Titans duo's return in doubt

Doubt remains over the returns of Luke Douglas and captain William Zillman to the Gold Coast Titans lineup this Sunday, even after both were named for Sunday's NRL clash against the Storm at AAMI Park.

Speaking to media on Thursday, Titans' forward Zeb Taia said Douglas was facing a challenge to make his way back into the aqua-blue jersey, having already missed last Sunday's win over Newcastle due to a suspension picked up during the pre-season.

Complicating matters for Douglas is the form of the Gold Coast forwards in that win - Agnatius Paasi in particular would be hard to displace from the lineup. While Taia said he was confident Douglas would eventually work his way in, he noted that there's plenty of competition for spots in the Titans' forward pack.

Zillman meanwhile has been missing since May 2015, after sustaining a significant back injury. He appeared in the club's trial against South Sydney several weeks ago and was named last week for the Knights clash, but a calf injury kept him on ice for at least another week.

Taia noted the lack of luck of the club's new captain with injuries, but threw his support behind replacement custodian David Mead to do the job in Zillman's absence.

"Zilly's doing everything he can to get back into the team but we just don't know yet", Taia said.

The Titans' clash with Melbourne takes place on Sunday night at AAMI Park, with kickoff at 6:30pm. Click here for tickets.