Today will see two of the NRL’s most inconsistent teams square off when the Gold Coast Titans play host to the St George Illawarra Dragons at Cbus Super Stadium.
After starting off the season in rampant fashion wining six of their first seven games, the Dragons have been brought back to earth winning only three games in the last two months.
Despite this poor run of form, Paul McGregor’s side find themselves in sixth place on the ladder with a legitimate shot of finals footy.
Who would have thought this at the start of the season?
Going into 2017 as hot favourites for the wooden spoon, the Red V have surprised a few despite playing inconsistent footy across the park and having to deal with injuries to key players.
Team captain Gareth Widdop, star fullback Josh Dugan and NSW representative Tyson Frizell have all had time on the sidelines as McGregor has had to call on his bench players to fill the voids on more than one occasion.
Kurt Mann has been one of these players, and has been a standout when called upon.
The utility back has been rewarded for his good form by signing a new deal which will keep him in the Red V until the end of 2019. In a season where he has filled in at fullback, centre, wing and the halves, Mann will be hoping to secure the number one jersey on a full time basis when Dugan departs for Cronulla next season.
For now though, the pair are teammates and Mann is set to line up in the halves next to Widdop today, meaning Josh McCrone drops to the bench.
The Dragons are coming off an unconvincing 34-28 win over the 15th placed Newcastle Knights in a game where they found themselves down 28-10 at the half.
You can’t be giving yourself these kinds of starts to games in the NRL, especially when your opposition has a player of Jarryd Hayne’s quality.
The NSW centre/fullback has had a mixed time of late. Hayne played a starring role in NSW’s Origin Game 1 win but had a night to forget in Game 2, coupled with the fact he has failed to set the world on fire at club level for the Titans.
(AAP Image/Dan Peled)
Even with Hayne’s indifferent form, the Dragons are coming off games where they shipped 24 and 28 points against the Eels and Knights respectively, and their defence will know they have to be on their game to stop the ‘Hayne Plane’.
The Titans are coming off a terrific 26-14 win over the Wests Tigers which snapped a four-game losing streak. They currently sit in 15th place on the ladder with any hopes of finals action seemingly gone.
The main reasons for these two sides’ inconsistencies has been the inability to win back-to-back games. Since winning six of their first seven games, the Dragons have only won consecutive games on one other occasion, while the Titans have a three-game winning streak during April and May as the only thing to get excited about.
Although this is not a game which will make or break the Dragons’ finals hopes, it could go a long way to getting the team back on track and where they were playing at the start of the year.
With nine games still left to play this season, the Dragons find themselves in a great position to reach the finals for the first time since 2015. However, it remains to be seen whether this group of players has the consistency to be a relevant force come September and October.
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