Round 8: Titans v Panthers preview
Inconsistent Titans look to match it with the competition benchmark
The Gold Coast Titans will be looking to improve on their inconsistent start to season 2022, but their task becomes much harder taking on the undefeated Penrith Panthers to kick off Friday Night Football in Round 8 of the season.
Gold Coast has had an indifferent season thus far with the side not being able to put together a full 80 minutes this season with most games being a tale of two halves. They possess one of the youngest spines in the competition and it's safe to say that it's posed plenty of problems thus far this season with a lack of continuity in the way that the Titans are playing. They were pencilled in by man to make the finals this season and if they continue, many will be left with egg on their faces.
Last weekend was a disaster for a multitude of reasons. Going down 30-4 over a Cowboys side that Justin Holbrook's men have had a huge amount of success against in recent seasons. The one baffling selection was moving David Fifita into the centres, it seemed a panic move to try and give Fifita some dynamic attacking opportunities taking from Craig Fitzgibbon's decision to move Siosifa Talakai into the centres. However, Valentine Holmes made easy pickings of the million dollars Fifita last weekend. Thankfully, Justin Holbrook has seen the light and shifted their strike player back to the second row with Phillip Sami returning onto the wing and Patrick Herbert shifting back to the centres. Kevin Proctor shifts back to the bench with Jaimen Jolliffe ruled out. The big shake-up is their spine, the Brimson at 6 experiment is over with AJ shifting to fullback and Will Smith playing 5/8.
On the other hand, Penrith is looking like a dominant force once again. The only concern that is noticeable is their slow starts. Opposition teams are troubling Penrith in the early stages more recently with Brisbane and Canberra frightening Penrith in the opening stages. Penrith blows teams apart in lightning raids in the second 40 minutes and gets away with a victory by more than 14 points.
The Panthers followed the script last weekend, being in the contest with Canberra for 55 minutes before blowing the Green Machine off the park in the last 25 minutes to walk away 36-6 winners. Nathan Cleary looks like the man that could dethrone Daly Cherry-Evans in the race for the Australian halfback spot for the end of season World Cup, while Dylan Edwards is the most underrated fullback in the game. Unsung heroes such as Scott Sorenson and Matt Eisenhuth continue to plough away doing the little things that only the most passionate of fans could identify and be proud of. Penrith once again name the same side with Soni Luke retained on the bench.
Last meeting: Round 10 2021 - Titans 12 Panthers 48
Who to watch: One player that has yet to fully reach his potential in season 2022 is AJ Brimson. It's safe to say Brimson is yet to fully reach the form that saw him snag a QLD origin birth. While he's the most dangerous player in the Titans attack, his passing game is arguably his biggest weakness so far with his passes hitting the deck and seeing the Titans attack stalemating. Back at his more preferred position of fullback expect AJ to be at his best as they look to unsettle the Penrith side.
The biggest surprise so far this season for Penrith has been the emergence of Izack Tago. Tago has had a big impact to start season 2022 with the local junior all but sealing the Penrith centre spot. So far this season, Tago is averaging 138m a game as well as scoring 5 tries this season. His combination with Taylan May gives nightmares to even the most experienced backs in the game. Look for Tago to continue his hot start to 2022.
The favourite: No surprises here with Penrith being the raging favourites to continue their flawless start to 2022. Penrith's record on the Gold Coast also suggests that they should win comfortably but they need to be on their toes as in 2019, the winless Titans sprung a 30-26 upset win.
My tip: Penrith is just on an extreme hot streak at the moment that will in all likelihood continue until origin just like last season. Gold Coast will try their hardest, but the Panthers just have too much class and will get over the top of the Titans in this one. Penrith by 20.
