'Ryan rev-up does job for Titans'

Ryan James has turned his poor form around in recent weeks. Source: News Limited

FORMER St George Illawarra superstar Mark Gasnier looks back on NRL round 22 and singles out his player of the week to be awarded The Gaz Man.

And the award, for his titanic performance against the enormous Bulldogs pack, goes too …

Ryan James

In what was an extremely physical contest on Monday night, I thought young Ryan really stood up.

He took on the Bulldogs' pack and came out on top; a feat very few big men can lay claim to.

He got whacked a couple of times when Sam Kasiano and Aiden Tolman came looking for him, but that didn't stop him from carting it forward.

His work rate was second to none.

He made 15 hit-ups in the first half alone, whilst providing a few offloads throughout the match and supporting the other forwards really well.

Such a gutsy performance is especially impressive considering only two rounds ago he was omitted from the Titans' top grade side for a lack of form and ill-discipline on the field.

At the time, James was averaging just 70 metres per game and was the most penalised player in the Titans line-up.

Since returning to the NRL in round 21 however, he has carried the ball for 175 metres and 203 metres respectively, while playing more minutes than any of his other 16 appearances this season.

It's obvious he has improved his fitness.

He has always had the ability to make an impact in small stints off the bench, but now he is a consistent performer for three-quarters of the match.

He hasn't compromised quality for this extra game time either; you still get that solid performance, just for longer periods of time.

It's funny how a little kick up the backside can really lift a player's performance.

They get a little tap on the shoulder to say 'you're not playing first grade this week' and suddenly a whole different mindset kicks in.

We saw it happen to Konrad Hurrell at the start of the season and look how he stepped up.

I hope that was the case with Ryan.

I hope he made a conscious decision to improve what was letting him down, whether it was his preparation, or his diet or some other factor.

I also hope he can keep his barnstorming form going until at least the end of the season.

The Titans are going to need him in order to churn out more performances like that.

Over the next two to three years he could really stamp himself as a senior member of that forward pack, so hopefully he can make the most of his opportunity.  

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