Sunday’s NRL 2018 Round 6 match is between Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans. The opening kick is set to commence at 14:00 local time with the game to be played at Panthers Stadium, Sydney. The away team Gold Coast Titans are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Penrith Panthers and Gold Coast Titans.
When: 14:00 | Sunday 15/04/2018
Where: Panthers Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
I thought with Nathan Cleary getting injured the Panthers might struggle but bring one of the games characters to the forefront and ask him to control the team and that’s exactly what he has done.
Jimmy Maloney has been exceptional over the last two games and I can see him doing the same in this match.
A Test and Origin player, he wouldn’t look bad with the 7 on his back for the NSW Blues.
Bryce Cartwright will be up against his old club as will the coach and a few other players.
He had some success on the edge last week but he may struggle this week more so on the defensive side.
Isaah Yeo and Viliame Kikau have been barnstorming for the Panthers.
The Verdict
The Titans will be very much competitive and I give them every hope of winning but I think at home out in the west, the Panthers will get another win making it 5 from 6 for the season.
Unibet Odds:
Penrith Panthers at $1.49
Gold Coast Titans at $3.00
Odds:
OFFER: Deposit $50 BET with $200 via this link – Ends Soon!
Tip: Gold Coast Titans at $3.00
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Anthony Don at $11.00
More Info:
Teams:
Penrith Panthers:
1 Dylan Edwards, 2 Josh Mansour, 3 Isaah Yeo, 4 Dean Whare, 5 Christian Crichton, 6 Tyrone Peachey, 7 James Maloney, 8 Trent Merrin, 9 Peter Wallace (c), 10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11 Viliame Kikau, 12 Corey Harawira-Naera, 13 James Fisher-Harris. Interchange: 14 Wayde Egan, 15 Kaide Ellis, 16 Moses Leota, 17 James Tamou. Reserves: 18 Jarome Luai, 19 Nick Tui-Toso, 20 Sione Katoa, 21 Jack Hetherington.
Gold Coast Titans:
1 Michael Gordon, 2 Anthony Don, 3 Dale Copley, 4 Konrad Hurrell, 5 Phillip Sami, 6 Kane Elgey, 7 Ashley Taylor, 8 Jarrod Wallace, 9 Nathan Peats, 10 Max King, 11 Kevin Proctor, 12 Will Matthews, 13 Jai Arrow. Interchange: 14 Mitch Rein, 15 Morgan Boyle, 16 Bryce Cartwright, 17 Jack Stockwell. Reserves: 18 Leilani Latu, 19 Keegan Hipgrave, 20 Ryan Simpkins, 21 Tyronne Roberts-Davis.
NRL News:
Gold Coast coach Garth Brennan expects Kane Elgey to fire against Manly in Gladstone after his five-eighth hit form in last week’s NRL win over Brisbane.
By the Titans’ own admission, Elgey is one of the true confidence players of the competition.
This year alone he has endured difficult outings against both the Warriors and St George Illawarra, making two handling errors in both losses and missing a combined nine tackles.
But after setting up two tries in last week’s upset win over the Broncos, Brennan said he’d seen a clear response from the 24-year-old.
“He’s just a confidence player, Kane. We all know that,” Brennan said ahead of Sunday’s match.
“Most good players, and halfbacks, are confidence players. When all good players are down on confidence, their form tends to struggle.
“Kane was great last week and his training was outstanding.
“I’m really hoping he can build on his confidence. I believe in him, the players believe in him.”
Elgey’s spike has been noted around training this week.
One of the Gold Coast’s best young juniors, he knocked back an offer from the Sea Eagles to head south during his rookie year of 2015.
However, injuries ruined his 2016 campaign and he struggled to strike up a combination with equally-young half Ash Taylor last year.
But according to captain Ryan James, a return to more instinctive football was part of the reason behind him getting back to his best against Brisbane.
“He said he was going back to playing instinctive footy. And when he’s playing confident and playing instinctive footy that’s when he’s playing his best,” James said.
“He just needs to find that confidence himself. If you’ve watched him train, he has those games in him. He’s just got to back it up week to week.
“Everyone seems to forget he is pretty young, so there is still a lot of time on his side.”
Elgey’s decision to reject Manly formed something of a sliding-doors moment.
At the time, the Sea Eagles were in search of a replacement half following Daly Cherry-Evans’ signing with the Titans, before they eventually convinced him to stay at the club.
The Titans instead picked up Taylor, and Brennan said the Gold Coast had now well moved past the Cherry-Evans drama.
“He’s at a different level to Ash is,” Brennan admitted.
“Ash is exciting because the future is ahead for Ash. Whereas Daly is probably at his peak right now which is why we have to be at the top of our game this weekend.”
STATS THAT MATTER
* This will be the first NRL match ever played in Gladstone.
* Manly have won four of their past five against the Titans.
* The winning margin has been at least 20 in the past three matches between the teams.
* Stats courtesy Fox Sports Stats
