'They're only trials': Holbrook eager for season proper to do the talking

The Titans may have been extremely impressive during the recent trials period but none of that attests on the NRL ladder ahead of this Sunday's season opener against the Wests Tigers.

Despite a top four finish in the pre-season challenge after putting on a dominant 40-16 performance in the Coast's major hit-out against the Dolphins, Justin Holbrook has stressed it's a completely different ball game with competition points on the line from this weekend, not wanting to dwell too much on the high-flying results.

Although, the Titans coach is eager to reflect on what he was able to extract with the new personnel in the squad, gaining plenty of confidence for their Round 1 trip to Leichhardt Oval.

"We were happy with how we went but you don't get any points for that," Holbrook said.

"It was a good hit-out, but the trials are only that... they're only trials, so you can't take a lot [of meaning] out of them. It was important for us with a few key changes, but for a lot of teams, it's not that important.

"We do take a bit of confidence out of it, but Round 1 is completely different and it's going to be a lot harder."

A huge positive to come from the strong showing is the stability in the playing group, with Holbrook hinting his side will likely remain unchanged when the team is officially announced on Tuesday, seeing a number of top quality players missing out due to the quality of depth in the roster.

"The hard thing is you always have to leave good players out of the 17, but I guess the good thing for us is that we had that good hit-out a week ago and are happy with the combinations out of that trial," he revealed.

"We don't have to change a lot, but we still are obviously going to train hard and prepare well, but we don't need to worry about any of the positions for this week."

It'll be a zealous wait for the Titans as they take on the Tigers in the final game of Round 1 - a clash that is highly-anticipated for both teams who will be looking to improve after falling short in 2022.