It couldn't get any worse for Gold Coast Titans coach Garth Brennan - or so he thought.
The winless Titans are reeling after confirmation hooker Nathan Peats will be sidelined for up to three months with a torn pectoral.
Mitch Rein will step up at rake in Sunday night's NRL clash with South Sydney after former NSW No.9 Peats suffered the injury doing an extra gym session on Thursday.
"Nathan was doing some extras in the gym yesterday and unfortunately it appears he has partially ruptured his pec," Brennan said.
"We'll have a scan done on it early next week.
"Talking to the medical experts they're saying best case scenario is six weeks. If it needs an operation it could be from 10 to 12 weeks."
Brennan would be forgiven for thinking he was due good news after the Titans not only lost their first two games but also their starting halves Ash Taylor and Tyrone Roberts to injury before Peats went down.
The Titans have also made the worst offensive start to an NRL season in almost two decades - just one try in two games.
Now they have to cope with life without livewire hooker while Taylor and Roberts are not expected to be fit until next week.
Rein steps up for his first match of 2019 after overcoming his own injury dramas.
The former Penrith Panther has finally got the green light after battling back and foot complaints.
"We're a resilient bunch here at the Gold Coast Titans and the good thing is we've got some guys who will come in and hopefully do the job," Brennan said.
While he hasn't had much luck, Brennan said there would be no excuses if the Titans didn't stand up to the third-placed Rabbitohs after demanding more from his team this week.
"I challenged the guys yesterday about whether the belief was still there," he said.
"I said in the press conference last week that I thought our players were hoping to win rather than believing they can win but they reassured me yesterday that they believe we can win.
"That's the right mindset I want from my team."
The Titans need someone to step up.
Their tally of six points is the fewest from a team's opening two rounds of an NRL season since Canterbury in 2000, who scored just two.
