The Gold Coast Titans had a number of shining lights emerge from an underwhelming 2023 season, none more so than the dominant attacking prowess of the left edge.
This group, made up of Kieran Foran, David Fifita, Brian Kelly and Alofiana Khan-Pereira, proved themselves to be lethal in attack, scoring 44% of the Titans’ 91 tries this season between them.
The incredible thing about this stat is that David Fifita trained the entire pre-season on the right edge and was shifted to the left just days before Round 1.
Originally slated to play second row on the left edge was breakout star Beau Fermor, who unfortunately suffered a season ending ACL injury shortly before the season.
This resulted in Fifita shifting across and pairing with Kieran Foran, a move that many say sparked Dave’s resurgence to career best form and his return to the Origin arena.
The rest as they say, is history.
Khan-Pereira finished his rookie season with 20 tries, breaking the club record and matching it with the best finishers in the game.
Brian Kelly was a powerhouse with ball in hand and support, notching up several big figures across attack and defense.
Kieran Foran, well, he was simply incredible in his first year as a Titan and showed skill and game awareness that only a veteran can possess.
Here are the stats behind the Titans’ left edge, and the key figures that show this group are just getting started.
Career Best Kelly - most offloads by a Centre in 2023
Brian Kelly was back to his best in 2023, finishing the season with the most offloads by a centre in the competition.
His 51 offloads put him in third place overall, just 5 behind leader J’maine Hopgood at 56.
Kelly also tallied 9 try assists and 6 tries, having a hand in nearly half of the tries down the left edge in 2023.
He also notched up 20 linebreak assists in 21 games, a number that aligns incredibly with Lofi’s 20 tries.
It doesn’t end there for the young centre, though, with the 146-gamer finishing the season with a career-best total of 2,975 running metres this year, averaging 141 metres per game.
Khan-Pereira cements his place in NRL History
Alofiana Khan-Pereira, known as Lofi, had a rookie season that was nothing short of incredible.
Along with breaking the club’s all-time try-scoring record (20 in a season), he became just the fifth player in the NRL era to score 20 tries in his debut year.
Titans interim coach Jim Lenihan praised the 21-year-old for his natural talent to find the white paint, acknowledging that ‘scoring is the easy part for him’.
The speedster tied ninth for most tries in 2023, alongside Broncos star Selwyn Cobbo and Eels flyer Maika Sivo.
Thanks to his incredible speed and timing, Lofi finished the 2023 season with the third most linebreaks in the NRL, surpassed by only two players who played finals.
Capping off his first NRL season with the club’s Rookie of the Year award, Lofi earnt selection in the Prime Minister’s XIII – a game he also scored a try in!
Dally M Dave achieves Origin redemption.
In what Cameron Smith labelled as his best season yet, David Fifita’s dominance down the left edge earnt him recognition as the 2023 Dally M Second Rower of the Year.
Fifita was unstoppable in attack, finishing with 130 tackle breaks (sixth in the NRL), 41 offloads (fifth in the NRL), 8 tries and 10 try assists.
Changing his style of play this year, Dave made a career-high 583 tackles at 90.39% efficiency and ran for 3,203 metres averaging 145 metres a game (500 metres more than his previous seasonal best).
His early season form rightly earnt him a return to the Origin arena, starring for Queensland in their series victory.
Foran finds new form in 2023
Kieran Foran made a statement in 2023, proving that at 33 years old he has plenty of elite footy left in him.
The 284-game playmaker has certainly made the most of his opportunity at a new club, finding new form and making an incredible impact on the young Titans side in his fifteenth NRL season.
Foran’s experience and longevity in the game proved invaluable this year, reflected in the resurgence of David Fifita, the growth of Tanah Boyd and Kieran’s ability to lead from the front in attack and defense.
His ability to take the ball deep into the defensive line enabled Jayden Campbell, David Fifita and AJ Brimson to break through gaps and created opportunities on both edges through committing defensive players.
Ever the competitor, Foran supplied 11 linebreak assists, 5 try assists and 6 tries of his own, a figure that includes his first ever career hattrick against the Bulldogs after 282 games in the league.
Left Edge by the Numbers
- 40 Tries
- 29 Try Assists
- 53 Line Breaks
- 10,019 Total running metres
