Eels v Titans preview

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Parramatta aim to put Demons to rest in desert shootout with Gold Coast

The Parramatta Eels and the Gold Coast Titans do battle this Saturday up in Darwin where the Eels take their 3rd game to the Northern Territory in as many years. It has been a whirlwind last 6 weeks for the Eels and they would have been relieved to rest up last week via the bye after recording their first win since the salary cap drama broke with a tense victory over the Newcastle Knights. With constant media reports over the future of Brad Arthur, the on going court case of star play maker Corey Norman and the conversations about who will be playing in Parramatta colours in 2017, it makes for a torrid time off the field for the blue and gold's. The trait of a great football side is their ability to put all the outside distractions and focus on the job at hand, can Parramatta do that against a youthful and resurgent Gold Coast side?

The Titans are continuing to surprise everyone this season and that trend rolled on with their dramatic golden point win over South Sydney on Sunday night. So far this season the list of some of the teams that have fallen prey to the Titans include: Canberra, Sydney Roosters, Penrith and South Sydney. Adding to this is the fact that the Titans have won their past 3 and have garnered 8 points from the last 4 games. Thy are playing confidently and behind a very strong forward pack that is eating up metres. Ryan James and Luke Douglas have been very impressive so far. This lines up as a very important game for the Gold Coast based side who have struggled with consistency a lot of the time in the NRL. Their Australia road trip continues as well after last week being in Perth. How the Titans deal with the aspect of travel and the start they make on Saturday evening will determine if they can claim their 4th straight victory which would be the first time they've achieved that feat since 2014.

Last meeting: Round 21 2015 - Titans 24 Eels 14

Look away now Parra fans - your battle with the Titans doesn't look pretty after 13 meetings. The Blue and Gold's have won just 4 games and haven't achieved victory over the Titans since 2014. The Titans have won the past two and lead the all time series between the clubs 9-4. In what shapes as better news for the Eels is that at TIO Stadium in Darwin they have played twice for two wins (18-10 over Canberra in 2015 and 10-4 against Penrith in 2014).

Who to watch: Parramatta need to lay the platform for success in the forwards and I'm looking for the big bopper Danny Wicks to have a big influence. With the loss of Junior Paulo it appears Wicks is the new leader of the pack and with him now starting there is more responsibility on him to led from the front. A strong ball carrier who has a nice change of direction at the line, Wicks is playing some of his best footy under the guidance of coach Brad Arthur. He is averaging 12 hit ups a game to go with 29 tackles and 105 metres. Solid stats from a player that has made a great comeback to the NRL, look for him to take the Titans forwards head on.

As mentioned above, the forward battle will be paramount to decide who comes away victorious on Saturday night. Ryan James is having a career year with the Titans and is sure to be a handful for the Eels forwards. With a strong, upright running motion James is difficult to tackle. He has great size and a wonderful offload which can attract 2 or 3 defenders to him at a time. What is not noticed about James is his speed and agility close to the line, as evident by his 5 tries in just 12 games. He has the x factor that coaches love to have in the dressing room. His stats tell the rest of the story: 4 line breaks, 1 try assist and he is averaging 17 hit ups, 38 tackles and a whopping 125 metres a game. Expect to see more than a few defenders bounce of the talented prop on Saturday and don't be surprised at all to see him cross the stripe again in what is turning out to be a splendid 2016 for Ryan James.

The favourite: Form has the Titans favoured in this one.

My tip: Gold Coast are playing some very attractive footy and are looking so dangerous attacking wise. Parramatta got the win a fortnight ago against the hapless Knights but I still haven't seen enough from them to think they will win this game, with no Kieran Foran they could appear rudderless at times. Titans by 8.

1. Michael Gordon 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Clinton Gutherson 5. Bevan French 6. Ken Edwards 7. Corey Norman 8. Daniel Alvaro 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Danny Wicks 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Beau Scott 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Kaysa Pritchard 15. Peni Terepo 16. David Gower 17. Rory O'Brien

1. William Zillman 2. Anthony Don 3. Josh Hoffman 18. Konrad Hurrell 5. Nene Macdonald 6. Tyrone Roberts 7. Ashley Taylor 8. Luke Douglas 9. Nathan Friend 10. Ryan James 11. Zeb Taia 12. Chris McQueen 13. Greg Bird
Interchange: 14. Nathan Peats 15. Leivaha Pulu 16. Agnatius Paasi 17. Eddy Pettybourne

Referees: Gavin Badger, Chris Butler; Sideline Officials: Dave Ryan, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski; Video Referees: Luke Patten, Steve Chiddy