Round 3: Bulldogs v Titans preview
AJ looks at Saturday afternoon's game between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Titans at Belmore Sports Ground, Belmore / Bidjigal.
Dogs look to claw back as Titans try to strike
The Canterbury Bulldogs will look to bounce back from an 0-2 start to the season when they go against the Gold Coast Titans at their suburban heartland of Belmore Sports Ground.
Canterbury have shown glimpses of promise through the first two weeks despite it not showing on the record. They've had to endure a lot of defence and that area has shown a marked improvement on where they were last year, only conceding 26 and 25 points respectively. Their attack has been poor however, only scoring three tries this season and will have to improve significantly. The left edge showed some promising improvement against Cronulla and will look to have better luck against the Titans.
To beat the Titans, they will need to match it physically up front. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui and Mo Fotuaika are two damaging forwards and if they're at their best, it'll be a long afternoon for the Bulldogs pack trying to muscle any forward momentum. Expect Max King to lift in his 100th NRL game. Matt Burton showed signs of playing both sides of the football last week, but will need some help on the other side of the field from his half-back Drew Hutchison. Far too often, the attack broke down at the critical phases last weekend.
On the team news, Poasa Fa'amasilli will miss this match after being KO'ed in a head-clash off the initial hit-up of the match. Liam Knight comes into the run on side with Josh Curran still on the interchange bench. Josh Addo-Carr is still a week away from returning.
For the Titans, there's no sugar-coating how disappointing their first up effort was against the Dragons. It was a competitive match at half time, but conceded four second half tries to look completely out-enthused and beaten across all aspects of play. Des Hasler would've worked the side over backwards during the bye week to ensure that their first Sydney excursion doesn't end in disappointment.
There's no doubting that Kieran Foran's absence hurt the Titans in the season opener, but they had 34 tackles inside the Dragons 20 and could only score one try which was off a grubber. Execution will be better with him back in the line-up, but it places pressure on the other spine players to lift and execute at a high level. Beau Fermor back in game 2 will be better following the first run back in the NRL but they need better yardage and work-rates from their other forwards outside Tino and Mo.
On their team front, Kieran Foran returns after missing the opening round. Klese Haas retains his spot on the edge while Jaimin Jolliffe gets the start at lock over Keenan Palasia.
Last meeting: Round 27 2023 - Titans 34 Bulldogs 30
Who to watch: For Canterbury, eyes are firmly on Blake Taaffe to rebound after a sloppy start to the season. After arriving from Souths in the summer, Taaffe has won his way to the number 1 jersey but has had a shaky opening fortnight to the season, making costly mistakes at the back and struggling to inject energy into the Canterbury attack. With a big rebound game looming, Taaffe will need to perform or risk losing the 1 jumper he's earned over summer.
For the Titans, similar questions will again arise over Tanah Boyd this season. After debuting in 2019 and being in a halves by-committee ever since. Boyd faces his toughest season so far as an NRL halfback. With Tom Weaver's footsteps encroaching ever so slowly, it'll soon be now or never for Boyd to cut it in the NRL at the club. His short kicking game showed signs of breaking the Dragons down, but defensively was an up-hill battle. Hopefully with Foran back on deck, the pivot can rebound nicely.
Favourite: Canterbury are favourites very slightly for this one. Gold Coast won the only head to head match at Belmore back in 2018 with a 32-10 verdict.
My tip: It's a hard game to pick this one. But, the Dogs seem to get up for matches at the Belmore Sports Ground so you'd have to back them in to get it done at their spiritual home despite their recent poor record there. It has two potential outcomes, an attacking masterclass like last year's clash, or a slugfest that can't end quick enough. Dogs by 6.
