Gold Coast Titans coach Neil Henry insists a four-game losing streak won't take its toll on the morale of his team, following Saturday's 21-20 defeat to the Bulldogs.
The Titans trailed 20-8 deficit against the Bulldogs with 20 minutes remaining but pegged back the deficit through tries to David Mead and Josh Hoffman to the game into extra time, only for Josh Reynolds' 84th minute match-winning field goal to hand victory to leave them heartbroken again.
"I think the boys in there are okay. They're dejected because we're not getting the win but I think they've been up to the task and been competitive every week," Henry said post-game.
"I suppose 20-8 down again, we're chasing points. But I thought we really ramped it up for a period there and kept them down their end.
"We had an opportunity with a few minutes to go before we went into golden point to do something but we missed a couple of opportunities with our shots at field goal."
Titans co-captain Nathan Friend was able to find some positives in their loss.
"Obviously our last four games we've come home strongly but it's just, as Neil said, it's our structural errors in defence that are really costing us," Friend said.
"We had three errors on short sides today that we just need to show confidence within each other and they don't get to a lead like that. It's a whole different ball game."
Another reason for Henry to be satisfied with the Titans' performances was the development of the club's younger players.
The likes of Levaha Pulu and Agnatius Paasi have really lifted this season while leaving experienced heads Eddy Pettybourne, David Hala and Matt Robinson to bide their time in the Intrust Super Cup.
"There's a little bit of pressure on for positions. I thought Kierran Moseley was sharp when he came in, with Daniel Mortimer not there," Henry said.
"Some of our young guys are developing too like Levaha and Agnatius and they're gaining experience.
"We need to use these games as a learning curve for our boys moving forward. But we need to get a complete first 40 minutes out as well. We haven't done that this year."
