Roar Guru
Jamie Soward and the St George Illawarra Dragons will travel to Skilled Park this afternoon to face up against the Gold Coast Titans with both teams reaching for form after two straight losses. Join us for live scores and commentary from 3.00pm AEST.
Only one win separates these two teams on the table entering Round 9, but the 6th-placed Titans are the favourites to take care of the 12th-placed Dragons at home.
St George will likely have to generate a few more opportunities in this game to get past the home side, who are averaging 20 points per game, while the Dragons are languishing with just below 15 points per game, third lowest in the league.
Last week the Titans lost a close game by one point to the Warriors in New Zealand, although centre Jamal Idris impressed with two tries.
The Dragons were outclassed by Manly, who opened up a 14-point lead by halftime and held on to win 24-18.
The Dragons are focused on getting a good start this afternoon, as emphasised by coach Steve Price in the media this week.
Another big storyline this week was the Dragons signing of oft-troubled fullback Josh Dugan, who was sacked by the Raiders in March due to off-field issues and was re-registered by the NRL just this week.
Dugan’s presence may soften the loss of top winger Brett Morris, who’s out after recent knee surgery.
The Titans, in contrast, are getting key players back from injury this week, with wingers David Mead (broken jaw) and Kevin Gordon (hamstring) returning from extended absences.