PENRITH back rower Elijah Taylor has paid tribute to Gold Coast’s tough NRL playing culture ahead of the sides’ round two clash in Bathurst today.

The Titans put their cocaine scandal to one side last Saturday in a heart-breaking final second 19-18 loss to Wests Tigers.

The Titans’ off-field dramas remain on-going this week, but Taylor said they have shown through their tough, grinding style of play, similar to what they employed last year, they are still a tough side to beat.

“It’s a credit to the team culture at the Titans, they have their dramas going on off the field, but the dressing room is still a tight unit,” Taylor said.

“And that shows their character that they turn up for each other and play that grinding style.

“So I’m sure they won’t be concerned with anything off the field, they will be only concerned about their job for their team and so will we.

“We will be doing everything we can to prepare well and go out and play hard this weekend.”

Taylor said shutting down inspirational Titans captain Nate Myles would be crucial to the Panthers securing back-to-back wins to start the season, after their round one defeat of Canterbury.

“He is their leader, he plays tough Origin and all that,” Taylor said.

“Defensively we just have to get off our line, put our bodies in front of him, slow him down and work hard. He is a competitor, a really tough bloke. We need to be on our game to shut them down because he creates a lot of what they do.”

Meanwhile, Taylor says he has no concerns about the playing surface at Carrington Park in Bathurst after the ground underwent a major upgrade over the summer. Last year, an extremely soft and boggy track welcomed the Panthers when they went down 18-16 to Cronulla. 

Taylor said the field that day was far from the pristine pitches of the NRL, but he was comforted by news that the park had undergone major improvements in December and hoped they could run out onto a fast, dry field this  afternoon. 

“The Sharks played really well that day and it was a really wet game. The field was below par,” he told NRL.com. 

“But now they’ve done it up, which is really good. Hopefully it’s a fast track out there this time. And I’m sure a lot of the Panther fans out in Bathurst will come to the game.”

The Panthers lock said it was rare for an NRL ground to be in such muddy conditions, a state that wasn’t helped by the two curtain-raisers earlier that day. 

“It’s not often when it happens, nowhere near. You hardly ever see it. But it’s a game out in the bush and they’re not used to having NRL footy games out there,” he said. 

PENRITH PANTHERS: 1 Matt Moylan, 2 George Jennings, 3 Dean Whare, 4 Jamal Idris, 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 6 Jamie Soward, 7 Peter Wallace, 8 Sam McKendry, 9 James Segeyaro, 10 Brent Kite, 11 Sika Manu, 12 Lewis Brown, 13 Elijah Taylor, 14 Tyrone Peachey, 15 Jeremy Latimore, 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 17 Bryce Cartwright, 18 Isaah Yeo.