When I said Queensland needed to get its act together, I didn't mean like this. Or, maybe I did. Or, maybe it doesn't matter because the Titans have finally managed to click as a coherent unit.
At least, kind of. They went from getting stomped on by Manly to stomping on Canberra. There are suggestions that outcome may be some kind of record, but I'm not clear on all of that. What is clear is that this is the Raiders worst home loss since 2017. The fans at the stadium did not know how to react to their team suddenly returning to the bad old days and either booed or left.
I can't blame them. In the beginning there was some respectability about getting towelled up by a full-strength Penrith or a top-flight Parramatta. They're good sides and if you take off the green-tinged glasses for a moment, those games probably weren't winnable anyway.
But, as the season from hell continues, we got routed by a Titans unit that won't play finals football and got obliterated by Manly. Now, Manly are a good football team and the Titans held a lead for a half of football. But that's still not how things should go. Or at least, not by previous standards of football. To say its been a rapid decline is an understatement.
I suggested on the night that Ricky may have coached his last game for the club. That may still be true (although it is becoming more unlikely by the day) but the answer does not always lie in sacking a coach. A club must consider what is gained by sacking your coach. Do you gain access to a better coach. Do you have players that you can retain at below market value by sacking your coach.
Ironically, the Titans are the best team to demonstrate the value (or, more accurately, the potential value loss) of holding your coach over the playing group. Now, not to say anyone in Canberra has the talent or the star power to hold the front office ransom unless they terminate Ricky, but if you sack a coach to retain a player, know there's a chance you may end up with no players and no coach.
Just like the Titans. Or, at least, the 2018-19 Titans. Apparently this current Titans playing group is maybe starting to kind of figure it out.
For Canberra fans, welcome back to the dark times. Welcome back to every game being an example of Murphy's law, being a 'bad' team and player managers threatening to move their clients to Canberra to eke more money out of other clubs. It's our comfort zone, and to the 7,000 Raider fans who make the pilgrimage each week in the cold to watch their team get ruined, you guys do truly bleed green.
Unlike me who stayed home and listened to the whole thing on the radio because of COVID. And also to play World of Warcraft.
The Parting Shot
It's a bit redundant to talk about the Titans again, because the above segment was all about the Titans.
But let me just warn any Titans fans who have come here to gloat. Yes, your team has good players. Yes, Justin Holbrook seems to have it all together (maybe, I saw him screaming in the coaches box). But your team cannot play under pressure.
You wait and see what happens when media outlets start acknowledging the Titans exist again. I guarantee you won't like the result.
Oh, and nice job ruining Ash Taylor.
So that's me for another week. I still love the Raiders and I still like watching their games, but, for now, I think I'll have it on my phone or a second monitor.
After all, the chase to 70 is on...
Catch you next time,
Vulkan
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