Round 18: Titans v Broncos preview
A Saturday night Queensland Derby awaits two teams with very differing fortunes this weekend as the 15th placed Titans play host to the 5th placed Broncos on the Gold Coast.
Coming off the bye this week, the Titans will be hoping that the week off will have sparked something because last years finalists have had a season that could only be described as pathetic with just three victories in 16 matches so far this season. The Gold Coast are currently sitting on a six game losing streak and need a big performance.
Prior to the bye, the Titans were comprehensively outplayed by the Knights in Newcastle falling to a heavy 38-12 defeat in the Hunter. Poor goal-kicking from Newcastle saved the Titans from an even more embarrassing loss when they looked no match for the Knights from the kick-off. The defeat raised more questions about the Titans and the future of coach Justin Holbrook and another defeat here could see the pressure reach breaking point.
The Titans have lost Jarrod Wallace through suspension after he was sent off against the Knights, Jaiman Joliffe comes onto the bench. AJ Brimson moves to fullback with Tanah Boyd into the side at five-eighth. Captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui will back up from Origin 3 at this stage having been named at lock.
A relative surprise packet in 2022, the Brisbane Broncos put an awful 2021 behind them to come into the latter stages of the season sitting in fifth spot. The season for the Broncos has been one that has been slightly up and down with some big wins to go with some heavy losses this season against some of the top sides in the competition.
Last weekend, the Broncos were missing up to 10 key players and were considered outsiders against the Dragons but the Broncos put to bed a run of back-to-back losses to dominate the Red ‘V' with a 32-18 win. The performance for the Broncos impressed many and with Origin stars potentially returning then their confidence could set them up for another big performance.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has made different decisions surrounding his origin stars with Selwyn Cobbo and Kurt Capewell definitely rested whilst Corey Oates and Pat Carrigan have been named in the reserves to potentially play. The Broncos have lost Corey Paix from last week's side after a head knock last week with Jake Turpin returning to the bench.
Last meeting: Round 12 2022 - Broncos 35 Titans 24
Who to watch: AJ Brimson has swapped between fullback and five-eighth this season and has put in mixed performances at the back. The expectations were high before the season for Brimson and he hasn't met those performances this season. If the Titans want to pull off an upset then he has to step his game up to the expected levels and beyond.
Everybody in the NRL knows that Adam Reynolds isn't 100% fit and because of that he has been the target of opposition defenders in the past two weeks. Targeted by the Cowboys threw the Broncos halfback off his game which showed and then it was a tactic of the Dragons last week that backfired for them but at times threw Reynolds off his game. It will be interesting to see how he adapts his game knowing he will be a target.
The favourite: Brisbane are well-backed to win this contest.
My tip: It's hard to see the Broncos losing this game, the side looks stronger last week and the performance was impressive against the Dragons. The Titans have struggled in the last few weeks and there's a lot of improvement needed and it's hard to see them making the improvement. Broncos by 16.
