Reinforcements could be on their way for Gold Coast, with halves Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts to fly to New Zealand in the hope of taking the field for Friday’s NRL clash with the Warriors.

The Titans showed a stout heart to work their way back into the contest against South Sydney on Sunday but ultimately fell 28-20 to remain winless.

Coach Garth Brennan admitted his side had missed the creativity of first-choice playmakers Taylor (quad) and Roberts (Achilles) in the opening three weeks.

They were also without hooker Nathan Peats (pec) on Sunday, with the former NSW No.9 to be out for up to three months.

“There’s no doubt if you take the starting halves out of your team and combine that with your starting hooker as well, it hurts,” Brennan said.

“There are 17 players who come onto the field and they all have to perform.

“We’re losing our way with our attack, I probably agree with that, we’re not polished when we’ve got the ball in hand but we can’t use that as an excuse.”

The Titans now face an arduous five-day turnaround before they take on the Warriors, on top of a difficult trip across the Tasman.

The squad was scheduled to fly out of Sydney directly to Auckland on Monday, with Taylor and Roberts to join their teammates in camp in New Zealand.

The Titans opted against flying home to Queensland, given the tight travel schedule would have deprived Brennan’s troops of a day off.

Even with their current plan, they will have a very limited build-up, with a light run on Tuesday and a captain’s run on Thursday.

Marquee playmaker Taylor shapes as a big inclusion after makeshift halves AJ Brimson and Ryley Jacks struggled to spark the side in the opening rounds.

Last year, Taylor (22) had the second most try assists in the league, only behind retired North Queensland legend Johnathan Thurston (26).

Brennan described the pair as being “very close” to returning but would not guarantee they’d take the pitch for the first time in 2019.

“They’ll be on the plane tomorrow … We’ll stay in Sydney (on Sunday night) and then fly straight to New Zealand (on Monday), Ash and Tyrone will fly from the Gold Coast and meet us over there,” Brennan said.

“We’ll take a squad of 21 over, that’s not to say they’ll definitely play.

“They trained well yesterday.”