'Fantastic' Fermor shines in arduous debut

The Titans unearthed a potential star in their 40-10 loss to the Sharks with back-rower Beau Fermor showcasing the ability that has him earmarked for big things.

With the Titans reduced to 15 fit players following injuries to hooker Mitch Rein (knee) and utility Tanah Boyd (shoulder), Fermor was asked to play 75 minutes on debut.

His 121 metres from six runs included two line breaks where the 21-year-old showcased his speed and strength.

The Titans signed the former Queensland under 20s representative while he was still in rehab after undergoing a knee reconstruction following several years in the lower grades at Newcastle.

Holbrook said Fermor was a "fantastic young back-rower coming through" and congratulated him on an excellent debut.

"He was fantastic for us, Beau," Holbrook said.

"Ideally, 60 minutes would have been perfect for him after he has only played one scrimmage game, last week, in the past 12 months.

"Losing the other players made it really hard at the finish of the game for him but I thought his first 60 minutes was fantastic and he's going to be a great player in the future for us.

"He got his opportunity and showed that he is very capable."

After beating the Broncos 30-12 the previous week the Titans lost Kevin Proctor (biceps), Phil Sami (shoulder) and Brian Kelly (quad) during the week.

The coach played Tyrone Roberts at fullback, Bryce Cartwright in the centres and gave Fermor a debut in the back-row.

Holbrook is building a belief in his players that they can do the job no matter who takes the field and it was a mentality the Titans turned up with.

They trailed 12-10 at half-time but could easily have been in the lead.

"We were really good in the first half and handled all the changes we had to deal with after losing three players during the week at training," Holbrook said.

"I thought 'we'll just get on with it'. I thought we were the best side in the first half. We created enough opportunities but didn’t quite finish them off.

"I was still confident at half-time but we just fell apart in that second half. It could have been a great story."

Boyd's injury is not serious but Holbrook said Rein, who had ice on his knee in the sheds, was "not great".