Round 9: Titans v Bulldogs preview
The Bulldogs will be smarting after not just their first loss of the season last week against Brisbane, but also the fact it was a big loss - as they went down 42-18, having conceded just 14 points in their previous 4 games combined.
Meanwhile the Titans are a defensive basketcase right now, having conceded an atrocious 154 points in their last 4 games - an average of 38.5 points per game. The worst thing for them right now is coming up against a Bulldogs side coming off their first loss of the year, whose players very likely all got kicked in the bum repeatedly over the last week for it.
The Bulldogs have won 4 of their last 5 games against the Titans, and have racked up plenty of points in those 5 games - 158 of them in fact - 31.6 points per game. The stingy Bulldogs defence will almost certainly frustrate the erratic but mostly unreliable Titans attack. Which is the focal point for everything the Bulldogs do - they work off the back of their strong defence.
Then they let their attacking weapons do their thing. Both of their centres Stephen Crichton and Bronson Xerri have been in tremendous form this year, while their edge forwards, Jacob Preston in particular have been equally as brilliant in attack. Its their work later in the set that is setting up the try scoring plays. And its their big men through the middle laying the platform.
Toby Sexton finally looks comfortable in his role and is playing great footy. His kicking game has been precise and varied when it needs to be. This is a team that is performing strongly everywhere across the park. This match though will prove whether last week was a hiccup, or a problem.
The Titans started the season well. They lost their first game against this same Bulldogs side, in a high scoring affair 40-24. They then dominated the Knights 26-6 and the Roosters 30-12. But then it was almost like someone pulled the plug on the whole operation as they lost 4 straight games, leaking a ton of points and struggling to score any themselves. There's been a lot of deckchairs shuffled around on the Titanic since, but as is typically the case, its had no impact on the end results. They've been without Fullback Keano Kini for the last 5 games and prolific try scoring weapon Alofiana Khan-Pereira for 5 weeks as well (he playing in the Titans first game and returned last week), while spritely halfback Jayden Campbell hasn't played in the last 2 games. For the most part though, they've largely used the same cattle.
This contest has all the makings to not be one.
Last meeting: Round 2 2025 - Bulldogs 40 Titans 24
Who to watch: Expect a host of Bulldogs players to be having big games here. Both centres and back rowers will be running a lot on the edges of the ruck. Viliame Kikau and Jacob Preston will be looking to get a lot of offloads away, while the Bulldogs middles will be rolling up through the middle all game.
For the Titans, captain Tino Fa'asuamaleaui is always busting his gut, getting through a mountain of work. But he's more than a workhorse, he's got some very good attacking capabilities, a good offload and great footwork, especially in the defensive line. He is elite, providing that rare mix of workhorse with classy. The return of Khan-Pereira last week should see him better for the run and being a target for much of the Titans attack.
Favourite: Bulldogs. A hot favourite.
My tip: This ain't gonna be pretty for the Titans.
