Round 5: Titans v Eels preview
After sneaking home with two premiership points against the Wests Tigers last week, the Gold Coast Titans prepare to host the charging Parramatta Eels at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday night.
It was a miraculous finish to Thursday night football when the Titans scored a bizarre try to pip the Wests Tigers at the finish line by two points. Despite securing their second win of the season, the Titans will have to perform much better if they are to come away with a win against the in-form Parramatta Eels this weekend. The Titans missed 30 tackles and made an incredible 16 errors in their win on Thursday night, compared to the 20 missed tackles and eight errors by the Parramatta Eels in their big win on Sunday night.
The Titans have averaged 12.5 errors per game this season (T-third most this season) and coughed the ball up 12 times in their four-point loss against Parramatta in the opening round of the season. Compare that to the 8.3 errors per game that the Eels have made this season and there's a clear discrepancy. For their own sake, Gold Coast are going to have to tighten up these errors and if they don't, the Eels are a chance to run rampant on Saturday night.
Despite the sloppy outing against the Tigers, captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui showed grit and determination as he did his best to get his side over the line. The skipper ran for 133 metres, 77 of those after contact and made 34 tackles including an incredible try-saving effort on Tigers' winger David Nofoaluma in the 60th minute. It's efforts like this that'll encourage the same from his team mates on the weekend. You can count on Fa'asuamaleaui each and every week to put his head down and do the tough work for this Titans side and he's been the perfect leader for a side that is wildly inconsistent. The Titans will benefit from the return of Beau Fermor, Philip Sami and Isaac Liu with the hope that these three can help cure some of the errors the team made last week. These changes push Jamin Joliffe and Kevin Proctor back to the bench with Sam McIntrye, Sam Lisone and Brian Kelly missing out on the 17 this week.
Now, it was an incredibly strange match when the two met in round one, with 48 of the 60 points for the match coming in the first half. The Eels haven't slowed down scoring wise, scoring 124 points over the first four rounds, leading the league. Much of this comes down to the brilliant form that both Dylan Brown and Mitchell Moses find themselves in and they'll be licking their lips at the chance of having another crack at the Titans.
The two halves led the Eels to a crushing 34-point victory over the St. George Illawarra Dragons which saw Parramatta pile on six tries in the second half. The pair scored three tries and assisted another three between them as they prove to the competition that once again, the Eels are going to be a tough team to handle during the regular season. If Brown and Moses can produce this type of form again on Saturday night, you wouldn't be wrong for thinking the Eels will come away with the win.
The Eels have begun the 2022 season in flying form, winning three of their four games thus far with their only loss at the hands of a rejuvenated Cronulla Sharks side. The four-time premiers have scored more points in the first four rounds than any previous Eels side coached by Brad Arthur, and they currently sit second for tackle breaks (140), second for run metres (6,862) and second in line breaks (20). Typically, a team that has struggled to outscore its competitors at the top of the league, finishing ninth for points scored in 2020 and sixth in 2021, the 2022 Eels look like a different beast with the ball in hand. Although, they have leaked the most points out of any team currently in the top eight and have conceded the third most points this season.
The Eels welcome back Shaun Lane to the starting side, pushing Ryan Matterson back to the bench with the only other change seeing Mitch Rein welcomed back onto the bench at the expense of Bryce Cartwright.
Last meeting: Round 1 2022 - Eels 32 Titans 28
Who to watch: As spectators, we didn't get to see these two five-eighths battle it out in round one with AJ Brimson missing out on selection due to injury. Four weeks later, we get to see these two future stars trade blows on Saturday night. Firstly, Dylan Brown still only 21 years of age, has been exceptional to start the 2022 season. The New Zealand international has received five Dally M votes over the past two weeks for his brilliant performances against the Storm and the Dragons. Brown is averaging 138.8 run metres per game and 25.5 tackles per game with only seven missed tackles over the first four games. Pair this with five try assists and three line breaks and you've got a damaging player. Brown has been in immaculate form since the two sides met in round one and he's going to demand a lot from the Titans defence.
His opposite number in Brimson set up a try with his first touch of the football this season in the Titans two-point victory over the Warriors in round two. In three appearances, Brimson has scored a try - a match winning one against the Tigers - and set up another three for good measure. He's only carried the football for 166 run metres this season, but the Queensland representative is still getting his feet set in his new position. Brimson has showed glimpses of his class as a number six and with each and every week, he'll only get better at being a lead playmaker for his side. I, for one, am super excited to see these two battle it out on Saturday night.
The favourite: The Eels are the overwhelming favourites to record their fourth win of the season and with good reason. They've just beaten Melbourne - for the fourth straight time in the regular season - and thumped the Dragons. Compare this to the Titans last two games which saw a collapse against the Raiders and an error-fest against the Wests Tigers.
My tip: I'm tipping the Eels to win this one. They've been super impressive with the ball in hand over the past two weekends and if Melbourne couldn't stop them, I don't see the Titans being able to. Parramatta by 12.
