Zillman the tonic to sink Eels
15.09.2009
By: Dan Koch
JARRYD Hayne may be the name on the lips of most fans, but the return of their own fleet-footed custodian for this week's elimination final has the Gold Coast Titans confident of ending the Eels' late-season charge.
The last time William Zillman squared-off against Parramatta, he chalked-up a staggering 218m with the football and was instrumental in helping his side maintain its unbeaten run against the Eels.
Skipper Scott Prince said Zillman's inclusion would be a further boost on the back of the Titans' gutsy second-half fightback against the Broncos at Skilled Park in Saturday night's heart-stopping 40-32 loss.
``He is very busy off the ball -- he does a lot of things like that that really go unnoticed,'' Prince said.
``He pushes up with our forwards all the time so he is there as a tip-on option.
``He makes the defensive line get up and mark him, which is great for guys like Preston Campbell, Nathan Friend and myself. He is a great inclusion.''
And Prince was equally confident the fairly quiet and reserved Zillman would carry no scars from his controversial four-week ban for biting Souths flyer Jamie Simpson.
``I think he is good now,'' Prince said.
``He, obviously, copped a fair bit through the media, but probably more off the boys than anything.
``But all jokes aside, I think he will be right and will have moved on from that.''
Certainly, Zillman is looking to move forward, declaring he felt he ``owed'' his teammates a big performance on Friday night.
``It is good to have (the suspension) behind me. It actually went pretty quick,'' he said.
``But being out for four weeks I think I have to come back and hit the ground running.
``It is the semi-finals, there is no way I can just ease back into it. I have to give it everything.''
Of course, a lot more has changed since the teams last met back in round 18.
The following week was the start of the Eels' stunning run, which has seen them reel off seven wins from eight starts, with Hayne collecting an unprecedented seven man-of-the-match awards during that same period.
Still, Titans coach John Cartwright denied his side would again employ the tactics of kicking the ball dead and into touch as they did to nullify Melbourne ace Billy Slater.
``They are very different players,'' Cartwright said.
``Slater seems to have endless amounts of energy, so you just have to keep the ball away from him.
``Billy has a lot more involvement in the game, whereas Jarryd just has so much quality when he does have the ball.
``You have to try to give him the ball where he is least dangerous and no one likes to bring the ball back from their in-goal. That said, not many sides have been able to stop him this year.''
