The Gold Coast Titans have continued their march to finals with a very comfy 20-point win over the Parramatta Eels.
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Final score
Titans 34
Eels 14
The Gold Coast Titans have performed well above expectations this season and will look to keep things going in Round 20 when they take on the trainwreck that is the Parramatta Eels. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 5:30pm (AEST).
The Titans have got themselves inside what is an ever changing top eight given the closeness of the competition and log jam of teams around the middle coming into this round.
A loss could see them slip all the way down to tenth from seventh, while a win would simply leave them in seventh with a four point gap to the Brisbane Broncos.
They enter this match against the Eels in strong form, having defeated the St George-Illawarra Dragons in convincing fashion last week, 32-12. Their halves, Ashley Taylor and Tyrone Roberts controlled the game strongly while their forwards dominated up the middle.
It has been a similar style the Titans have aimed for all season, and they have surprised many with how well they have been able to execute pulling off some huge wins throughout the season.
Simply put, Ashley Taylor in his debut year has been outstanding and on the back of their forward pack which includes Agnatius Passi and Ryan James along with the experience of Luke Dougals and Zeb Taia they have played outstanding football.
The same could have been said for Parramatta at one point, but they have unravelled with salary cap indiscretions costing them 12 competition points and numerous off field issues which has all come to a head this week with Corey Norman being suspended for eight weeks by the NRL.
While their finals hopes are dashed, the spirit of the side can’t be questioned as they continue to show up week in and week out, putting on good displays and competing hard.
They have won one of their last three, although could have easily gotten the upper hand last week against the Penrith Panthers. With Clint Gutherson in the halves, which seemed to be a left field move he played expertly and if not for a second-half collapse they would have gotten the win.
In team news, Greg Bird is out for the Titans, replaced by Agnatius Passi at lock with Nathaniel Peteru joining the bench. For the Eels, Corey Norman remains out with Gutherson still in the halves while Brad Takairangi returns in the centres for the injured Michael Jennings.
When they earlier this season in Darwin it was the Eels, under similar adversity to what they have faced for much of the season managing to take a 10 point win in tough conditions.
Prediction
The Titans have been playing good footy, even when you consider some of the losses they have had recently. Parramatta will fight hard, but ultimately fall short away from home.
Titans by 6.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 20 fixture from 5:30pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
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Scott Pryde
Expert
Match Results The Gold Coast Titans have recorded a resounding 20-point victory over the Parramatta Eels at CBus Super Stadium in what was a high quality and entertaining game. Neither team were afraid to spread the ball coming out of their own end and look for every little advantage possible, which set it up to be played at a fast pace throughout. The Gold Coast seemed to dominate the battle of the forwards early in the first half, although persistence from the Eels and a few concentration lapses from the Eels meant the game never got out of control, and it wasn't until the final 10 minutes when it was decided. On the back of their forwards domination it was Ashley Taylor and Tyrone Roberts who paved the way for a massive performance, while David Mead was forever popping up with good runs, passes and was also safe as a house at the back of the field. The try scoring opened early through Konrad Hurrell who crashed over off an Ashley Taylor pass. Hurrell has played a fantastic first half making breaks and strong runs whenever the Titans needed it, and his try was just another one of those strong runs. Anthony Don would be the next to score, in a try that seemed to come from nothing. Play was on the left and Tyrone Roberts looked to drive a kick over the sideline, with the ball deflecting to Nene McDonald who displayed some fantastic vision to put in a crossfield kick with Don scoring untouched. Chris McQueen would then add a try of his own on the right hand side, with another barge over effort, running through the defence. The Eels stayed persistent to the end of the first half though and were rewarded with a try through Kenny Edwards as he ran over the top of Ashely Taylor from a Clint Gutherson pass. The second half began in unconvincing fashion for both teams, with Ashley Taylor opening the scoring through a penalty goal, which at the time pished the Titans two converted tries ahead and seemed to, at least based on the way the Eels had been playing end the game as a real contest. The Eels, as they did throughout the first half though stayed persistent and in the contest. They never slipped away, and concentration losses from the Titans seemed to continually take over the match. It took until the 58th minute for the next points to be scored as Eels winger Bevan French scored. It was on the back of one of the luckiest bounces you are ever likely to see, but still off some good attack from the Eels ending in a Gutherson kick. Eight points behind was as close as the Eels would get though with the Titans scoring a couple of tries in a five minute period as both Nene McDonald and Chris McQueen scored, crossing for his second. McDonald would score off a crossfield kick from Tyrone Roberts, while McQueen scored off another barge over effort. The Eels would score one last consolation try through Jeff Robson. It was well deserved for the playmaker after a strong performance as he crashed over next to the uprights. Ashley Taylor would close it out in style though. Parramatta looked to offload heading out of their own end, but one too many from Michael Gordon ended in the hands of Taylor who streaked away to add another try as the last play of the game. In the end though, a commanding victory for the Titans as they continue what can only be described as a completely unexpected charge towards the month of September. Final Score Gold Coast Titans 34 Parramatta Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full report to follow. Thanks for joining The Roar's live coverage of the 2016 NRL season as the Gold Coast Titans recorded a resounding victory over the Parramatta Eels. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. Be sure to join Connor Bennett now as he takes you through the Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters clash. I'll be back from 8:50pm (AEST) this evening as the Tour de France hits Stage 20. Bye for now.
Scott Pryde
Expert
The Roar's NRL MVP 3 - Ashley Taylor 2 - David Mead 1 - Tyrone Roberts
Scott Pryde
Expert
Stats Tries: Titans (6), Eels (3) Goals: Titans (4/6), Eels (1/3) Penalty Goals: Titans (1/1), Eels (0/0) Possession: Titans (52%), Eels (48%) Completions: Titans (31/37), Eels (24/34) All runs: Titans (171), Eels (146) All run metres: Titans (1599), Eels (1436) Line breaks: Titans (5), Eels (4) Offloads: Titans (15), Eels (5) Tackles: Titans (310), Eels (305) Missed tackles: Titans (35), Eels (35) Penalties: Titans (8), Eels (6) Errors: Titans (7), Eels (10)
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Can't imagine that Neil Henry will be happy with some of the drop offs in intensity (especially around the 30-40min mark) -- of course not having Paasi to bring off the bench for impact did make things a bit messy. Eels fight hard if nothing else and it's a credit to the players and to Brad Arthur that they keep showing up and putting in.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full stats, MVP and report to come. Thoughts on the match Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
FULLTIME Well, strong win for the Titans tonight. Eels fought hard, but in the end it was pretty much one way traffic. Gold Coast Titans 34 Parramatta Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
CONVERSION SUCCESSFUL by ASHLEY TAYLOR Titans 34 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
80' - TRY TITANS, ASHLEY TAYLOR This has been a horrendous finish to the game. Error after error, and here is another one. Gower with a run to the line, then a pass for Gordon who looks to pass on and Taylor runs onto it, then away all the way to the try line. Titans 32 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
79' - The Titans work it at the line and not much happening before they go right and McQueen has a run. Now Pettyrbourne into the middle and he looks to offload but Takairangi takes it away. Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
79' - The Titans start this set 20 metres out and Douglas looks to offload on the first tackle, with an error straight away. Eels knocked it down though so the Titans will have the feed. Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
78' - The Titans come back from the scrum through James and Douglas and here is a penalty. Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
77' - Eels over halfway off the scrum, but then there is a forward pass to Moeroa. Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
76' - Tyrone Roberts gets us back underway with Mannah taking the run back at the Titans defence. They come left and here is a knock on against the Titans as they look to shift it. Game will just wind down through the final 4 minutes now. Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
CONVERSION SUCCESSFUL by MICHAEL GORDON Titans 28 Eels 14
Scott Pryde
Expert
74' - TRY EELS, JEFF ROBSON The Eels come right from the scrum and Moeroa with a big run. O'Brien back into the middle before Robson links with Gutherson left and an inside ball for Edwards who is pulled down by 5 Titans players. Now Robson with a run at the posts, running ducking and weaving to the line crashing over with a consolation try. Titans 28 Eels 12
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Suspect he's going to have kicking duties next week.
Scott Pryde
Expert
74' - Passi brings it back from the kick-off before they work it into the middle with both Douglas and Taia getting involved. Now they come left from Hurrell to Pulu and he looks to unload along to Don but that pass won't stick. Titans 28 Eels 8
Scott Pryde
Expert
CONVERSION SUCCESSFUL by ASHLEY TAYLOR Off the uprights. Titans 28 Eels 8
Scott Pryde
Expert
71' - TRY TITANS, CHRIS MCQUEEN Gold Coast bring it forward through the forwards before there is a sweeping shift play right from Taylor to Mead who is pulled down just a metre out and hasn't he been good tonight. Now they come right out of dummy half from Hurrell to McQueen and he has crashed over for his second try of the night. Bunker to check grounding, but nothing wrong with that. Titans 26 Eels 8