The Thunderbolts will welcome back hooker Jake Turpin for Sunday’s trip to the Gold Coast to take on the Titans.
Turpin will make his return after five weeks out with a hand injury and is a welcome inclusion to Storm’s Under-20s.
“We missed him a fair bit, he was our leader in the first few rounds when he was playing,” coach Eric Smith said.
“His defence and his leadership, he’s been really missed through the middle of the ruck so really looking forward to having him back and leading from the front, guiding the side around.”
Be at AAMI Park when we take on the Panthers in Round 13, Saturday 4 June, 7:30pm.
The Thunderbolts will take on the ninth place Titans this weekend, a team who they fell just short of by two points back in Round 2.
Last week the Thunderbolts trailed the Warriors by 24 points with 15 minutes to play before finishing with a late flurry, only to fall just short short 36-28.
While the result was not what the young side was after, the performances have brought with them gradual improvement during the early part of the season.
Smith knows what needs to be the focus of the Thunderbolts preparations heading into their clash with the Titans.
“We’ve just got to work through those tough times when sides get points on us and back that up with good defensive effort,” Smith said.
“We’ve got to get tougher in that period when sides get points and make sure we muscle up for that next set and get a result out of it rather than just letting them roll down the field.”
See the full Thunderbolts team here.
