Round 15: Titans v Raiders preview
Raiders' chase for the top four moves to the Gold Coast.
Despite contrasting last start performances both the Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans should arrive at Robina in a buoyant mood.
There was a moment in the nation's capital last week when the battered Broncos thought they'd turned the corner, but a five try blitz in 21 minutes put paid to that as the Raiders raced away to join the fourth placed Roosters on 18 points. With for-and-against sure to figure in playoff calculations, the 36-8 turnaround proved a welcome windfall for Ricky Stuart even though it glossed over some worrying cracks.
Despite winning four of their past six, the Raiders have trailed at the break on five occasions. Even the confidence-rocked Broncos toyed with the docile Raiders pack until Stuart cracked open the game-face bag with another halftime bake.
Still in pursuit of an 80 minute performance, Stuart has stuck with last week's 17. The only change sees Hudson Young move to lock with Ryan Sutton dropping back to the bench.
For the 13th placed Titans a month of positive newsflow had them on the rise like a Dreamworld roller coaster. On-field improvement, David Fifita's signature and on the road at 12-all, closing in on an upset. In hindsight, injuries to key forward Jai Arrow and the dangerous Dale Copley proved the tipping point. But no one predicted the free fall that was the dismissal of skipper Kevin Proctor, the first in premiership history for biting.
The Sharks were quick to strike, snatching the game with three tries in six minutes. Previous Gold Coast sides would have tapped out, but the traits that look like earning coach Justin Holbrook a contract extension came to the surface. To the point where a late Keegan Hipgrave try even had Cronulla eyeing the clock.
Noted try scorers Anthony Don and Phillip Sami return this week with Jarrod Wallace selected to start in the pack. The rapidly improving Moeaki Fotuaika moves to 13 with Sam Stone coming onto the interchange.
But regardless of who runs out, the message should be clear. Having scattered the Sharks with 11 line breaks despite a horrid 71 per cent completion rate, with a little more control, Holbrook can only imagine what might be around the corner.
Last meeting: Round 1 2020 - Raiders 24 Titans 6
Who to watch: In his second year on the Glitter Strip, Brian Kelly is now coming into his own. Last week's season high 215 metres increased his match average to 134, the highest in his four NRL seasons to date.
But for Curtis Scott, the Ballina junior's two line breaks against the Sharks would have caught the eye. The former Storm premiership winner is yet to cement his spot in Stuart's lineup, while Kelly's light feet and hip-drive continue to challenge the best. Following the victory over the Broncos, when pressed on John Bateman, Canberra assistant coach Andrew McFadden tagged the Wigan bound star as awkward and unorthodox. In only his third game of the year, the backrower underlined his value when he put fellow Englishman George Williams away for the game changing try then quickly followed it up with one of his own. At only 96 kilograms, the 26-year-old's deceptive strength and high workrate on either side of the ball is sure to activate the alarm bells around Robina.
The favourite: Having tasted success in three of the past four on the Gold Coast, the finals bound Raiders are deserved favourites.
My tip: After holding the Titans scoreless in 2019, the Raiders blew them off the park to open 2020. Now with a top four spot up for grabs and the struggling Bulldogs to follow, watch for the Raiders to once again brush aside a now depleted lineup. Raiders by 14.
