After his costly error in his team’s NRL elimination final, Gold Coast centre Patrick Herbert could’ve spent the summer beating himself up – not that critics hadn’t already done so.
But the resilient 25-year-old kept the blunder against the Sydney Roosters in perspective, saying: “I’m glad it happened to me and not someone who can’t handle it”.
Herbert was an easy target for keyboard warriors after his attempted pass to an unmarked Corey Thompson ended up over the sideline, costing the Titans a last-gap try to win the match.
His decision to go for the line himself, ignoring wrecking-ball second-rower David Fifita on his outside, before offloading unsuccessfully when tackled was scrutinised following the 25-24 loss in September.
“Nine times out of 10 you throw the pass (earlier) – there’s not much more I can say about it,” Herbert commented at a press conference held.
“I’ll cop it, I’ve copped it – it’s all good.”
Herbert believes Gold Coast will benefit from the experience of their first finals appearance since 2016, considering they pushed the Roosters right to the end.
“It was a pretty crucial mistake on the game. I could have thrown the pass obviously,” he said.
“But even just to get there, I think – that moment aside – it’s a positive we can take out as a young group. Everyone’s hungry now and it’s lit the fire in the belly, knowing we can play finals. I think we’ve got a real good group, a real confident group, especially after what happened.”
Herbert hasn’t let the mistake knock his self-belief, but redemption is still on his mind.
“My goal is to just do what I can for the team footy-wise,” he said.
“I want to go deep into the finals and make sure I throw that last pass, I suppose. That’s always the goal – to get the bread and butter at the end of the year.”
