Titans' trajectory takes hit as star sidelined

Gold Coast Titans halfback Ash Taylor is expected to miss the next 3-4 weeks after fracturing his hand against the Broncos in round two.

Taylor was a notable omission when the Titans' team list was announced on Tuesday, with Tanah Boyd named to step up in his absence.

Following the Titans' 28-16 win over the Broncos last Friday, Taylor reported soreness in his hand and wrist. The halfback underwent wrist surgery during the off-season.

It's a significant blow for Justin Holbrook's men who seem on the cusp of a long-awaited finals appearance in 2021.

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With their star halfback missing for potentially up to a month, it could be the thing that stops them from playing football in September.

Gold Coast next face the Cowboys this Sunday, before matches against the Raiders, Knights and Manly in the following weeks.

Taylor's omission will also put a pause on the crucial combinations that will need to form between himself and star strike-signings David Fifita and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui.

If the Titans are to make the most of their off-season acquisitions, Eighth Immortal Andrew Johns believed Taylor was the key to bringing it all together.

"There's a lot of new combinations there, there could be some nerves in understanding how each other plays," Johns told Wide World of Sports' Immortal Behaviour. "They have to work that out sooner rather than later.

"But they've got some strike players there in David Fifita and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, it's the job of the halves to create play and create room for these guys.

"It's the job of the halves, they have to construct some formation or plays or shapes, which gives those back-rowers room to move…to understand the strengths of the players around them, how they want the ball and where they want the ball. That's the challenge for the Titans' halves."

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