the Broncos last weekend was a timely reminder about what their team is capable of as the Titans prepare to host the New Zealanders at Cbus Super Stadium on Friday.
Operating under more duress than any club in the competition, with the COVID-19 pandemic separating them from home and then enduring the sacking of coach Steve Kearney, the Warriors righted their listing ship last weekend with a confidence-building 26-16 win over Brisbane.
The Titans were already on alert against a team they have traditionally struggled to contain, but Gold Coast utility Tanah Boyd said the Warriors’ whole-hearted performance last weekend was an indicator of a team that had regained its confidence.
“They are a red-hot side,” Boyd said of the Warriors.
“Every team in the NRL is going to come out fighting (but) they put on a really good performance.
“They have some big, strong boys there, so we will do some video on them to work them out and we’ll be right.”
Boyd insists he will be 100 per cent fit to resume his role as the Titans’ No.14 after leaving the field briefly against the Sharks with a shoulder injury.
“It has pulled up sweet. It was a bit weird – I must have hit a nerve in there and it went dead on me,” he said. “I got it looked at , and it’s all sweet. Ready to go for the weekend, which is good.
“It kind of got caught up in the bloke’s arms. It just clicked and went a bit dead on me, and then I had no strength in it. I had to go off and get it assessed. The strength started to come back so I was allowed to go back on.
“I will get some treatment on it and loosen it up. But it’s nothing major.”
Boyd said the Titans had focused on improving their consistency for 80 minutes after letting a promising first half against the Sharks go to waste.
“We assessed (the game) on Sunday, and it was pretty disappointing to be honest,” he said. “We started so well and just couldn’t finish in the second half.
“Hopefully we can go again this week and get the win.
“We just have to keep competing. We got a bit complacent I think in the second half.
“We have to go into the second halves a bit better, clear-minded, and start from nil-all basically. We are going into this week with a big focus on starting well and holding that throughout the game.”
