There will be no excuses if NRL cellar dwellers Gold Coast don’t perform in Saturday’s clash with St George Illawarra, according to returning forward Jai Arrow.
Despite lining up against the 14th placed Dragons, the Titans again appear vulnerable after sacking their coach Garth Brennan amid a horror run of six straight losses that has them set to collect the wooden spoon.
But Arrow has boldly declared the Gold Coast can break back into the winners’ circle if they follow his lead this weekend.
The workaholic Arrow was an inspiration for the Titans before he broke down with a serious ankle injury six weeks ago.
Now the Queensland State of Origin forward wants to pick up where he left off in his long awaited return against the Dragons.
“I feel the boys have lacked effort the last couple of weeks,” Arrow said.
“I can’t fault their training but the results aren’t showing that at the moment.
“Hopefully I bring some energy and effort and hopefully the boys can jump off the back of that, have a good last five rounds and win some games.”
The Titans haven’t tasted victory since Arrow broke down in their round 14 24-20 loss to Warriors and have slumped to dead last on the NRL ladder.
Yet that seems to be the least of their problems.
Head coach Brennan has been turfed and the future of the Titans’ cashed up stars appears uncertain with incoming mentor Justin Holbrook set to put a broom through their highly paid but underperforming player roster.
However, Arrow hoped he could help bring a smile to the Titans fans’ faces by season’s end.
“We have tweaked a few things defensively but there are no excuses this week and the Dragons are down in confidence like us as well so it’s a big opportunity for us to put in an 80 minute performance,” he said.
“It’s hard watching your club go through something like this but I am back now and I can do something about it.
“I expect nothing but for us to win and play good footy.
“All I want is for the boys to show some effort and attitude that we can lead into the 2020 season – hopefully for the fans who have stayed loyal we can put a smile on their faces for the rest of the year.”