The Gold Coast Titans are reportedly confident star second-rower David Fifita will play in their second trial ahead of the NRL season after he was among the few players in their wider squad not to be named to face the Brisbane Broncos this weekend.
The Titans named one of the bigger squads for the weekend, coming in at 26 players ahead of their home game.
There were fears Fifita would be racing the clock to be fit for Round 1 after he sustained a rib injury during the NRL All Stars match last Saturday.
The incident occured early in the contest when Jordan Rapana shoulder charged the barnstorming second-rower who had broken the line. While Fifita still managed to play a sizeable chunk of the game, Indigenous coach Laurie Daley predicted the incident could force Fifita to “miss a week or two.”
It was an incident which will certainly do that to Rapana, who has since been hit with a Grade 1 shoulder charge offence, which carries two weeks on the sidelines with it.
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A statement released on Tuesday afternoon by the Titans suggested Fifita was fit and would resume training with the club.
"Despite copping a heavy hit in the All Stars clash, David Fifita was fine post-game and cleared of any serious injury. He will be available for training and selection in the upcoming Titans trials on Saturday, February 19 and Saturday, February 26," the statement read.
That now appears to partially be the case according to News Corp, with Fifita reportedly getting through a session with the club on Thursday, although he has been overlooked for the trial.
It will serve as a sigh of relief for coach Justin Holbrook, his staff, and fans of the club who would like to see an improvement on the eighth-place finish of 2021, which went alongside a first-week finals knockout.
It was a knockout which could have been more though, coming just a single offload away from likely forcing their way into the second week of the finals and a semi-final with the Manly Sea Eagles.
