Titans v Rabbitohs preview

Gold Coast Titans v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Cbus Super Stadium - Saturday 3:00pm

Can Souths continue to build momentum? Or will the Gold Coast boys cause the upset?

Souths moved themselves back into the winners circle last week with a scratchy 14-12 win over a flat Parramatta side at Pirtek Stadium. Missing origin star Greg Inglis and injured half Adam Reynolds, Souths grit their teeth and ground out a vital win which keeps them in touch with the top 8 yet again. Isaac Luke and Cameron McInnes were stands out for the Rabbits with their attacking raids and running from Dummy Half.

In changes for Souths this week Isaac Luke returns to the starting spot at the expense of Cameron McInnes who has dropped to the bench, Ben Lowe is starting in the second row and Jason Clark remains at lock. Chris Grevsmuhl is part of an extended bench.

Gold Coast are fresh off the bye last week having plenty of time to digest their heart breaking golden point defeat to Cronulla a fortnight ago. Nate Myles will be backing up from origin duty and is the only representative from the Tweed Heads based club.

The only change is David Mead is ruled out and has been replaced by the speedy Kevin Gordon.

Last Meeting: Gold Coast 14 Souths 10 at ANZ Stadium, Round 17, 2014

There have been 12 clashes between these two sides with Souths winning 7 and the Titans 5. Before their win last year, Gold Coast had lost the previous 5 in a row.

Souths have won 3 of 4 at CBUS Stadium, which spells more bad news for Titans fans.

Who To Watch: Titans fans will be hoping for a big game from Josh Hoffman. Hoffmann has been very solid since moving across from rivals Brisbane in the of season. So far in 2015 he has 947 metres run, 33 tackle busts, 5 offloads and 2 line breaks. He is immensely quick and has the ability to break through the strongest of defenders, this gives his outside men chances to create, particularly James Roberts who has been in hot form. If he has some space and time then Hoffman can create some chances for the rest of the side.

For Souths they will heavily reliant on their halves who have started to gather some cohesiveness and momentum over the past few weeks. The return of John Sutton has certainly made Luke Keary's job easier. The second year starter had arguably his best game of the season last Friday night and directed the South Sydney team around the field with poise and great direction. His stats last friday read: 6 runs for 65 metres, 5 tackle breaks, 30 tackles and two line beaks. He also added 9 kicks in general play for 240 metres. Keary's short passing game and on field direction will be vital to Souths chances of winning on Saturday afternoon.

The Favourite: Souths are the favorites despite being the away side.

My Tip: Picking Souths in this one, they found some form last week and the return of Greg Inglis will further boost their chances. Souths by 12.

1. Josh Hoffman 2. Anthony Don 3. James Roberts 4. William Zillman 5. Kevin Gordon 6. Aidan Sezer 7. Kane Elgey 8. Luke Douglas 9. Kierran Moseley 10. Nate Myles 11. Ryan James 12. Dave Taylor 13. Lachlan Burr
Interchange: 14. Matt White 15. Eddy Pettybourne 16. Ben Ridge 17. Daniel Mortimer 18. Mark Ioane

1. Greg Inglis 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dylan Walker 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Aaron Gray 6. John Sutton 7. Luke Keary 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Issac Luke 10. David Tyrrell 11. Ben Lowe 12. Chris McQueen 13. Jason Clark
Interchange: 14. Cameron McInnes 15. Nathan Brown 16. Tim Grant 17. George Burgess 18. Chris Grevsmuhl 19. John Olive

Referees: Grant Atkins, Gavin Reynolds; Sideline Officials: Clayton Sharpe, Jeff Younis; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell, Ben Galea;

Check out all the action live in our Match Centre