The Titans have become the feel-good story of the back end of the season, prompting calls for a wildcard system to be brought in for the finals after they put together an incredible five-game winning streak that left them stranded just below the top eight.
Yet Paul Gallen has let some air out of that balloon, stressing the Titans have yet to play under any kind of stress given their realistic playoff hopes were extinguished months ago.
Despite hammering the Knights on Friday to relegate them to seventh spot and a tough trip to play the red hot Rabbitohs, Gallen was blunt when asked if he would boot the Novocastrians from the finals to keep the excitement from the Gold Coast rolling.
NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY tonight, debating rugby league's big issues alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Watch from 10.10pm AEST!
"They were good the other night but I can't go with that at all," Gallen told Wide World of Sports' The Final Whistle.
After a sometimes brilliant, yet inconsistent season, the Knights finished five points, or two-and-a-half wins, clear of the Titans in seventh position.
Their recent drop-off in form has infuriated rookie coach Adam O'Brien who has admitted he'll need to use the summer to figure out what's missing "between the ears" for his players.
Yet, in many ways it has been a season to celebrate for Newcastle, with the proud club finally breaking a playoffs drought that dates back to 2013, when Wayne Bennett took them to a preliminary final.
"Newcastle deserve to be there, they won the games throughout the year they needed to win and they're there deservedly," Gallen confirmed.
The Titans have been a different story thanks to low expectations due to a roster that looks thin on paper and a rookie coach who was little-known to the NRL prior to this season.
Justin Holbrook has had the benefit of a development year to start his NRL head coaching career, although expectations will skyrocket next year after some big recruitment moves from football boss Mel Meninga, bringing boom youngsters David Fifita and Tino Faasuamaleaui into a forward pack that is already holding its own.
According to Gallen those expectations will be accompanied by the kind of pressure no Titans side has felt in a long time and only then will we start to see if they have what it takes to take the next step into the top eight.
"I'll say one thing about rugby league, pressure does amazing things to footy players and it does amazing things to rugby league teams," Gallen said.
"The Titans had no pressure on them, they couldn't make the finals from what, Round 15 or something at least?
"They had no pressure on them whatsoever. They've gone out there and thrown the ball around, a couple of good players are playing well and they've won five in a row.
"Well done to them, I take my hat off to them, they've finished the season well but as I said pressure does amazing things to people and they had absolutely no pressure whatsoever at the back end of the season, so I couldn't support them being in the semi finals at all."
The Titans have become the feel-good story of the back end of the season, prompting calls for a wildcard system to be brought in for the finals after they put together an incredible five-game winning streak that left them stranded just below the top eight.
Yet Paul Gallen has let some air out of that balloon, stressing the Titans have yet to play under any kind of stress given their realistic playoff hopes were extinguished months ago.
Despite hammering the Knights on Friday to relegate them to seventh spot and a tough trip to play the red hot Rabbitohs, Gallen was blunt when asked if he would boot the Novocastrians from the finals to keep the excitement from the Gold Coast rolling.
NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY tonight, debating rugby league's big issues alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Watch from 10.10pm AEST!
"They were good the other night but I can't go with that at all," Gallen told Wide World of Sports' The Final Whistle.
After a sometimes brilliant, yet inconsistent season, the Knights finished five points, or two-and-a-half wins, clear of the Titans in seventh position.
Their recent drop-off in form has infuriated rookie coach Adam O'Brien who has admitted he'll need to use the summer to figure out what's missing "between the ears" for his players.
Yet, in many ways it has been a season to celebrate for Newcastle, with the proud club finally breaking a playoffs drought that dates back to 2013, when Wayne Bennett took them to a preliminary final.
"Newcastle deserve to be there, they won the games throughout the year they needed to win and they're there deservedly," Gallen confirmed.
The Titans have been a different story thanks to low expectations due to a roster that looks thin on paper and a rookie coach who was little-known to the NRL prior to this season.
Justin Holbrook has had the benefit of a development year to start his NRL head coaching career, although expectations will skyrocket next year after some big recruitment moves from football boss Mel Meninga, bringing boom youngsters David Fifita and Tino Faasuamaleaui into a forward pack that is already holding its own.
According to Gallen those expectations will be accompanied by the kind of pressure no Titans side has felt in a long time and only then will we start to see if they have what it takes to take the next step into the top eight.
"I'll say one thing about rugby league, pressure does amazing things to footy players and it does amazing things to rugby league teams," Gallen said.
"The Titans had no pressure on them, they couldn't make the finals from what, Round 15 or something at least?
"They had no pressure on them whatsoever. They've gone out there and thrown the ball around, a couple of good players are playing well and they've won five in a row.
"Well done to them, I take my hat off to them, they've finished the season well but as I said pressure does amazing things to people and they had absolutely no pressure whatsoever at the back end of the season, so I couldn't support them being in the semi finals at all."
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