With numerous players from each side taking part in Wednesday night’s State of Origin, this game is a hard one to assess.
The Titans registered comfortable wins over the struggling outfits of Parramatta and North Queensland before falling six points short of matching South Sydney last week.
Melbourne, after a rough period a month back that saw them unexpectedly lose to Canberra and Penrith and, draw with Manly, have bounced back to their best in recent times with strong wins over Roosters, Cronulla and last week, Newcastle.
Of course this week, they’ll be without star trio of Slater, Cronk and Smith and with Titans in good form, led by halfback Albert Kelly and centre Jamal Idris, an upset may be on the cards, especially given the Titans’ strong home ground record this year of 5-2.
Despite these facts though, Melbourne are a professional outfit – even without their stars and appear to be back near their best.
Should be a close game with little separating the two sides but with the home-team getting the nod 1- 12 fact that Melbourne have won the past four matches between the two sides.
Odds Comparison by NRL odds:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Gold Coast Titans | 1.38 | 1.38 | 1.33 | 1.38 | 1.38 | 1.38 |
|
Melbourne Storm
|
3.15 | 3.15 | 3.40 | 3.15 | 3.15 | 3.15 |
Teams:
Gold Coast Titans:
William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Brad Takairangi, Jamal Idris, Anthony Don, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Luke Douglas, David Taylor, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Mark Ioane, Ryan James, Ben Ridge, Sam Irwin, Luke O’Dwyer (one to be omitted).
Melbourne Storm:
Gareth Widdop, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Maurice Blair, Justin O’Neill, Ben Hampton, Brett Finch, Jesse Bromwich, Slade Griffin, Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris, Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Mitch Garbutt, Mahe Fonua, Jordan McLean.
