The St George Illawarra Dragons and Gold Coast Titans square off for a top-eight spot to signal the start of the post-Origin period. Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for live coverage.
St George Illawarra will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating 36-6 loss at the hands of Manly.
They will have to do it without Benji Marshall and possibly Josh Dugan, with the pair harbouring injury concerns.
It comes at a crucial time of the season for the joint venture, with some tough fixtures against the likes of the Bulldogs, Broncos and Sharks in the coming weeks.
Due to their poor points differential, a loss tonight could see them fall to tenth position, putting them in serious danger of missing the finals considering the closeness of the middle of the table.
Tyson Frizell is required to lead a forward pack that has been lacking in 2016.
He comes up against an underrated pack, featuring the likes of Ryan James, Greg Bird and Chris McQueen.
Neil Henry’s welcome back Papua New Guinea international David Mead and halfback Ashley Taylor, while skipper Nathan Friend and Eddy Pettybourne have been named on a six-man bench.
Taylor has shown signs of maturity in his first season and will need to be assisted by Tyrone Roberts, whose spot is on the line with Cameron Cullen putting pressure on the former Newcastle Knights pivot.
The two clubs last met in Round 7 of this year, when the Red V pipped the Titans 19-14 on the Gold Coast.
It was their 16th meeting since 2007, with the Dragons winning 11.
Prediction
The Red V will march on toward a top-eight berth.
Dragons by 6.
Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
Follow Riley on Twitter @rileypettigrew
Charles NSW
Guest
The Barry is upset because I am sick of his comments always trying to win an argument . I will refrain making further comment providing he stops answering my comments
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
You did or the team did? :)
The Barry
Roar Guru
If it doesn't matter what I say stop responding to my comments, drop kick.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yet again with personal insults Charles. Do you think a good coach would tolerate players in key positions not putting in the required effort? We're in round 19 - why are McGregors key players not putting in the effort? Who are these key players you're talking about? If you think a coach can defend his performance by saying 'not my fault, key players aren't putting in' then it's you that has no idea. If you think that getting flogged by Manly and the Titans is evidence of the players "having a go" you're an absolute peanut.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stop crapping on about us having a favourable draw Rene - sorry but we spent 5 of the first 9 weeks out of NSW and play every one of last year's top 8 teams twice.
Charles NSW
Guest
There are many issues that a coach has to deal with. Such as players not in key positions or players not putting the effort needed. It is easy to critiicise but at least overall they are having a go. Beside The Barry it does not matter what you say You have no idea!
SpongeBob
Guest
They tried hard at least. Every Titans try there's a bunch of Dragons there trying to stop it. Of course you'd rather actually stop it, but the effort is a good foundation.
Renegade
Roar Guru
It's a inflated position by getting a favorable draw where they got to play the storm and Cowboys during origin rounds.
Spongebob
Guest
Bit of a weird comp. Dragons are very poor, yet they should be 'average' based on their ladder position. In fact, only 2 losses behind 3rd place! If this was the only game you'd watched you'd think they were in the bottom couple.
Rellum
Roar Guru
Titans have all the ingredients to make a Grand Final in two or three years if they develop well. They have picked up some good buys mid season and are a much better team they people give them credit for. Ch 9 have only just discovered they can play.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Congratulations to the Dragons for getting to 20 points for the season. I have no idea how they've managed to win enough games to get there. They are the worst coached side in the comp. I loved McGregor as a player but he's clueless.
Charles NSW
Guest
The Dragons play like the NSW SOO do. Too slow, no direction and get into a panic in vital times.
Joe
Roar Rookie
Really poor performance from the Dragons. The attack is so ineffective, behind the back plays that creates nothing as the defense slides. Titans were awesome though, completed sets and attacked well. I knew they would win but not by that much and that is more to do with the poor effort from the Dragons as well. I don't think I've seen them play that bad this year.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
That concludes The Roar’s coverage of St George Illawarra Dragons vs Gold Coast Titans. Be sure to join us over the remainder of the round with Alan Nicolea bringing you live coverage of New Zealand Warriors vs Manly Sea Eagles from 5:30pm (AEST). Elsewhere on The Roar Scott Pryde is currently live with Stage 13 of the Tour de France. Thanks to Scott for filling in at short notice and to everyone else for following along.
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
The ladder as it stands 1. Cronulla Sharks - 32 2. Melbourne Storm - 30 3. North Queensland Cowboys - 24 4. Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - 24 5. Canberra Raiders - 23 6. Brisbane Broncos - 22 7. Gold Coast Titans - 20 8. New Zealand Warriors - 20 9. St George Illawarra Dragons - 20 10. Penrith Panthers - 18 11. Wests Tigers - 16 12. South Sydney Rabbitohs - 14 13. Manly Sea Eagles - 14 14. Parramatta Eels - 12 15. Sydney Roosters - 10 16. Newcastle Knights - 7
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
The week ahead Manly Sea Eagles versus New Zealand Warriors - Saturday, 16 July, 5:30pm (AEST) at nib Stadium South Sydney Rabbitohs versus Brisbane Broncos - Saturday, 16 July, 7:30pm (AEST) at ANZ Stadium Newcastle Knights versus Melbourne Storm - Sunday, 17 July, 2pm (AEST) at Hunter Stadium Penrith Panthers versus Parramatta Eels - Sunday, 17 July, 4pm (AEST) at Pepper Stadium Sydney Roosters versus Cronulla Sharks - Monday, 18 July, 7pm (AEST) at Allianz Stadium
Riley Pettigrew
Roar Guru
Thanks Scott, here are the full-time statistics. Possession: 50% - 50% Completions: 24/34 (71%) - 33/39 (85%) All Runs: 173 - 187 All Run Metres: 1524 - 1822 Line Breaks: 4 - 5 Offloads: 8 - 12 Tackles: 366 - 377 Missed Tackles: 25 - 27 Penalties: 3- 4 Errors: 8 - 8 St George Illawarra Dragons 12 Gold Coast Titans 32
steveng
Roar Rookie
Join the club together with the Rabbitsfans! lol The Dragons were outplayed and flogged, very poor performance.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Always next year. Yes, how far away is that? Can that start you know, now?
jamesb
Guest
We are rubbish, awful and pathetic. What an embarrassing performance! That's two floggings in a row. If they continue to get flogged, maybe Mary will get the chop. Anyway, there's always next year..