[VIDEO] Parramatta Eels vs Gold Coast Titans highlights: NRL scores, blog

Expert

11th April, 2015

4457 Reads

Venue: Pirtek Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm (AEST)
TV: Live, Fox Sports
Betting: Parramatta $1.40, Gold Coast $3

Eels
1 Will Hopoate, 2 Bureta Faraimo, 3 Ryan Morgan, 4 John Folau, 5 Reece Robinson, 6 Corey Norman, 7 Chris Sandow, 8 Darcy Lussick, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Tim Mannah (c), 11 Manu Ma'u, 12 Tepai Moeroa, 13 Anthony Watmough
Interchange: 14 Isaac De Gois, 15 Joseph Paulo, 16 Danny Wicks, 17 David Gower, 18 Peni Terepo

Titans
1 Josh Hoffman, 2 Anthony Don, 3 James Roberts, 4 William Zillman, 5 David Mead, 6 Aidan Sezer, 7 Kane Elgey, 8 Luke Douglas, 9 Kierran Moseley, 10 Nate Myles (c), 11 Ryan James, 12 Dave Taylor, 13 Greg Bird
Interchange: 14 Eddy Pettybourne, 15 Agnatius Paasi, 16 Lachlan Burr, 17 Ryan Simpkins, 18 Matt White

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Aidan Sezer - one of the hottest prospects for the Titans - is off to the Raiders. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Scott Pryde

Expert

11th April, 2015

117

4457 Reads

The Parramatta Eels are massive favourites when they host the Gold Coast Titans. Join The Roar from 2:45pm (AEST) for live coverage of the match.

The Eels have been patchy this season, but looking at their injured list it’s not hard to see why. So far the injury toll includes Kaysa Pritchard, Semi Radradra, Beau Champion, Vai Toutai, Kenny Edwards, Brad Takairangi and Pauli Pauli.

Combine this with the suspension of Junio Paulo and the Eels have had a severely disrupted opening month or so.

Currently in 10th place on the table, with two wins and three losses, this game is an important one for the Eels to win and spark a run of victories.

Meanwhile, the Titans have only managed to record the single victory, against the Cronulla Sharks. They sit 15th on the ladder only ahead of the Manly Sea Eagles.

In team news, the Eels welcome back winger Reece Robinson after missing last week’s game against the Tigers. This is a huge plus for the Eels as he has been one of their early season best. It also allows Manu Ma’u to shift back to the second row, where he has absolutely dominated this season. David Gower will resume his spot on the bench and Peni Terepo becomes 18th man.

The Titans have been able to name the same 17 players from last week’s loss to the Brisbane Broncos, with Dave Taylor named to come back into the starting side in a straight swap for Eddy Petybourne.

Having a look at the on-field battles and there will be none bigger than Chris Sandow versus Aidan Sezer. So far this season it has seemed whenever Sandow has been on his game then so are the Eels, while the Titans will be relying on a monster performance from Sezer to help them get over the line.

Another factor the Titans will look to use throughout their clash with the Eels is the speed of their outside backs. With James Roberts, arguably the fastest man in the NRL, being joined by the likes of David Mead and Anthony Don, getting these players into space and using their awesome speed could create a huge advantage.

Prediction
The Eels should be far to strong for the struggling Titans.

Eels by 12.

Join The Roar from 2:45pm (AEST) for our live coverage of the clash, and don’t forget to leave your comments as the game unfolds.

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Scott Pryde

Expert

Scott has penned over 3000 articles and is one of The Roar's longest-serving writers, covering a wide range of sports. When he isn't writing about sport, you'll find him umpiring at the cricket, or on the hill at Kogarah supporting the Dragons.