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It’s a battle for mid-table supremacy as the Gold Coast Titans play host to the Melbourne Storm to complete Round 14 of the NRL. Join The Roar for live coverage from 7.00pm AEST.
The Gold Coast Titans and Melbourne Storm are both out to keep in touch with the top eight in what promises to be a fiercely contested match in Queensland’s south.
Both sides will be keen to put disappointing last-start results behind them as they do battle without a host of key players.
The Titans were thrashed at home by the Penrith Panthers 36-14, while the Storm were put to the sword by the Roosters as they also lost at home by a 20 point margin.
Coach John Cartwright has been forced to make several changes to the team that took the field against the Panthers.
Young forward Caleb Binge and speedster James Roberts have both been called into the squad.
Roberts is making his club debut after linking with the Titans earlier in the season, while his cousin Binge is making his NRL debut after strong performances in the Titans 20s team over the past two seasons.
Hooker Beau Falloon will also make his comeback tonight forcing Matt Srama to the bench.
The Titans have been hit by a torrid injury toll this season and are missing key forwards in Nate Myles, Greg Bird and David Taylor for the clash against the Storm.
Veteran backrower Ashley Harrison has declared himself a certain starter, and will return from injury ahead of schedule.
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has also rung the changes from the side that started against the Roosters.
The Storm are in unfamiliar position of mid-table after being one of the most consistent sides throughout the super-coaches’ tenure, and will also be without a number of their key men.
Joel Romelo, Tim Glasby, Felise Kaufusi, Hymel Hunt, Jordan McLean and Travis Robinson have all been added to an extended bench with Bellamy wanting maximum cover before naming his final team before kick-off.
If the Storm needed any extra motivation for tonight’s encounter they need only think back to the last time the two sides met in round 5 when the Titans won 28-26 after being the beneficiaries of a controversial penalty in the fading minutes.
It will be the clash of the inexperienced halves as Ben Roberts and Ben Hampton go up against Maurice Blair, and Beau Henry.
This match will be decided in the forwards as although there is a lot of experience missing on both sides the players will be keen to impress their respective coaches and give themselves the best chance of remaining in the squad.
Despite Melbourne being outsiders with the bookies they have a slight edge over the Titans with the experience of Ben Roberts in the halves, and a forward pack that contains a number of Kiwi internationals, and are a huge chance of picking up the points on the road.
Join us from 7:00pm AEST for all the action, and leave a comment in the section below.
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