Gold Coast, who are coming off two heavy losses to Newcastle and Penrith, have the unenviable task of travelling to Brookvale on a Sunday afternoon to take on the Sea Eagles who are coming off two thumping victories over Parramatta and North Qld where collectively, they registered 84 points.
Add to the mix that Gold Coast Coach, John Cartwright, confirmed during the week that Gold Coast’s Origin pair of Nate Myles and Greg Bird, will not be backing up from Wednesday night’s game and, the result of this match looks a foregone conclusion.
Simply, the Titans have been poor and with teams of the calibre of South Sydney and Canterbury waiting for them over the next three weeks, the Titans, who sit ninth on the ladder, face losing touch with the top half of the competition.
How they turn their recent form around however, is a question that’s hard to answer.
Manly on the other hand, who faced a tough run of opponents during the middle of the season, have relished the opportunity to meet teams ranked lowly on the ladder.
They’ve completely dominated their opponents in the past two weeks and after frustrating and narrow losses, have now built momentum they’ll be keen to continue here.
The are largely unaffected by Origin with Watmough and Cherry-Evans the only Manly players involved.
Manly are 3 and 1 when playing at home as favourites this year and they look set to better that stat this weekend.
TIP: MANLY 13 +
Odds comparison by NRL Odds:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Manly Sea Eagles | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.17 | 1.22 | 1.22 | 1.23 |
|
Gold Coast Titans
|
4.25 | 4.30 | 5.30 | 4.30 | 4.25 | 4.30 |
Teams:
Manly Sea Eagles:
Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Lyon (capt), Steve Matai, David Williams, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Brenton Lawrence, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Justin Horo, Glenn Stewart. Interchange: Richie Fa’aoso, Jamie Buhrer, James Hasson, Nick Skinner.
Jordan Rankin, Kevin Gordon, Brad Takairangi, Jamie Dowling, David Mead, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Luke Douglas, David Taylor, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Mark Ioane, Ryan James, Ben Ridge, Beau Falloon, Luke O’Dwyer (one to be omitted).
Referees: Ben Cummins, Chris James.
