Date:Saturday 20th June
Venue:Cbus Super Stadium
Kick-Off:5:30pm
Home Team Titans: 1 David Mead 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 Brad Tighe 5 Kevin Gordon 6 Josh Hoffman 7 Aidan Sezer 8 Luke Douglas 9 Daniel Mortimer 10 Nate Myles (c) 11 Ryan James 12 Ben Ridge 13 Eddy Pettybourne. Interchange: 14 Agnatius Paasi 15 Mark Ioane 16 Lachlan Burr 17 Matt Robinson 18 Dave Taylor.
Away Team Warriors: 1 Tuimoala Lolohea, 2 Ken Maumalo, 3 Konrad Hurrell, 4 Solomone Kata, 5 Manu Vatuvei, 6 Chad Townsend, 7 Shaun Johnson, 8 Jacob Lillyman, 9 Nathan Friend, 10 Ben Matulino, 11 Bodene Thompson, 12 Ryan Hoffman, 13 Simon Mannering (c). Interchange: 14 Siliva Havili, 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo, 16 Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 17 Charlie Gubb, 18 Albert Vete.
Preview
On Saturday afternoon at Cbus Super Stadium, two of the NRL’s wildcard teams will meet for a clash that could see the winner continue on their way to securing a finals berth. The two teams can barely be separated, as the eighth placed Titans and the tenth placed Warriors are both sitting on fourteen points, with six wins and seven losses each.
The New Zealand side are heading into the game after a last minute defeat to the Sydney Roosters, while the Titans will be looking to extend their winning streak to three after an impressive 28-14 victory over the Bulldogs.
The Titans had two new faces join their squad this week, as the club secured mid-season recruits Chad Redman and Nene Macdonald, from the Knights and Roosters respectively. Redman is a great chance of making his first appearance for the Titans this week, as an injury dilemma in the hooker position saw Daniel Mortimer as the Titans only dummy half option. Redman was signed almost immediately, and is expected to join the interchange bench against the Warriors. Macdonald could also make his Titans debut at left centre, with Brad Tighe in doubt with a shoulder injury.
Nate Myles picked up a foot injury in Origin, and will need to pass a fitness test on Friday to take his place in the squad. Ryan Hoffman suffered a head injury in Wednesday’s origin clash, and is unlikely to play on Saturday due to a number of concussions in the past month. Sam Tomkins could also be a late inclusion for the Warriors if he is able to overcome his knee injury to pass a fitness test.
The battle between James Roberts and Solomone Kata promises to be an exciting one, as the NRL’s fastest man comes up against the rock solid Kata, who possesses plenty of pace himself. Roberts has scored thirteen tries, while Kata has crossed the line eleven times this season, and plenty of tries from both centres should be expected in this clash.
As with most Titans games this season, the aggressive Warriors forward pack has a size advantage over the Titans big men. If the Warriors backs are able to contain the speedy Titans backline, they will go a long way towards winning this clash.
The two sides met in New Zealand earlier in the season, and it was the Titans who came away with a 32-28 victory in a close encounter. The Warriors have the upper hand in other recent matches against the Titans though, as they defeated the Gold Coast 42-0 late last year, and 24-16 the last time the two sides met on the Gold Coast.
Saturday’s game promises to be a high scoring, back and forth affair, as two of the NRL’s most exciting teams come head to head. The game could go either way; however the Titan’s attacking flair should see them continue their winning run.
Prediction Titans by 10
