Gold Coast stalwart Luke Bailey says the improving Titans will be aiming to reward loyal fans with an overdue NRL win against a quality Cowboys line-up at Skilled Park on Friday night.

But he says they will have to stop one of the competition’s best front-row pairings in Origin and Australian reps Matt Scott and James Tamou as well as attacking dynamos Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen.

Almost unbeatable at Skilled Park in their formative years, Titans fans have not celebrated a home win in five games this season.

In fact, they’ve only cracked the champagne once in their past 13 games at the Robina ground.

But after back-to-back wins against the Bulldogs (25-14) and Newcastle (24-14), the Titans have turned the corner after fears their season might be already over.

Bailey said the players couldn’t count on home-ground advantage against the sixth-placed Cowboys.

“The home (ground) advantage hasn’t worked for us this year, so we’re not relying on that. I think we’re relying on what we’ve done the last couple of weeks,” he said on Thursday.

“We’re still yet to prove ourselves at home in front of our fans and I guess tomorrow night’s game is a chance to do that.”

His looming battle with Scott and Tamou presents a considerable challenge for Bailey but one he said the Titans pack was excited about and certainly not intimidated by.

“It’s always exciting when you play in the front row against the best and they’re probably up there with the best at the moment,” Bailey said of Scott and Tamou.

“Tamou obviously killed it (in Origin) and he’s riding the confidence wave at the moment and Matt Scott’s obviously one of the best front-rowers in the game.

“We’re up for a challenge. I’m excited about how our pack is finally doing some damage.”

Titans coach John Cartwright, meanwhile, jumped to the defence of young centre Jamal Idris following comments about his weight by TV commentators last weekend.

Idris, whose training has been restricted by hamstring and foot injuries, has always battled with his weight, even at the Bulldogs.

“In this day and age I don’t think TV commentators should get in there and talk about a guy’s weight and grin about it … I don’t think that should be received well by anyone,” said Cartwright.

“He’s a young fella and like anyone it’s not going to sit well but we’ve just got to keep working on it.

“Can’t fault Jamal’s work on the field and he has the support and confidence of everyone at the Titans anyway.”