Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 19 clash between the Titans and Eels.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Gold Coast Titans Vs Parramatta Eels
Venue: Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Date: Saturday July 13, 5:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Titans: 1. Keano Kini 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 3. Brian Kelly 4. Beau Fermor 5. Jojo Fifita 6. Jayden Campbell 7. Kieran Foran 8. Josiah Pahulu 9. Sam Verrills 10. Erin Clark 11. David Fifita 12. Klese Haas 13. Chris Randall 14. Isaac Liu 15. Jacob Alick-Wiencke 16. Keenan Palasia 17. Phillip Sami 18. AJ Brimson 19. Joe Stimson 20. Tanah Boyd 21. Iszac Fa’asumaleaui 22. Jaylan De Groot
Eels: 1. Clint Gutherson 2. Jake Tago 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Blaize Talagi 5. Lorenzo Mulitalo 6. Dylan Brown 7. Daejarn Asi 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Brendan Hands 10. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Ryan Matterson 12. Matt Doorey 13. Charlie Guymer 14. Matthew Arthur 15. Shaun Lane 16. Luca Moretti 17. Bryce Cartwright 18. Makahesi Makatoa 19. Isaac Lumelume 20. Joey Lussick 21. Morgan Harper 22. Wiremu Greig
Referee: Todd Smith
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
A Titans team buoyed by back-to-back wins hosts a desperate Eels side. With neither likely to feature in this year’s finals series, both teams will be looking to finish the season strongly and push as far up the ladder as possible.
The home side pulled off a huge win last week against premiership heavyweight the Cronulla Sharks. Before that, they put the Warriors to the sword in a 66-6 thrashing. It shows that, despite the poor start, this is a good football team with plenty of potential. It may have taken a while for Des Hasler to get the best out of them, however now that he has, the expectations for their performances are significantly higher.
Jayden Campbell will return from a hand injury to play at five-eighth, while AJ Brimson has been listed as 18th Man and may feature on the day. Furthermore, Josiah Pahulu will take the place of Queensland representative Moeaki Fotuaika and Klese Haas will return from a foot injury. To round things out, Phil Sami has been named on the interchange after missing last week’s game.
Meanwhile, the Eels’ difficult season continued after a loss to the Rabbitohs last week. Though they looked good in patches, defensive lapses let them down. With Jason Ryles recently announced as coach, there’s a greater sense of clarity over their future, which may boost the players’ morale when taking the field. He will begin to have a say on team selection leading into 2025, starting with this week’s.
With their superstar halfback Mitchell Moses out on Origin duties, Daejarn Asi fills in at half-back. Lorenzo Mulitalo becomes one of the many Eels’ debutants in many weeks, starting on the wing, which shifts Blaize Talagi to the centres. The impressive debut of Charlie Guymer has seen him promoted to starting lock.
This game could go in all sorts of directions. If the Titans have a mind to it, they could attack the inexperienced edges of the Eels and find success. The Eels have a far more mobile forward pack than usual, which will come in handy when defending against the likes of Jayden Campbell taking on the tired middles. Expect a high-scoring game with defence at a minimum. The question will be, can the young Eels’ desperation for a win outweigh the Titans’ run of form?
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Eels by 2 points.
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