After experiencing his first NRL win, rookie Titans halfback Zane Harrison was looking to continue to build into his role and develop his partnership with livewire five-eighth Jayden Campbell.
Still only 20, Harrison has been entrusted by coach Josh Hannay to take his place in the spine, with his combination with Campbell key to their continuing success.
“I love playing alongside him, he's such a good player, such a good bloke and we've connected really well," Harrison said.
“We're always chatting with each other and he's one of those players that can pull something out of nothing, so, I love playing alongside him.
“I think I complement him well, so that's why I think we're improving our combination every week.
“I'm kind of that specialised 7, and he's more of that ball-running 6 and I'm just trying to put him in space as much as possible.
“Our combination's coming along nicely.”
Campbell double powers the Titans
A former Peter Sterling medal winner who won a National Schoolboys title with Palm Beach Currumbin State High School, Harrison also said he was benefitting from the faith put in him by Hannay.
Developing alongside the relatively inexperienced spine featuring Campbell, fullback Keano Kini and hooker Oliver Pascoe - who also made his NRL debut this year - Harrison said he was enjoying the challenge of getting better together.
“I'm learning heaps, trying to improve every week and I'm just soaking it all up, soaking up all the advice from coaches and players,” Harrison said.
“It’s good to get a bit of experience and I'm learning heaps along the way.
“(Hannay) has been so good, started in pre-season with his coaching, his one-on-one coaching and then leading into the season, constant feedback and just backing me to play my game.
“I can't speak highly enough of Josh and I thank him for the opportunity and I'll keep giving back to him.
“He puts faith in all the young boys and he's not scared to make that call.
“We've got a really young group here, so we're building along nicely and we're going to keep working hard and keep building.”
Having made that call to hand Harrison his debut in Round 10 against the Roosters, Hannay said he had been impressed with how his halfback had taken on board more responsibility to help unlock Campbell’s natural game.
“I just feel like there's a little bit of continuity going on there at the moment between him and Zane," Hannay said.
“And I think you can't underestimate (how he's helping) – it’s a big call for a kid that's played two or three games for what Zane's doing for Jayden … he's sort of freeing Jayden up.
“Jayden's a senior partner there, but Zane, for a kid, is just such an (asset).
“He's an out-and-out halfback and I think he's really allowing Jayden to flourish out there and just play his game.
“So credit to Jayden, but also I think that credit needs to go to Zane.”
Wests Tigers v Titans: Round 15
Campbell agreed having Harrison by his side had helped him improve his own game in recent week.
“(Our combination) is good, getting better every week,” Campbell said.
“Zane's got a really level head, especially for his age.
“Makes my job easier and opens up my game a lot more.
“(In the win over the Broncos), we wanted to stick to our process and wanted to stick for it longer.
“(In games), once we do that, the game opens up a little bit more and it makes it easier for me to play my game.
Next up, the Titans will face Wests Tigers, with both sides set to open their seasons next year in Las Vegas.
Looking to claim their first back-to-back wins of the year, Campbell said it was important the Titans took the right attitude into this game at Leichhardt Oval in order to keep building.
“Can’t get too complacent now that we've got to win,” Campbell said.
“Hopefully we can get on a roll the next few weeks.
“We've just got to keep playing our game, to keep going back to the drawing board and getting better every week.
“Josh and the coaching staff, they've worked really hard with us over the pre-season and during the year … we've just got to keep implementing and doing what they're teaching us and telling us to do and I'm sure we'll win a lot more games.”
Match: Wests Tigers v Titans
Round 15 -
home Team
Wests Tigers
10th Position
away Team
Titans
15th Position
Venue: Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Match broadcasters:
- WatchNRL
* Be there to see Titans and Eels go at it in Las Vegas in 2027. Charters are available now and tickets go on sale to the general public from today (Friday, June 12). CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
