Justin Holbrook put the blinkers on Jarrod Wallace, then he had an earnest chat with Tyrone Peachey which is another reason why the NRL side has improved so much.
The Titans are aiming for three-straight wins for the first time in three seasons on Saturday. A win against Brisbane will also ensure for the first time that they’ve beaten their Queensland NRL big brother twice in the same campaign.
In his first season in charge, Gold Coast coach Holbrook is proud of the team’s upward trend and said both Wallace and Peachey’s response had been key ahead of the club’s “biggest game”.
“He’s done a tremendous job and it’s pretty simple, just working hard and really narrowing his focus,” Holbrook said ahead of Wallace’s 150th NRL game.
Wallace shifted south from the Broncos chasing an opportunity in 2017 and was rewarded with a Queensland Origin berth.
But his form dipped the following season, the prop struggling to crack the Titans’ starting side under Holbrook.
“He’s a busy man, got a lot going on, but he’s just really knuckling down with his footy and for me that’s why he’s playing a lot better.
“I’ve just been really happy how he’s put the blinkers on himself.”
The versatile Peachey, named to start at lock again with Jai Arrow off the bench, has endured a similar story since arriving on the Gold Coast from Penrith last season.
“We sort of shook him up a bit a couple of weeks ago, needed more from him and he knew that himself,” Holbrook said.
“I just had a good chat to him about what we had to do to get him going and he’s been that energetic Peachey we know he can be in the last few weeks.
“It’s about making them aware of it and helping them get out of it, and now both those guys are contributing well.”
A win would cement the Titans’ status as the state’s best team this season, something not lost on Holbrook.
“It’s the opportunity we’ve got isn’t it and if we play well enough to be the first Titans team to do that (beat Brisbane twice in a season) I’ll be very proud,” he said
“But we’ve got a tough game; they’re playing differently now the Broncos, attacking differently and defending completely differently and they played really well last week against Penrith.”