Monday second NRL Round 7 match is between Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans with the opening kick to commence at 7.00pm. The game is to be played at Sportingbet Stadium which see’s home team Penrith Panthers hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans.
WHERE AND WHEN: Sportingbet Stadium, Monday, 7.00pm (AEST)
Preview:
The final match of round 7 sees the Panthers take on competition leaders the Gold Coast Titans.
The Panthers suffered their first defeat at home last week when defeated by South Sydney 18 – 2 in trying conditions.
The home-side had plenty of possession and opportunity in the first half but couldn’t penetrate Souths’ defensive and at the end of the first half, only had a penalty goal to show for the efforts.
In the second half, with the weight of possession balancing out, Souths managed the wet conditions well and conjured up three tries in the second half.
The Panthers have gone win/loss since the start of the season and need to start putting some wins back-to-back to build momentum, especially with their next three games scheduled to be played away from home.
The Titans have won five from six so far this season, their last three by margins of 1, 2 and 4 points.
The wins over the Cowboys, Melbourne and last week the Broncos, have all come on the back of tenacious defensive efforts with halves pairing of Aidan Sezer and Albert Kelly, able to produce just enough points to oust their opponents.
The two sides have taken it in turns of winning their clashes over recent years and if that trend is to continue, the Titans, who won the match at Sportingbet Stadium last year 28 – 10, will take this one out.
Each time has recorded an average of 15 points per game this season but interesting to note that, three of their last four games have seen a total match score of 44 or more produced.
Should be very little between these two sides but Penrith start the favourite due to being at home and have a slightly stronger defensive record however, the $2.25 about the Titans, who have never gone better and have a full head of steam, is very attractive.
For the Panthers, Tyrone Peachey replaces Lewis Brown with Sika Manu and Sam McKendry returning to a big forward pack whilst the Titans will be without inspirational forward Luke Bailey who suffered an ankle injury.
Teams:
Penrith Panthers:
Matt Moylan, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Dean Whare, Jamal Idris, Josh Mansour, Jamie Soward, Peter Wallace (capt), Sam McKendry, Kevin Kingston (capt), Brent Kite, Sika Manu, Elijah Taylor, Adam Docker. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Jeremy Latimore, Tyrone Peachey, Tim Grant.
Gold Coast Titans:
David Mead, Kevin Gordon, Maurice Blair, Brad Takairangi, Anthony Don, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Douglas, Beau Falloon, Nate Myles (capt), Greg Bird (capt), David Taylor, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matthew White, Ryan James, Mark Minichiello, Paul Carter, William Zillman (one to be omitted).
News:
Don’t make Dave Taylor angry.
You won’t like him when he is angry.
Some tough calls await NRL table-topping Gold Coast NRL coach John Cartwright as he weighs up replacing in-form No.1 David Mead with fit-again fullback William Zillman ahead of Monday night’s away clash with Penrith.
But it seems one thing is clear – Cartwright has backed a rejuvenated Taylor to outmuscle most, including visiting Hollywood star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Cartwright admitted his team had been distracted by Johnson’s recent arrival on the glitter strip to begin filming for the $100 million adventure epic “San Andreas”.
“There’s a bit of excitement amongst the boys,” Cartwright said.
“He’s struck a chord. I’m a bit worried actually – they seem to like him a bit too much.”
However, Cartwright knew who he would rather have in his corner on Monday.
Asked who in his ranks would be able to combat wrestling superstar Johnson, Cartwright said: “I would hate to see Dave angry.
“And I have never seen Dave angry – that might be a tactic we use.”
First things first, though – apart from weighing up the fitness of Zillman (hamstring), Cartwright must also assess winger Anthony Don (dislocated finger).
However, Cartwright could confirm young gun Ryan James (shoulder) would run on off the bench for veteran forward Luke Bailey (ankle).
Gold Coast take on a Penrith outfit who welcome back Tyrone Peachey for Lewis Brown (pectoral).
Curtis Rona will make his NRL debut for North Queensland replacing centre Antonio Winterstein (hamstring) in Friday night’s away game against Manly who have forward Jason King coming back.
Braith Anasta will return from suspension and take up the captaincy from Robbie Farah (elbow) for the Wests Tigers in their Monday trip to the in-form Parramatta.
For the Eels, Darcy Lussick is in for Peni Terepo on the bench while forward Fuifui Moimoi moves to the starting line-up.
At the Warriors, barnstorming Konrad Hurrell was controversially dropped for Saturday night’s away clash with St George Illawarra.
“Konrad knows what he has to work on and he’ll do that with the NSW Cup side,” said acting head coach Andrew McFadden.
“It’s a performance-related matter concerning his defensive effort KPIs. It has been made clear to him what he needs to improve on.”
Surprisingly, the Dragons named Dylan Farrell despite him battling a pectoral injury.
