Round 4: Penrith Panthers vs Gold Coast Titans

[DIEHARD]

Penrith Panthers vs Gold Coast Titans
@ CUA Stadium. 2.00pm Sunday April 8 2007.

Jetstar Gold Coast Titans

1. Preston Campbell
2. Lelea Paea
3. Mat Rogers
4. Jake Webster
5. Matthew Petersen
6. Matthew Hilder
7. Scott Prince
8. Luke Bailey
9. Clint Amos
10. Kris Kahler
11. Anthony Laffranchi
12. Gavin Cooper
13. Luke Swain

14. Josh Graham
15. Michael Henderson
16. Mark Minichiello
17. Nathan Friend
20. Brad Meyers

Coach: John Cartwright

Penrith Panthers

1. Rhys Wesser
2. Michael Gordon
3. Michael Jennings
4. Luke Lewis
5. Luke Rooney
6. Peter Wallace
7. Craig Gower (c)
8. Joel Clinton
9. Luke Priddis
10. Frank Puletua
11. Frank Pritchard
12. Tony Puletua
13. Trent Waterhouse

Interchange
14 Junior Moors
15. Nathan Smith
16. Matthew Bell
17. Paul Aiton
18. Bryan Norrie

Coach: Matt Elliott

[Rabbitohs-07]

I think Penrith will outplay the Titans in this game.

Im gonna say Penrith by 14.

[travis burch]

I think Penrith will outplay the Titans in this game.

Im gonna say Penrith by 14.

I think you couldn't be more wrong.

[DIEHARD]

Hopefully we can beat them like we did in the trial match earlier in the year.

Should give us some confidence at least!

[Poida]

I will go Penrith this time.
They won back to back games and I think they will do the Titans.
Penrith by about 8

[DIEHARD]

Teams have been added guys.

[Coaster]

Penrith by 20

[Darren Lockyer]

No Chris Walker which is interesing

[Capital_Shark]

Tough one. The game Penrith played against the Doggies makes me lean toward them, but I dunno if they won the Broncos game, or the Broncos lost it.

Titans, although receiving their worst defeat on the weekend, played a lot more patient,calm and structured which leads me to believe their getting their combinations in order and soon will be able to mix the two styles (erratic and organized) to clinically put opposing teams to bed. Whether it starts this coming weekend against Penrith or not, is where I'm tossing up.

Don't have a tip for this one yet, might wait for some developments through the week.

[Robbie_Dee]

but I dunno if they won the Broncos game, or the Broncos lost it.Nah mate Broncos just lost it! Panthers were Rubbish in the 2nd half, until Broncos just lost it with 5 to go!!!

I reckon Titans can notch up their 2nd win against Panthers, but will be really close! If we can keep our errors down (handling and giving away stupid penalties), than we got the ability to outplay the opposition!

[Capital_Shark]

Nah mate Broncos just lost it! Panthers were Rubbish in the 2nd half, until Broncos just lost it with 5 to go!!!

Ahh, cheers mate. I knew I was disgusted and shocked with the final 5 of the game. It was the delayed game down here, and I've noticed the second Friday Night Footy game gets a little hazy towards the end, considering the footy and beer leading up to it.

[patskE]

MAN WOULD OF LIKED TO seen rogers at fullback n slot presto in at 5/8

[Titanium_BD1103]

Pat it won't happen, they are trying to build structure and therefore it will be business as usual for the next few rounds at least... ;)

I reckon it will be a tough one for the GC especially at CUA where the Panthers have a real presence. The key will be to be strong in defense on the edges where Jennings and Gordon have been wreaking havoc over the past 2 weeks... even when Penrith looked flat in the 2nd half against Brisbane, those two were still going strong.

In addition, the Titans themselves have to try and get the ball to the backs... they have some of the top shelf backs in the comp but last weekend against the Bulldogs, the likes of Rogers, Paea, Hilder and Webster saw nothing of the ball... the only one who really had attacking opporutnities was Matt P.

For the Titans to go close this week, they need to start using the speed and talent they have in the backs to their advantage, get around the outside of Clinton, Waterhouse, Puletua and then use the backline speed and skill to carve up the middle of the ruck because Penrith can be slow to move in defense.

Should be a great game and I hope the Southern Legion can grow and do the team proud, I know they will just like they did on Sunday.

[squirrell]

Titans by 6.I agree,we need to limit our knock ons or drop balls because our backs can punish other teams.It all boils down to confidence,a patient start,complete our sets of 6 then WHAM we nail em.The big panthers will tire in the 2nd half like they did at carrara at presto will be man of the match with a scintillating 2nd half carve up.

[Rabbitohs-07]

Panthers by 12 im putting money on. Titans forward pack aren't big enough and ugly enough. Wellthere pretty ugly but they aren't mean enough to shut out this panthers team. Presto still at full back expect Gower to throw up some monsters.

[Steve]

Relying on the big Panther forwards to tire will just get us flogged.
Didn't work against the dogs, and it won't work against the Panthers.
Panthers may have been a bit sloppy against the Broncos, but they certainly finished with a lot more gusto, the Broncos were out on their feet.

I'm not sure anyone in the Titans backline can match Wesser, Gordon or Jennings for speed. If those guys get into a gap it'll be under the posts.

I think this game is going to come down to the forwards.
Both teams are capable of a lot of points.

I think the Panthers will win this one, but i'm not positive about it!
If the Titans learnt enough from the Bulldogs on how to handle a big pack, they can come out on top.

[Chaos]

Pat it won't happen, they are trying to build structure and therefore it will be business as usual for the next few rounds at least... ;)

What structure is that?
What was the original plan in the halves?
Are they planning on using Hilder as a fulltime 5/8?

[Titanium_BD1103]

What structure is that?
What was the original plan in the halves?
Are they planning on using Hilder as a fulltime 5/8?

Not sure Chaos, all I know is that if a side is trying to become a team, the best way to do it is to get people to play full time in their roles... so yes perhaps Hilder is the fulltime 5/8 till Campbell can show his skills for the role, or Mathers can return from QLD Cup.

[patskE]

ture well tbh campbell has shown move skill the hilder, ball wise
hilder dosnt offer another attack opition only kicking/defence

[Tamwelg]

For some reason I have a really good feeling about this game.

Titans by 16

[Titanium_BD1103]

Well Mat Rogers is OUT... replaced by Brett Delaney with Jake Webster also having passed a fitness test now under a fitness cloud and Josh Graham on standby to join the starting line up and Brad Meyers is onto the bench.

From: www.smh.com.au


Rogers out of Titans team
April 7, 2007 - 12:14PM

Gold Coast dual international Mat Rogers has been ruled out of Sunday's clash with Penrith at CUA Stadium after failing a fitness test on his neck.

Titans officials said it was "touch and go" whether the 31-year-old would make the trip to Sydney, but erred on the side of caution with the former Wallaby utility likely to be fit for next week's local derby against Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium.

Titans co-captain Scott Prince (ankle), five-eighth Matt Hilder (shoulder) and centre Jake Webster (knee) all passed fitness tests on Saturday and have been cleared to play on Sunday.

Former Eel Brett Delaney will replace Rogers and make his debut in Titans colours on Sunday after starring in the club's feeder team during the first three weeks of competition.

Despite the loss of Rogers, Panthers captain Tony Puletua has warned his side not to underestimate the Titans.

"I'm not sure what they're doing in their camp but I'm sure they're doing everything they can to prepare to win every game every week and (Sunday) will be no different," said Puletua.

"They put in a good performance against us in the trials but it's going to be a different story this time because we are in season.

"We have both had a few games under our belts now and it should be a good one.

"I think they've been pretty solid in their games. They have been playing those games that can go either way. They have put in some good performances the last three weeks and are going well.

"Any team can win if they play well on the day."

Puletua said the Panthers must expose a weakened Titans outfit if they are to build momentum on their early season spark.

Unheralded five-eighth Peter Wallace booted Penrith to a golden-point extra time victory over reigning premier Brisbane last week with a 40m field goal and Puletua said his side must continue to win the tough games like that if they are to remain competitive in 2007.

"It would be good (to win three in a row). We've had a couple of good wins now and we'd just like to keep that going," said Puletua.

"We know there's a lot to be gained from playing consistently good footy and it's just a matter of keeping that going on Sunday.

"(The 29-28 win over Brisbane) was just one of those games, that happens in footy. I suppose before we might have lost that game through fitness and stuff but it was good how the boys played the full 80 (minutes) and we ended up coming away with the result.

"It was a good win but we can't get carried away with it, there's still a long season to go."

? 2007 AAP

[Tamwelg]

Final starting side for the Titans. Rogers and Webster ruled out.

Gold Coast Titans

1. Preston Campbell
2. Lelea Paea
3. Josh Graham
4. Brett Delaney
5. Matthew Petersen
6. Matthew Hilder
7. Scott Prince
8. Luke Bailey
9. Clint Amos
10. Michael Henderson
11. Anthony Laffranchi
12. Mark Minichiello
13. Luke Swain

14. Kris Kahler
15. Nathan Friend
16. Gavin Cooper
17. Brad Myers

*** The numbers above are not necessarily the numbers worn by the players, they are the positions they played in ***

[qld power]

6mins down Laffranchi
try goal campbell 6-0 titans

[qld power]

boys look good in their away white jerseys and blue shorts

[qld power]

17mins try and goal campbell
12-0 titans

[Steel Dragon]

I'm itching to see this on telly - 12-0 up after 20. I find it helps finding out the score ahead of time - I get too worked up otherwise.

Jason

[qld power]

28mins wesser try goal gordon

[qld power]

hmm diehard was going to game wasnt he im sure i saw him wavin his flag as the were going off half time

[Steel Dragon]

One thing that worries me about the Titans - have we got the ability to score points? Our first 3 weeks have netted 18, 18, and 6 - I think we need to do better than that if we want to go anywhere in this comp. Hopefully they can lay a few on in the second half and shut me up well and good. ;)

Jason

[qld power]

45mins try prince goal campbellllllllllllllllllllll woooooooooooooooooooooooo
18-6

[qld power]

53mins try bailey campbell goal 24-6
and another vision of mr diehard on the box lol

[qld power]

pritchard try 24-10 titans 60mns

[qld power]

gordon try and goal 75mins
titans 24-16

[Tamwelg]

**FINAL SCORE**

Gold Coast Titans 24

Tries: Laffranchi, Campbell, Prince, Bailey
Goals: Campbell 4/5

Defeat

Penrith Panthers 22

Tries: Pritchard x 2, Wesser, Gordon
Goals: Gordon 3/4

[qld power]

congradulations to mr diehard getting on the tv twice

[Tamwelg]

congradulations to mr diehard getting on the tv twice

Yeah nice waving of the big flag there mate :D

[Darren Lockyer]

Yeah nice waving of the big flag there mate :D

was that the flag that said enter the titans

[Tamwelg]

was that the flag that said enter the titans

no, it was the big blue, yellow and white striped one, as seen being held by Diehard at http://www.titanlegion.com/ He also had what looked a pair of binoculars around his neck

[Robbie_Dee]

Woooohooooo!!!!! Played a good game, but my heart was beating 10 thousand times a second in that last minute!!!!! First win away from home well done Titans!!!!!!!

[patskE]

fkn got scared at the end
but go the mighty titans!

[Boofhead]

O.O.

Panthers almost did what they did last week... Had me on my feet haha...

Good to see a little patch of blue in CUA :D!

2 WINS!!!!

[Parra Petty]

Well what an upset win for my adopted second team - I have never really been a fan of Preston at fullback, but he made me eat my words with his performance today.

How good was it to see Bailey score off his fellow co - captains grubber?

I thought Laffranchi and Prince were again the best on field for the Titans, while that run for Brad Meyers will do him good for his return hit out against his old Brisbane teammates thsi Friday!

Damn, I was 5 from 5 in tipping until todays games!

If anyone wants to read my report, than please click on the following link -

http://www.league.net.au/titans-register-gutsy-victory-over-wounded-panthers/


Cheers, and congratulations Titans,

Parra Petty

[Hoppy2007Dragons]

That was with out a doubt the best game the titans have played. The only concern i had with the titans was the lack of forwards to assist bailey and laffranchi, these 2 were the pick of the crop, but henderson, swain and minichello were all on a mission tonight to make meters and tackle good and hard. The penrith pack was bigger and uglier, but the titans gave it to them hard and penrith looked at times, lost at best.

Shame that it was so close i nthe end, titans completly dominanted penrith, wish i had tipped the titans though, :) lol.

[Titanium_BD1103]

2 words sum up todays performance.... Teamwork and Enthusisam... :D :D

It was a great to see the Titans have such enthusiasm in everything they did, even if it did run the tank down late in the second half.

They ran at every loose ball, attacked at 100 miles an hour, defended in a pack and made every post a winner... and you can't ask for anymore from your team... :)

They weren't the most skilled team I have seen in the week of football or the best defense, but they did what you need to do to win a football match, and that is capitalise on mistakes your opposition make... and they did that to a plomb.

Penrith were very shaky today and I think they suffer a bit from a lack of patience and it was great work by Campbell, Prince and Bailey to ensure the Titans not only captialised on that, but stayed patient in the process.... at one stage they had completed 12/13 sets in the first half, and with that sort of completion rate you don't normally lose.

The other thing that impressed me was the team work shown. For a team that has only been together for a bit over 6 months, Carty and Gilly should be commended for producing a team that unlike many other teams who are a lot older than them, actually knows what is happening on every play and how to play it.

The team supported each other on every play, and it is great to know that as a supporter when someone makes a break, something is more than likely going to come out of it as a player is backing up.

Overall I am very happy to see the Titans win... there are areas to improve on but I am happy enough in Round 4 with the performance and I know that Brisbane will be in for a fight on Friday Night, with hopefully a big crowd there to see it.

Well done to Bailey for the try and for always giving 100%, he just a champ.... Presto showed he can play fullback and proved me wrong today.. solid under the high ball and good in coming off the line and well done to the rest for giving their all always... :)

BRING ON THE BRONCOS, BECAUSE THE TITANS ARE READY TO PLAY BALL.... :D

[Steel Dragon]

Great win. I just hope the Titans don't develop the habit the Dragons have had for many years - wrapping up matches, and then letting in soft tries at the end. Though to be fair, both of the tries the Panthers got at the end were well constructed by them.

Jason :)

[Coaster]

Awesome win, i was doubtfull they could do it today after last weeks performance.

Myers was very good, for his first run back in the NRL, he knows when to run it and when to tuck it away, something we need to back up the Bull.

Another standout for me was Graham, great defence out wide, and good running skills.

Hilder was solid, yet still stifled the attack with poor passing. Preston covered fullback well today, and played more in the front line, and his combination with Prince is something to awe.

Paea was solid, great to see, just a young fella, and he is doing well. Im not sure he would make my dream 13, but he is doing the job that is needed, and next week is up against Boyd, so that should be something he could look forward to.

Great effort forwards, great effort team and coaching staff, last week was the wake up we needed, and lets hope that kicks us into the next gear.

[Tamwelg]

Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant

Campbell - Brilliant, Bailey - Brilliant, Prince - Brilliant, Laffranchi - Very Good, Myers - Very Good, Swain Pretty Good (best game he has played for the Coast, earned the number 13 tonight IMO), Minicheillo did enough to keep the number 12, Cooper stepped up a bit this week and the 2 fill in centers did quite well.

The best game the team has played so far this year. I listened to the game on the radio, before watching it on the Tele and thought we must have gone to sleep to let the Panthers in with 2 late trys, but was happy when I watched it back on the t.v. and it was just good attacking football that led to the 2 Panthers tries.

Luke Bailey, what else can I say, give him an Australian jersey, how does a prop forward get through so much work. Bailey was absolutely every, not only was he up in the top three for all the forwards stats, he was there at every kick chase, he was a dummy runner when he didn't get the ball, he was chasing the oposition kicker at the end of every set of six and he was backing up ready for an offload. He must be super fit.

Campbell played the best game he has played for the Titans, made very little if any mistakes, put a lot of players into holes, chased every kicked and put in some great kicks himself. It looked like he played a lot of the game in the attacking line and was quite often first or second receiver, at times it was almost like having a second 5/8. I would love to see him play 5/8 along side Prince, but another part of me thinks the way they did it in this game worked quite well, but ultimately I think he would benefit the team more by playing next Prince on a permanent basis. If Mather isn't fit, might be worth putting Rogers at fullback next week and keep one of the guys that filled in the centers spot this week.

Scott Prince, what a game winner he is. He controlled the game from start to finish. He read the game extremely and he had a fantastic kicking game. If the likes of Thurston weren't about, he could sit very comfortably with the Green and Gold number 7 on his back.

Paea, I think he will loose his spot once Walker is fit, he is the only player in the Titans side that I thought was average. He made some bad decisions in defense that aloud the opposition to get around him with ease and he didn't do enough in attack IMO.

I was so excited to get our first away win, I was yelling and cheering and punching the air whilst listening to the game on the radio, I reckon everyone on the street would have heard me.


BRING ON THE BRONCOS, BECAUSE THE TITANS ARE READY TO PLAY BALL.... :D

Bring on the Broncos indeed :D I finally get back to QLD on Thursday, so I get to start using my membership at this game and I am confident we can beat them.

[DeeGan]

More from me tomorrow - what a performance!

We were given no hope outside of the Titans and Legion faithful!

I managed to get hold of Jason Sintome and he organised Michael Searle and Paul Broughton to come say g'day ... HIGHLIGHT of the day outside the win.

Check our Legion website tomorrow, there is a great pic there with our two main men in Michael and Paul :D

[TITAN FOREVER]

boys look good in their away white jerseys and blue shorts:)


Thought the same those jerseys are great, love the white socks. I was really impressed with the team effort thought the two call ups were very good. Preston great at full back coming up in the line. all round a solid preformance.
Well done Carty and the boys.

[Tamwelg]

For some reason I have a really good feeling about this game.

Titans by 16

Just thought I bring this up :D My gut feeling was right, not the score line though.

[TITANS007]

Great to see the boys come away with a win today. Shame Panthers were allowed to come back so closely in the end because the score doesn't reflect how well we dominated the game. Prince, Bailey and Campbell were outstanding! Prince's kicking game was on song!! Am loving the combination Prince and Campbell are beginning to form. Bailey was everywhere, great enthusiasm and effort. Well done to the whole team. Good luck for Friday night!

[travis burch]

Panthers by 12 im putting money on.

Hope it wasn't your rent money.

:)

[Steve]

Titans really dominated.
Panthers showed why you can't just try to defend a lead, because they're more than capable of blowing you off the park in a small amount of time.
If the ball wasn't dropped in the last movement, I think they'd have been over in the corner.

"Preston who?" was asked in a newspaper article.
I think he gave them a reminder.
And he was great under high balls too!

Saw Diehard and the others on the telly too.

[patskE]

plea did makes some good reads aswell tanwelg
he isnt the best but his solid
but yeh walker will prob take his spot when his fit
how did mathers play on the w/e anyone know he play cup?

[Tamwelg]

plea did makes some good reads aswell tanwelg
he isnt the best but his solid
but yeh walker will prob take his spot when his fit
how did mathers play on the w/e anyone know he play cup?

Yeah he did make a few good read, but also some bad ones. I think one day he will be a good player. He just needs some more time in the QRL IMO.

Mathers isn't recorded as playing in any of the feeder clubs. I think he is still carrying a knee injury.

[TITAN PETE]

Fantastic win today by the boys the regular 3 stood out head & shoulders above , Bull,Presto & Princey but i must give a huge clap to Josh Graham who after playing for 80 minutes today will give Carty a headache of who the centre pairing should be as i now beleive that Graham should be the 1st centre picked for next weeks match.
Also a nice return to the top grade for Meyers , he is a huge bloke & made ground on every run.
Wel done guys & BRING ON THE BRONCOS!

[Tamwelg]

but i must give a huge clap to Josh Graham who after playing for 80 minutes today will give Carty a headache of who the centre pairing should be as i now beleive that Graham should be the 1st centre picked for next weeks match.

I think both fill in centers did their job, but if I was to pick the better of the two, I could do it. There stats were very similar.

Delaney - 13 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 2 hit ups, 85 meters gained.

Graham - 11 tackles, 2 missed tackles, 1 off load, 72 meters gained.

Graham appeared to have a slight bit more sting in his tackles. The one stat they shared in common, which we would like to see better from centers, is 0 line breaks.

I got these stats from www.nrl.com.au

[patskE]

move rogers fullback for more space then slot one of em into center n preston to 5/8 with hilder going to the bench or something

[Sydney Titan]

I think both fill in centers did their job, but if I was to pick the better of the two, I could do it. There stats were very similar.

Delaney - 13 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 2 hit ups, 85 meters gained.

Graham - 11 tackles, 2 missed tackles, 1 off load, 72 meters gained.

Graham appeared to have a slight bit more sting in his tackles. The one stat they shared in common, which we would like to see better from centers, is 0 line breaks.

I got these stats from www.nrl.com.au

which we would like to see better from centers, is 0 line breaks.

The reason why this is because hilder doesn't run to the line and create anything for his centres. I saw Campbell today create more than Hilder today and when rogers gets back move campbell to 5/8 and Rogers Fullback..

[dean]

Awesome effort from the MIGHTY TITANS. Every player performed exceptionally well, with fantastic games from Bailey, Prince and Presto. But the suprise packet for me was the brilliant performance from Josh Graham ( the hitman). Hopefully he will retain his spot against the Ponies on Friday night. He is big,strong and fast. His big hits in defence were awesome. I think that he and Webster should be our centre partnership, with Rogers moving to Fullback. Congratulations to the MIGHTY TITANS on a great win.

[Gee]

It?s good to see that they did not go for the 2 points when they had the chance at the start of the game like they did against the Bulldogs and played for the win .I think it?s a negative thing to take 2 points when its nil all. I hope they keep going for the 6 points like broncos use to do

[PROMETHEUS]

Whinging penriff supporters cant accept that the Titans played better and are blaming the ref for the loss...funny they're still whinging about the ref after they lost tonight,i think they should look at their teams discipline (or lack thereof)

[mb63]

Well done to the Titans on tonight & last week.2 well deserved wins.