Titans wary of 'weary' Dragons
Wily Gold Coast prop Luke Bailey insists the Titans won't be sucked in by talk St George Illawarra will fall victim to travel fatigue in Saturday's NRL round one clash at Skilled Park.
The Dragons completed the NRL premiership-World Club Challenge double with a 21-15 win over Wigan in the UK last month before flying back to Australia last week.
"They're the world champions and there's been talk they may come up here a little bit tired or a little bit wounded from that game but I know they won't so I'm preparing for a real big game," said Bailey who played the first 119 of his NRL 193 games with the Dragons before switching to the Titans.
"You hear all the excuses in the world but once you tie up the laces and get on the field you forget all about that and have a real crack.
"In the back of our minds it would be nice if they were tired but I'm tipping Wayne Bennett will have them pretty pumped up.
"Hopefully we can get a real big crowd and quieten their fans down early and have a good win."
Bailey, who's in the process of negotiating another contract with the Titans, says every player lifts when playing against their old club.
"To get them in round one and to get them after what they've done and the success they've had is going to be a good challenge for us," he said.
Coach John Cartwright will reveal his side on Tuesday with former South Sydney player Luke Capewell in the running to partner skipper Scott Prince in the halves.
A Charleville product, Capewell had plenty of fans at Redfern where he played 28 games in two season with the Rabbitohs.
There's a few new faces, not many. Luke has a few expectations from the club and I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes," said Bailey.
"I'm pretty happy with the trial form and while there is a bit of hype about the game it could be more of a forward bash on the night.
"We've got some flashy backs and it would be nice to see them score a few tries and give us big blokes a rest."
Bailey will be looking to convince Cartwright he is worth another season or two with a strong game against the premiership winning pack led by big men Michael Weyman and Dan Hunt and including wide-running back-rower Ben Creagh.
"It would be nice to stay at the club and get another year with an option after that," he said.
"I think I've proved myself, I'm feeling pretty good, so let's just see how I go on Saturday."
Post a comment about this article
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Becoming a member is free and easy, sign up here.