Gold Coast coach Justin Holbrook has jumped to the defence of underfire multimillion-dollar playmaker Ash Taylor in the wake of the Titans' comprehensive victory over the Brisbane Broncos.
The 26-year-old, who's now in the final season of his three-year contract worth a reported $1 million per year, drew the criticism of legendary halfback Andrew Johns this week.
Not only did Johns implore Taylor and halves partner Jamal Fogarty to construct a plan that would give David Fifita clean ball in space in the wake of the Titan's opening-round loss, the rugby league Immortal took aim at his lack of tenacity.
"He's like Corey Norman," Johns said on Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour.
"We can see the talent he's got. He's just got to find that grit and competitiveness."
Holbrook gave his thoughts on Taylor's performance against the Broncos during Nine's post-match coverage.
"(His defence made me feel) good for the majority of the game," Holbrook said.
"He unfortunately had a disrupted pre-season.
"The back-end of the game I was a little bit disappointed with him.
"But he's got, as you say, all the attributes to be a great player, so we've just got to keep working with him."
The Titans dominated the Broncos en route to their first victory of the season in last night's Cbus Super Stadium encounter.
Fifita spearheaded the 26-18 win as he racked up 136 metres, including 40 post-contact, and bullied his way through Brisbane's defence for two tries.
The Titans will tackle another all-Queensland clash when they square off with the Cowboys in Townsville next Sunday.
"We've felt a lot better coming back as a squad (this season) and it was a lot more settled," Holbrook said.
"Credit to the Warriors last week; they played better than us.
"It was important for us to get a good win tonight for our fans and the whole area. There's a bit of expectation around but we've got to deliver and it was great to get a win tonight."
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