Gold Coast Titans
24
Match Complete
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
56
| 76 |  | R. Garrick | ||
| 74 |  | D. Cherry-Evans | ||
| 72 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 71 | | H. Olakau'atu | ||
| 65 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 64 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 62 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 60 | | T. Trbojevic | ||
| 59 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 57 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 55 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 53 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 52 | | J. Saab | ||
| 45 | | R. Garrick | ||
| 43 | | J. Saab | ||
| D. Fifita | | 37 | ||
| J. Fogarty | | 33 | ||
| P. Herbert | | 31 | ||
| G. Marzhew | | 27 | ||
| G. Marzhew | | 20 | ||
| 14 | | T. Trbojevic | ||
| 12 | | T. Trbojevic | ||
| J. Fogarty | | 8 | ||
| J. Campbell | | 6 |
| 5 | Tries | 11 | ||
| 2 | Conversions | 6 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
The Gold Coast Titans will look to put themselves back in the finals frame with an upset win over the Manly Sea Eagles as Round 15 wraps up. Join The Roar for live scores and a rolling blog of all the action this afternoon from 4:05pm (AEST).
The Titans will be licking their wounds and wondering “what if?”, after two close loses against competition heavyweights in recent weeks. First, it was a six point loss to the Storm on the Sunshine Coast – they had an opportunity to lock things up on the siren, only to just fell short.
Then, it was a last gasp loss to the Roosters at home last week, scoring 34 points but losing to a Sam Walker field goal at the death, after they came from 22 points down to take the lead late.
The Sea Eagles pulled off a commanding win at Brookvale last week against the Cowboys, hitting 50 in the rout. Making it even more impressive, they were without a number of Origin representatives, most obviously Tom Trbojevic.
Manly seem to be hitting their straps at the right time. They didn’t have a bad player on the field last week, and with more personnel coming back, they are eyeing off an unlikely run at the top four if they can keep the wins ticking over.
The Titans have Mo Fotuaika returning from Origin duty. AJ Brimson, Anthony Don and Mitch Rein have also been named on the extended bench, any of whom may come into calculations on game day. The halves for the Titans seem to be starting to get their groove on, while son of a gun Jayden Campbell has been impressive in his two games to date at the back.
The Sea Eagles welcome back Tommy Turbo, with Reuben Garrick shifting back to the wing after an impressive game last week. Moses Suli is out, while Sean Keppie returns to the reserves. Dylan Walker was impressive coming off the bench last week, but that may be where he has to stay as the team starts to take shape after a slew of injuries to start the year.
The Sea Eagles hold a slender advantage in matches played between these two, winning 12 of 22 clashes overall. But they have a much better record on the Gold Coast, winning four of their last five. Last time they met, the Sea Eagles embarrassed the Titans in Mudgee 36-0 earlier this year.
Prediction:
This could be closer than it would seem. The Titans haven’t had trouble scoring points this year, particularly at home where they average over 30 points. The Sea Eagles since Round 5, meanwhile, have been scoring on average over 33 points per game. A sunny afternoon on the Gold Coast could see plenty of points on offer.
The Titans are getting pretty desperate at this point. But the key to a win is their defence: they can score points, but they need to stop giving themselves such high targets to run down. The 34 points they scored on the Roosters in defeat just about sums up where they are as a football team at the moment.
The Sea Eagles can defend, as well as put on some blistering attack. They are getting all their ducks in a row, and should be relatively fresh going into this one. On that basis you have to tip them, but this could be a helter-skelter game, with the result coming down to the wire.
Sea Eagles by 2
Game information
Kick-off: 4:05pm (AEST)
Venue: CBus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
TV: Fox League, Channel Nine (NSW/QLD/ACT/NT), 9Gem (VIC/WA/SA/TAS)
Live stream: Kayo Sports, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Go, 9Now
Odds: Titans $2.95, Sea Eagles $1.40 (odds via PlayUp)
Teams
Titans
1. Jayden Campbell, 2. Greg Marzhew, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. Patrick Herbert, 5. Phillip Sami, 6. Ash Taylor, 7. Jamal Fogarty (c), 8. Jarrod Wallace, 9. Erin Clark, 10. Moeaki Fotuaika, 11. Sam Stone, 12. David Fifita, 13. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui
Bench/Reserves: 14. Tyrone Peachey, 15. Jaimin Jolliffe, 16. Sam McIntyre, 17. Jai Whitbread | 18. Mitch Rein, 19. Joseph Vuna, 20. Anthony Don, 21. AJ Brimson
Sea Eagles
1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Jason Saab, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Morgan Harper, 5. Reuben Garrick, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8. Taniela Paseka, 9. Lachlan Croker, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Haumole Olakau’atu, 12. Karl Lawton, 13. Jake Trbojevic
Bench/Reserves: 14. Dylan Walker, 15. Ben Trbojevic, 16. Sean Keppie, 17. Toafofoa Sipley | 18. Moses Suli, 19. Tevita Funa, 20. Christian Tuipulotu, 21. Kurt De Luis
Brisguy51
Roar Rookie
Yep and the Qld selectors just agreed with me.
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Pizza is more his thing I thought
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Any side that can find s spot for Ash Taylor has problems
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Fair call
Tom G
Roar Rookie
Manly’s second half possession came from scoring Saab’s long range try and then running off the back of subsequent kick offs though not six agains and penalties. They got nothing from the officials today at all. In fact the Titans had an 8-4 penalty advantage along with 3-2 six agains. Whilst i agree totally that the new rules are contributing to almost all blowouts this game was more a case of one side with an attack on song and another that leaks points in buckets that couldn’t hack a shift in possession
Cam
Roar Rookie
He had a hand in all the Titans tries, but to be fair, he had a hand in plenty of Manly's as well. Unless the little fella can learn to defend, he will be only be half a footy player.
NorthNarra
Roar Rookie
Don't understand the whingeing. The Titans had great possession, a great kicking game and scored a bunch of points in the first half despite a pretty good technical tryline defence from Manly. Manly had great possession and and blew the Titans off their own park in the second half through a pretty ordinary Titan defence and one of the best attack lineups in the NRL. What were Manly supposed to do? Let the Titans back into the game so that neutral watchers could have a bit of a thrill with a close game?
RLFan
Roar Rookie
The only game I watched to the end was the St George/ Raiders game because it was a contest right to the end. Personally I think the new rules brought in to speed the game have misfired badly -so many blowouts, which are often due to the weight possession when the team on top gets a roll on. Also making the game faster only showed the yawning gap between the top and bottom teams. Unintended consequences by rules made on the run are turning viewers off.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
You've just about summed it up. People are turning off in droves and the NRL can't see it. They've misread the public and the the clubs perception with these rule change. Forget the head high issue that edict has nothing to do with blow outs. That issue will always be on the forefront but it shouldn't play any part . I've been watching football a long time and now I'm losing interest to put it mildly and I'm sure there are hundreds of other fans who feel the same way.
JGK
Roar Guru
Half a game Davey?
andrew
Roar Rookie
Congratulations Manly. I'll be interested to see Holbrook's press conference. Fifita has to improve his work rate, he goes missing in defence a lot. I'm hoping he doesn't repeat his effort today against NSW next Sunday.
Rob
Guest
I’m with you. The most entertaining game for me was Knights v Warriors. Try feast rubbish is very hard to watch IMO. One official is good but game is to fast and the bunker is pathetic with it’s inconsistent interference. Seriously the high tackle crack down is good but sending players for attackers falling into defenders is ridiculous beyond belief at times. The lying down to get a penalty, he got up so it’s okay garbage just to make it more unwatchable. Origin was an abomination with inconsistent rulings and a massive blowout. Not the game I loved unfortunately.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Great analogy…
Greg
Roar Pro
Agreed, I know NRL admin argue that people like seeing trys but id argue trys mean nothing if the defence isnt given a fair chance to stop them.
JOHN ALLAN
Guest
I acknowledge that’s it harder to arrest opposition momentum with the rule changes however the Titans tend to drift in & out of games this season. Apart from today, matches against Broncos, Souths & last week come to mind. Is it a fitness issue?
Jack Aubrey
Roar Guru
Well. Where do you start with that one? 80 points scored. 16 tries. The Titans with 100% completion in the first half, and 70% possession. The Sea Eagles ending on 51% possession for the game. Momentum in the game has never been more important. Both teams rode waves of it today. In the end, the Titans didn't do enough in the first half with theirs to win, despite scoring 24 points. They were overrun at the end by a rampant Sea Eagles who were good, but made to look great by an ordinary Titans defensive line that just couldn't catch a break. At one stage the Sea Eagles had had nine of a possible ten sets. With 27 minutes gone in the second half the Titans had only had 3 sets of six. Their are some big problems in the game at the moment, and it has taken hold quickly. While it must be great for Sea Eagles fans to get the win and cement their spot in the eight, is this the product we want to see? Is this good for the game? Certain factions of the game were so desperate to see the game sped up last year that we have implemented rules that do just that but with this afternoons unforseencircumstances. These are the sort of scores we used to get in the under 20's competition and it takes the tension out of the contest when points are seemingly so easy to come by. Their is more to it than just the officiating, but their are some danger signs for the competition and the sport as it stands. For the Titans. Where does it leave them. Another week of a big score by them ultimately not enough. They are adrift of the top 8 now and while a few wins can get you back on course they have to learn to defend and in a hurry. The Sea Eagles should be setting their sights on the top 4. 50 point hauls in consecutive weeks, their big guns starting to fire. They are a team that can take advantage of the way the game is played at the moment and the likes of the Eels and Rabbitohs should be looking over their shoulders. Thanks for joining me over a couple of games this weekend. Bye for now
R N
Roar Rookie
Yep Barry, it is! I am just a bit frustrated. Like all you guys I love my league. But at the moment league is like that that mate you have had forever and love to death but has just discovered and gone deep into conspiracy theories. I still love the dude and want to hang out but it's getting harder every week!
andrew
Roar Rookie
Took him half an hour to convert a try HY. Tell him to stop dragging the chain.
Brisguy51
Roar Rookie
Maybe he can come off the bench for the second half.
Phil
Roar Rookie
I keep saying it after these blowout scores, expansion is a bad idea. There is not enough talent in first grade now and no extra quality stock to fill a 17th team. Although the winning team fans are rightly ecstatic, in the big picture these type of games are not good.