A gross injury to hooker Aaron Booth has compounded the bottom-of-the-ladder Gold Coast Titans woes after a 32-14 loss to Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park on Friday night.
In what provided sickening replay vision, Booth’s knee collapsed underneath him at right angles as he attempted to make a tackle on Storm five-eighth Cooper Johns.
Not only was it game over for Booth, but it will undoubtedly be season over when scans reveal the extent of the injury.
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It was supposed to be his big night playing in a starting role against his former club, but it ended on a sour note for Booth.
Titans coach Justin Holbrook was emotional in the post-game press conference when talking about the Booth injury.
“I feel for Boothy,” Holbrook said.
“He’s fought really hard to get his shot this year and it’s going to be really nasty for him unfortunately.
“It’s really bad for him.”
Booth suffered a knee dislocation in the landing. It is likely that he has also turned an ACL, but scans will provide further evidence.
“He’s done everything you could do to it,” Holbrook said.
“He’s dislocated it and he’s done lots of other stuff.”
Sam McIntyre came off the bench and provided some punch from dummy half in place of Booth.
Despite the result, it was an encouraging performance from the three-win Titans.
Greg Marzhew, promoted on the back of his strong form for the Burleigh Bears, fitted in seamlessly in his return to the Titans line up.
Marzhew ran for 184 meters, bettered only on his side by captain Tino Fa’asuamaleaui with 185.
AJ Brimson and Tanah Boyd were solid in the halves, David Fifita muscled up defensively and Beau Fermor, Herman Ese’ese and Brian Kelly scored tries.
After giving up a 16-point head start, the Titans displayed a never-say-die attitude, but every time they got within touching distance of the Storm, they would have a mishap derail their progress.
“A lot to like but just not good enough,” Holbrook said.
“We’re seeing similar things where just one person has fallen off there or they’re doing that wrong and it’s costing us.
“It’s leading to tries which is the disappointing thing.
“I feel like they’re improving a lot and I feel like we were a lot closer than the suggested score, but the result is what the result is and that’s what we’ve got to stop some soft tries.”
– NCA NewsWire
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