Saturday second NRL Round 24 match is between Gold Coast Titans and New Zealand Warriors with the opening kick to commence at 5:30PM local time. The game is to be played at Skilled Park which see’s home team Gold Coast Titans hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Gold Coast Titans and New Zealand Warriors.

WHERE AND WHEN: Skilled Park, Saturday, 24/08, 5:30PM

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Opening odds comparison:

Gold Coast Titans	1.80	1.80	1.85	1.80	1.80	1.82
New Zealand Warriors	1.97	2.00	1.98	2.00	1.97	2.01

Preview:

The Gold Coast take on the Warriors on Saturday, 5.30pm at Skilled Park. This is one of the closest match-ups of the round, with the Titans ever so slight favourites to
take home the points. Both teams have a lot to play for here, with the Titans only just managing to stay in the top eight and the Warriors in 13th but only two points away
from the eight themselves. The Warriors will be extra hungry here after their shock defeat to the Panthers at home last week, and the Gold Coast will have to stay on
their toes.

Teams:

Gold Coast Titans:
William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Brad Takairangi, Jamie Dowling, David Mead, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Douglas, Beau Falloon, Nate Myles, Greg Bird, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: David Taylor, Ryan James, Ben Ridge, Matt Srama

New Zealand Warriors:
Kevin Locke, Jerome Ropati, Dane Nielsen, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Suaia Matagi, Elijah Taylor, Simon Mannering, Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman, Feleti Mateo, Dominique Peyroux, Ngani Laumape

Nielsen optimistic about facing Titans

Warriors centre Dane Nielsen is optimistic he can recover from an ankle sprain in time to take the field against the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.

Nielsen looked set for a stint on the sidelines when he hobbled after just 12 minutes of the 28-24 NRL defeat to Penrith last weekend.

But he has responded well to treatment and will travel to Queensland with the Warriors squad on Thursday.

Nielsen says he’s normally a quick healer, but the present injury, which he picked up tackling opposite Dean Whare, is the first of its kind for him.

So it’s a case of wait and see, although he’s doing all the right things with his rehab.

“I’m ticking all the boxes,” he said.

“It’s not a full week in-between, so hopefully I have time on my side and I’ll be right to play.”

A premiership winner with Melbourne and three-time Queensland Origin rep, Nielsen says one thing he won’t do is take the field if he’s not right.

With the Warriors already walking a tightrope to make the finals, he doesn’t want to be a handicap by playing when he’s not ready.

The Warriors go into the weekend on the back of three losses, which have pushed them down to 13th on the table.

But the compressed nature of the competition means they are just two points behind the eighth-placed Titans.

“After dropping those games in a row, we’ve got ourselves in a bad spot and we need to win every game and rely on other results,” Nielsen said.

“It’s pressure but it’s something we know and we’re not hiding from it. We’re not scared of it. It’s reality.

“We know we have to win games if we want to be there come semi-final time.”