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The Brisbane Broncos have knocked the Gold Coast Titans out of the finals race, winning by 18 points on Friday night.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Broncos 44
Gold Coast 28
The NRL Finals kick-off with an all-Queensland derby elimination final as the in-form Brisbane Broncos host the Gold Coast Titans. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:55pm (AEST).
The Broncos, after starting the season so strongly, hit the rocks during the State of Origin period and struggled to recover their form afterwards, slumping to a number of losses and, at one point, being in danger of not making the eight.
They turned that streak around at the back end of the season though, and while they had some easy wins to regain confidence, victories over the Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters have them in good stead.
The Titans, on the other hand, have surprised everyone to just make it this far, and finishing in eighth is an excellent result for the club that were tipped to be in the conversation for the wooden spoon this year.
They come into the finals having lost two straight, though, and while one of them was as close as they come, they were comprehensively outplayed by the Cowboys last week and need a monumental turnaround in Brisbane.
In team news, The Broncos will take a six-man bench into the contest with Joe Ofahengaue and Jonus Pearson added, while the Titans have seven on their bench with the additions of Anthony Don, Lachlan Burr and William Zillman.
The history between the two sides makes for grim reading if you are a Titans fan. The Gold Coast side have won just five of 20 meetings between the two, and haven’t beaten Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium since 2007. The only finals meeting between the two also went the way of the Broncos.
The key to the match appears to be in the forwards. While both sides have plenty of points in them, the big men will decide just how easy those points come. As cliched as it sounds, whichever side dominates through the middle of the park wins this.
In saying that, if the Titans do dominate then Ashley Taylor, who has been a shining light all season long, must stand up and direct the team around the park rather than letting Jarryd Hayne run the side.
After a couple of quiet weeks, Hayne could be ready for a monster game, so it could be a potential conflict of interests if the fullback overplays his hand.
The winner of this match will go on to face the loser of the first qualifying final, which will be played on Saturday evening between the Melbourne Storm and North Queensland Cowboys. For thew loser, it’s season over.
Prediction
When everything is weighed up, it’s really difficult to go past the Broncos. They have the better historical record between the two sides and enter the finals on the back of a five-game winning streak. The Titans will fight hard, but with Wayne Bennett at the helm, the Broncos should advance to the second week of the finals.
Broncos by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the first NRL elimination final from 7:55pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde