Titans flyer Corey Thompson has shared how excited he is to represent his family and culture this week as the NRL celebrates Indigenous Round.
Speaking with the Titans coaching staff, Thompson is keen to use Indigenous Round and his blockbuster clash with Broncos winger Selwyn Cobbo as a catalyst for himself and his teammates ahead of two massive Queensland Derbies in the coming weeks against the Broncos and Cowboys.
“They're flying high with confidence (the Broncos). They're a young team that's running on energy and we’ve got to match it. You know, we've played really well against them the last couple of years and we need to go back and grab confidence out of that.
“I think Cobbo is having that same season Coates had last year for the Broncos, and I've watched him play all year.
‘He's such a young, freakish athlete, and I'm excited to go up and mark him, he's going to be a handful and I'm going to have my work cut out for me, but you know, I'm really excited.
“Me and Brian (Kelly) will have a hopefully a good little battle between him and Staggs and hopefully I'll be able to give it to him and compete as well. I'm not going to make it easy for him on the weekend."
For the next two weeks, the Titans will wear an Indigenous design on their jersey based on an incredible artwork by local artist and proud Yurarabul man Kieran Chilcott.
The piece of art symbolises the culmination of 15 years of the club and celebrates the 34 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander players, hailing from 16 different tribunal groups over the journey.
“We had a little team meeting and presentation the other day, just about the jersey and everything that's on it.
“It's a really good design. You see this, this fish scattered through the middle and that represents all the indigenous players that that played for the Titans.
“There are little campfires that represent each area that they come from and there's these two little symbols down here that represents Jaden and his dad Presto being the two generations from the club, but there's so much more for the fans and members to see.
“It gives you a little bit of background and makes you really appreciate your heritage and everyone that's a part of it, you know, your grandparents and the elders and just the mob back home where your family's from.
Having now returned to the Titans starting squad after an injury early in the season, Thompson sees it as an opportunity to recapture his 2021 form.
“I’ve just been just struggling to find that consistent 80 minutes that I was doing last year.
“I have just got to start playing a bit better, getting more involved and playing that confident footy that I was last year.
“I'm going to try and just do everything I can to make nothing easy for him (Cobbo) this Friday night.”
The Titans take on the North Queensland Cowboys next Thursday night at Cbus Super Stadium for Indigenous Round.
Tickets are selling fast for this all-Queensland affair, click here to get your tickets!
