Round 12: Bulldogs v Titans preview
Sunday afternoon Rugby League heads to the outer-inner west of Sydney as the Canterbury Bulldogs play host to the Gold Coast Titans at Accor Stadium.
Despite all the talk and promise of a much-improved season, the Canterbury Bulldogs have had a challenging season so far in 2023. Despite showing flashes of promise, the Bulldogs have only managed four wins so far this season putting them down in 15th position winning just one of their last five matches.
Last weekend, the Canterbury Bulldogs fell to their fourth loss in the past five matches following their 24-12 defeat to the New Zealand Warriors at Accor Stadium. The Bulldogs were outplayed completely by the Warriors in last weeks game. The loss is a major concern for the Dogs given that most of the stats heavily favoured them but they couldn't take advantage of a high possession rate as well as 22 fewer missed tackles.
The Bulldogs welcome back Josh Addo-Carr who was expected to return last weekend following his ankle injury. The return of the Fox, this sees winger Blake Wilson drop back to the reserves. Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has also rotated his halves with Josh Reynolds dropping back to the bench with Karl Oloapu coming back into the starting side. Another change has seen Sam Hughes added to the bench in place of Franklin Pele who drops out of the side.
The Gold Coast Titans are a side that has always shown a lot of promise but yet again has somehow both overdelivered at times as well as underdelivering significantly. The Titans come into the contest sitting in 9th spot having 5 wins and 5 losses from their ten matches.
A second half collapse from the Titans saw them capitulate badly up in Newcastle when they fell to a 46-26 defeat against the Knights. Despite leading at one point in the second half 18-12, the Titans had fallen into a hole quite badly conceding 22 points in just 15 minutes to fall behind before needing to play catch-up football. The loss was disappointing for the Titans because they looked nothing like the side that was able to beat the Eels the week before.
Only one change for the Titans from last weeks defeat with Erin Clark returning onto the bench after missing last week due to a finger injury. The return of Clark sees Iszac Fa'asumaleaui drop back to the reserves bench.
Last meeting: Round 19 2022 - Bulldogs 36 Titans 26
Who to watch: There is a massive boom around Bulldogs five-eighth Karl Olopau and for the first time the 18-year-old rookie gets to start in the Blue and White. The move into the starting side is a big opportunity for the youngster to put his stamp on the game and the side in a must win game. Canterbury will be needing Olopau to deliver on his promise to help them out of the form-slump.
At the complete opposite end of his career, Kieran Foran is playing almost the best football of his career as he notches over 270 games. A fortnight ago against Parramatta, Foran scored a double and looked strong and for parts of the contest last week he looked good again. The Titans need his experience and poise amongst a young side that can lose the plot at times if they want to beat the Bulldogs.
Favourite: Based on form and recent performances, the Gold Coast Titans are slight favourites heading into the contest.
My tip: The Titans have shown that they are team that can match anyone on the day but their lack of consistency can hurt them a lot and It has this season. If they can put at least a 70-minute performance in they should have enough to get past the Bulldogs. Titans by 8.
