Cowboys v Titans preview

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North Queensland Cowboys v Gold Coast Titans Saturday 5:30pm at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville / Wulgurukaba

Titans Look to Keep Momentum Going Against Desperate Cowboys

The time has finally come. When the draw was released, a fair chunk of Rugby League fans immediately scanned ahead and saw that the much-anticipated Queensland rivalry was taking place in Round 4, and that anyone who was to be taken seriously as a Maroon would be either at the ground or glued to their TVs for this historic encounter.

I speak of course of the Saturday night clash between the Cowboys and the Titans at QCB Stadium (is there another game between two Queensland teams on this weekend?). The Cowboys have not looked good at all in 2023 aside from a first half against Canberra in which they had 72% of possession. Their defensive issues which reared their ugly head at the back end of 2022 have reared their ugly head again, playing a huge part in their underwhelming 1-2 start to the season.

The Titans in 2023 have been promising so far, but still have a lot to work on. In round one against the Tigers, their goal line defence was rock solid, however events since then point to that showing being an anomaly largely brought on by the ineptitude of their opposition. Despite a good win against an admittedly underhanded Storm side last week, they conceded 34 points, which is not the recipe for sustained success in the NRL.

On form, the Cowboys are one of the worst teams in the competition at the moment. At the back end of last year, their defence wasn't good, but their attack was dynamic enough that it meant they could concede 24+ points and still scrape by with a win on occasion. This year, it hasn't been the case. Their 3 tries in Round 1 all came in a first half that they had over 70% of possession in, while the two tries per game they've had since then is an accurate indicator of how poor they've looked with ball in hand.

If there's any team the Cowboys would want to come up against to play their attack back into form, it's the Titans. They've conceded the third most points through three rounds, including 32 to the unfancied Dragons and 34 to an undermanned Storm team at home. The Titans edge defence is extremely susceptible to shifts, and their middle is not well equipped to handle broken field situations, with many of the Melbourne's tries last week being scored off plays originating over 10 metres away from the Titans' line. 

In team news, the Cowboys are still without star fullback Scott Drinkwater, meaning Tom Chester is back for another week. Reuben Cotter is out until round 6 with a knee injury, meaning Griffin Neame will start in the front row and James Tamou will come onto the bench.

For the Titans, Justin Holbrook is rolling with an unchanged 17 from the side that beat the Storm last week. 

Last meeting: Round 13 2022 - Titans 6 Cowboys 32

Who to watch: Fresh off signing a huge 900k per year extension, Cowboys second rower Jeremiah Nanai has been virtually non-existent in 2023 so far. In the first 3 games, he has made 14 runs for 117 running metres. Those aren't his stats for last week, those are his stats for the entire season combined so far. Along with providing almost no impact with ball in hand, Nanai has been a turnstile in defence, currently sitting 2nd in the competition for total missed tackles with 15. This trend should be of huge concern for the Cowboys considering they have just forked out premium coin to secure his services until the end of 2027. Granted, it's a small sample size, but the numbers paint a picture of player who just isn't interested in doing the hard yards for his team, and Todd Payten's number 1 priority this week should be doing everything he can to get Nanai's production back to what it was last season. One can only wonder what the headlines would be if he hadn't scored two tries in the loss against Brisbane (probably similar to what we've seen for the young highly paid back-rower on the other team).

For the Titans, AJ Brimson is relishing life at fullback so far this season after spending 2022 bouncing around other spine positions and the bench utility role. Last week he was integral in the Titans winning the shootout against Melbourne, notching up two try assists, two tackle breaks and an offload, while also being heavily involved in their final try which sealed the game, positioning himself to catch the bat-back and then getting the ball out to the edge for Aaron Schoupp to score. His inside ball to Khan-Pereira for the first try was also class; many lesser players would've found a way to butcher the play in that situation. His kicking game close to the line also came in clutch, putting in a perfect grubber on the stroke of halftime for Brian Kelly to cut the lead in half. Against the Cowboys suspect defence, expect Brimson to have another standout performance if the Titans are to get the victory.

Favourite: The Cowboys are favoured by 6.5 points at the time of writing.

My tip: This one is quite simple for me, the Cowboys so far have shown they can't attack or defend, while the Titans have shown they can't defend but are pretty good in attack. With that in mind, give me the Titans by 10 in a high scoring affair.

1. Tomas Chester 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Chad Townsend 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Griffin Neame 11. Coen Hess 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Jason Taumalolo 14. Jake Granville 15. Heilum Luki 16. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown 17. James Tamou 18. Brendan Elliot

1. AJ Brimson 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 3. Brian Kelly 4. Aaron Schoupp 5. Phillip Sami 6. Kieran Foran 7. Tanah Boyd 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Chris Randall 10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui 11. David Fifita 12. Joe Stimson 13. Isaac Liu 14. Jayden Campbell 15. Jo Vuna 16. Erin Clark 17. Iszac Fa'asumaleaui 18. Klese Haas

Referees: Chris Butler; Sideline Officials: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski, Nick Morel; Video Referees: Kasey Badger;