Last word: No Turbo, but DCE still a threat

Justin Holbrook is a relieved man knowing Tom Trbojevic isn't lining up for the Manly Sea Eagles this afternoon.

But although the reigning Dally M player of the year may be missing, the Gold Coast Titans coach knows his opposition still have plenty of strike power without the star fullback after a dominant display against the Newcastle Knights in their last start missing the gun No. 1.

"He's such a good player in the competition, isn't it? But they won quite easily last week without him, so they'll be confident," Holbrook said.

"I'd be lying if I said I wish it he was playing, wouldn't I? So, I'm not gonna lie... I'm okay that he's not playing but look, they're still such a dangerous side so we need to play well."

This includes attempting to limit Manly skipper Daly Cherry Evans' kicking game, which has arguably been the best in the competition this season.

"He's dictated games himself for a number of years now, so without having Turbo in, he's the most important player in their team," Holbrook said.

"You can't just shut guys like that down because they pop up everywhere, and he does. He's got so much creativity about his game, whether he'll kick on the third tackle, run on the last, put in a cross-field kick or pop up either side somewhere.

"Collectively, we've got to do it because he's playing fantastically, so we've got to do a really good job on him."

The Titans mentor emphasised the need to capitalise every opportunity that presents itself in last Saturday's post-match press conference, after a number of missed chances allowed the Eels to counter-attack.

"I thought we started alright last week. 20 minutes in, it was 0-0 and then we nearly grounded a grubber kick and then they went the other end and scored, so that's what I was talking about after the game... they're the moments we have to try and win, especially against good sides because they make you pay," Holbrook said.

"We nearly scored. We could have been up 6-0 but instead, we go the other end down and then we concede a couple more and we're fighting our way back from 20-0.

"We can't afford to be doing that, so we just have to take our chances, win a few of those moments we didn't win in the first half and it could have gone a different way, so we have to get better at that."

As well as icing any opportunity that presents itself, there has been a greater focus on defensive pressure this week at training, including being able to remain in the contest and change the flow of momentum when the game is going the other way.

"Last week, I think we only had 35 percent possession, so you're gonna be finding [line speed] hard to do, so we're going to try and keep the game flowing evenly as much as we can so we can maintain our line speed," Holbrook said.

"In the second half, we had it because we had more possession, so it sort of dictates how much energy you have."

"We've got to be better at changing momentum earlier rather than just sticking one way, so we've got to work harder."