Round 5: Rabbitohs v Titans preview
A Saturday afternoon conundrum hits us first up as the South Sydney Rabbitohs play host to the Gold Coast Titans at Bankwest Stadium.
The Bunnies have had a poor restart to the season with tough losses to both the Roosters and Storm, despite having been competitive for the most part in both matches. The Rabbitohs suffered a 22-8 defeat last weekend in Melbourne and although the margin looked sizeable, they were well in the contest for the first 70 minutes.
South Sydney comes into the contest sitting down in thirteenth spot, having only won one of their four matches to date, a narrow four-point victory in Round 1 against Cronulla. Whether it be through new rules or general fitness, they've struggled so far in 2020 to live up to their hype with several key stars not meeting expectations set upon them. They will be boosted by the return of Cody Walker who was forced to sit out the past two matches after being suspended by the NRL. Walker gives Souths more experience in the halves and he could be the boost that they need.
Almost 12 months on from their previous victory, the Titans were able to give their long-suffering fans a much needed boost following a late 28-23 victory over the Wests Tigers on Sunday night. Their victory last weekend was important, given that they had only scored three tries across their first three matches.
Gold Coast sits in fifteenth spot heading into this clash and will be confident that they can spring another upset against an underperforming South Sydney. New coach Justin Holbrook has not been afraid to swing the axe so far in his very short tenure at the Titans, with Maroons representative Jarrod Wallace having been dropped from last week's match, amongst other changes that saw them enter the winners circle. Holbrook has named the same 17 that took to the field in Brisbane, with Anthony Don to start after initially being named as a reserve last week and Tyrone Peachey on the bench after being dropped last weekend.
Last meeting: Round 3 2019 - Rabbitohs 28 Titans 20
Who to watch: Rabbitohs rake Damien Cook was one of the players who was expected to be the most advantaged by the quicker speed of the NRL's new rule changes. However, the impact of Cook has been negligible at best with the Bunnies hooker not yet taking full advantage. While he's been solid enough in the past two games, his running metres have not risen in line with those expectations. Cook will be looked upon for his nifty footwork out of dummy-half to help the Rabbitohs get on a roll on Saturday.
Having not played an NRL game for almost three seasons, Jamal Fogarty has come into the Titans side since the season's resumption and has looked good in the halves. Fogarty was a strong performer last weekend in the victory against the Tigers, with 251 kicking metres and a tackle break. The Titans will be needing a big performance from their halves and if Fogarty can compliment Ash Taylor then the visitors can go a long way to an upset.
The favourite: South Sydney are heavy favourites for the contest given the strength of their line-up but also thanks to their recent record.
My tip: The Rabbitohs have been less than impressive through the last few weeks but they should have enough to beat an enthusiastic Titans side. The home team will be boosted by the return of Walker and the fact that they have been competitive with the likes of the Roosters and Storm is a better level than recent opposition of the Titans. Rabbitohs by 12.
