The struggling Gold Coast Titans have it all to do on Saturday night as they clash against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Fortress Brookvale. Join us for live scores from 7:30pm AEST.
After a tough opening against Penrith, the Sea Eagles cantered to a 30 nil victory on Monday and will be heavily favoured to beat the Titans tonight.
Manly’s win against the Panthers was made more impressive given the fact that the Sea Eagles were without key players Keiran Foran, Brett Stewart, Tony Williams and Glenn Stewart.
Although Foran and Stewart remain sidelined through injury, the Titans still have a massive mountain to climb if they are to get on top of the Sea Eagles.
After winning their opening match of the season against North Queensland, the Gold Coast have lost five in a row including last week’s 18-12 defeat to the Roosters.
While the Titans effort cannot be questioned, their execution in attack continues to be very poor and it remains to be seen whether or not they can trouble a strong Manly defence.
Prediction
The Gold Coast could not have met Manly at a worse possible time. The Sea Eagles will be fired up in front of another big home crowd that will be baying for blood.
Facing Manly at Brookvale ranks as one of the most daunting trips in the NRL, and the Titans will have to defy history if they are to emerge with the competition points.
The Sea Eagles have won their past 11 matches at Brookvale Oval and will be desperate to preserve their wonderful home record.
Despite missing Williams and Stewart, Manly’s pack remains strong and it is here where the Sea Eagles often get the better of opposition at Brookvale.
The Sea Eagles love to bully teams into submission at home so expect Anthony Watmough, Brent Kite and Jason King to lead the way upfront for Manly.
If Manly dominate upfront, the class of Daly Cherry-Evans in the halves should be enough to guide the Sea Eagles to a comfortable victory.
The Titans however do possess forwards capable of matching Manly pound for pound, with Nate Myles, Ashley Harrison and Luke Bailey all having solid seasons thus far.
But even if the Gold Coast do win the forward battle, they continue to lack the precision and structure necessary in attack to post points.
Against the Roosters last week, the Titans produced numerous errors while on the attack and will need to improve immensely if they are a chance of troubling Manly tonight.
Although the Titans will try hard, Manly’s record at Brookvale remains ominous, and judging from last week’s win against Penrith, the Sea Eagles are almost a sure bet to continue their terrific run at home.
Sea Eagles by 16
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