Round 26: Gold Coast Titans vs Wests Tigers

[titansrawesome]

Short and to the point, and he must understand what it means, nothing racial of co****.

Something like
"Keebra High Hates you" over and over

you sir are a visionary and a genius

[DIEHARD]

you sir are a visionary and a genius

He sure is, I'm just glad he is on our side!

19k tickets sold so far, SO WASTE NO TIME and buy your tickets now.

Wests Tigers: 1 Mitch Brown, 2 Lote Tuqiri, 3 Blake Ayshford, 4 Geoff Daniela, 5 Beau Ryan, 6 Benji Marshall, 7 Robert Lui; 8 Todd Payten, 9 Robbie Farah (c), 10 Keith Galloway, 11 Simon Dwyer, 12 Gareth Ellis, 13 Chris Heighington.

Interchange: 14 Andrew Fifita, 15 Willie Mataka, 16 Mark Flanagan, 17 Daniel Fitzhenry

[teke]

I wouldnt be prodding Benji, he will love that stuff and have a blinder.

I would go all guns blazing at Beau Ryan, Blake Ayshford and Geoff Daniela. Get those guys extremely nervous under the high ball

[TITAN PETE]

I wouldnt be prodding Benji, he will love that stuff and have a blinder.

I would go all guns blazing at Beau Ryan, Blake Ayshford and Geoff Daniela. Get those guys extremely nervous under the high ball

I'll be aiming my voice at Beau Know's Sweet FA, but Benji is just like our Mr Prince they want to be liked by everyone so i say give it to Marshall at every opportunity

BENJI'S A CAT

[Boofhead]

Throw me some beers, I'll abuse him.

[Blunt_Beno]

coming down for this game from bundaberg. preston campbell is my favourite player, has been for about 10 years. last time i watched the titans and tigers play he didnt play either. dissapointed haha. gunna be a great game though, and it just so happens the next day is my bday, so ill celebrate the win and see my bday in after the game lol. my cousin is also meeting me at the game, coming up from woolongong, he is a mad tigers supporter, so will be great to see him go home a loser lol

[Tamwelg]

Titans v Wests Tigers Preview

NRL.com Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:25:00

Titans v Wests Tigers
Skilled Park
Friday 7.35pm

If you think these two sides enter this match content, knowing they’ll be around in the finals, then you are seriously underestimating their desires and the mammoth importance of this result.

For the home-side Titans this match is a must-win if they want to host a home final – a huge advantage in the opening week of the post-season.

For the Wests Tigers, a spot in the top two is on the line, the only place on the ladder which guarantees a second bite of the cherry should you lose your first final.

And besides this, both sides want to come into the finals with a winning feeling, not the drop in confidence that comes with a loss.

It all adds up to what should be a sell-out crowd, a massive atmosphere and one hell of a contest. Essentially, it’s finals time come early. Imagine the psychological advantage for the side that wins if they meet again in September.

The Titans come into the match in fourth spot on the ladder and can actually steal second spot themselves if they win by 10 or more points and the Panthers lose to the Sharks.

While the Sharks have been much tougher in recent weeks the reality is a win should be the Titans’ first goal as it would guarantee a top-four berth, then the 10-point margin should be next on the list as it would see them leapfrog the Tigers to at least third.

After falling to the Sharks last weekend, snapping a five-game winning run, the side has just the one change.

Anthony Laffranchi returns to the second row, which moves Greg Bird back to the bench and Sam Tagataese out of the side.

The Wests Tigers put themselves in the box seat to take second by beating Melbourne last week. Believe it or not, since entering the league as a joint venture in 2000, the Tigers have only been second on the ladder for 12 total weeks!

A win here makes second a certainty for the side; however, a loss by 10 or more and a Penrith win drops the side to fourth and into the Friday night final from which the loser was eliminated in Week One last season. If they lose by less than 10 they will still hold on to second or at worst be third.

Fullback Wade McKinnon is out injured, giving Mitch Brown a start at the back, while Chris Lawrence’s broken jaw means he’ll be replaced by Geoff Daniela in the centres. John Skandalis is also out of the side with the new guys on the bench being Willie Mataka and Daniel Fitzhenry.

Watch out Titans: This match shapes as a big one for Wests Tigers hooker Robbie Farah. The Tigers have scored 10 tries from dummy-half this season, which is equal first in the league, and the Titans have conceded nine from the same area, which ranks them third last.

In terms of dummy-half line-breaks the Wests Tigers have nine and the Titans have let 11 through the gates, ranking them second last.

Farah has six dummy-half line-breaks and will be out to terrorise the Gold Coast defence. The Titans’ markers need to be switched on at all times.

Watch out Wests Tigers: The Gold Coast are the best side in the NRL at forcing line drop-outs but it is two types of their attacking kicks in this game that could bring points rather than pressure.

The Wests Tigers are the worst side in the NRL at defusing chip kicks; with Scott Prince, the Titans have an expert at the practice. The Tigers successfully defuse just 56 per cent of chip kicks, giving Prince and co. a massive green light to use it.

If chip kicks are on the menu, so too will be cross-field bombs. The Wests Tigers defuse just 47 per cent of cross-field kicks and with a new-look backline, this number could get even worse.

Where it will be won: The battle of the back row is the pivotal one here. Of course the match-up of key playmakers like Scott Prince and Benji Marshall will be massive also, but the back row of both teams brings plenty of grunt to the contest.

For the Wests Tigers it is Chris Heighington, Gareth Ellis and this week Simon Dwyer as Liam Fulton is still injured.

Heighington is averaging 112 metres and 31 tackles a match, has five line-breaks, five line-break assists, three try assists, four tries, 93 tackle-breaks and 26 offloads. Ellis runs 106 metres and makes more than 30 tackles a game, has five line-breaks, three line-break assists, three try assists, four tries, 46 tackle-breaks and 10 offloads.

Dwyer’s involvement is much less having played most of his games from the bench but when starting last week against Melbourne he punched out 109 metres and added 30 tackles.

For the home side Titans, the back row consists of Mark Minichiello, Anthony Laffranchi and Ashley Harrison, with Greg Bird ready to come from the bench. Harrison is making 95 metres and adding 35 tackles a match plus he has three line-breaks, a line-break assist, a try assists and three tries. Laffranchi averages 105 metres and 33 tackles and has added nine line-breaks, seven tries, 45 tackle-breaks and 30 offloads. Minichiello runs 102 metres and makes 20 tackles each week and has 12 line-breaks, three line-break assists, nine tries, 94 tackle-breaks and 16 offloads.

The history: Played 6; Titans 3, Wests Tigers 3. The Tigers got home by a single point earlier this year at Campbelltown to square the ledger against the Titans. There have been two matches prior at Skilled Park, with both sides taking a win apiece. The average winning margin between the clubs is just over eight points.

Conclusion: A few injuries to the Wests Tigers’ line-up and the home ground advantage probably gives the Titans the edge here as they look to lock up a top-four berth and the home semi that goes with it.

The result is just that tad more important to the home side; as such you could probably lean their way with confidence.

But the Wests Tigers are certainly in the contest and can’t be discounted. It should be a close one – a real cracker.

Match officials: Referees – Tony Archer & Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials – Paul Holland & Adam Devcich; Video Ref – Steve Clark.

Televised: Channel Nine – Live 7.30pm (NSW), delayed 9.30pm (Qld & ACT); Fox Sports – Delayed 11.30pm.

[DIEHARD]

Hey Beno, you should come say hello, I'd love to meet you.

Looking like a big crowd with over 21,000 tickets sold and counting!

[Blunt_Beno]

Hey Beno, you should come say hello, I'd love to meet you.

Looking like a big crowd with over 21,000 tickets sold and counting!

id try to, but id have no idea who i was looking for haha. can you tell me if ya allowed to take ya own snacks and stuff into the game? also we are staying at fingle, any suggestions on transport from there? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[titanstattman]

U can take home made stuff in there.. Nd just looks for the suits hahah

[patskE]

meh dnt like our backline tbh, dosnt have the flare it did a month or so ago

[TITAN PETE]

Marshall ready for Lui to fire

By Steve Jancetic AAP Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:38:09
Wests Tigers superstar Benji Marshall has paid young halves partner Robert Lui the ultimate compliment - comparing him to the man who combined with Marshall to win the Tigers' only NRL title in 2005.

Marshall said he saw plenty of similarities in the play of Lui and Gold Coast skipper Scott Prince - who on Friday night will line up against the Tigers rookie in what shapes as a battle for second spot.

"Him and Princey are similar in a lot of things they do with the flair they have, the way they show the ball and how good they can be when they run the ball," Marshall said.

"I think Robert Lui's only just starting to find that out the way I had to when I was his age."

A young Marshall teamed up with Prince to mastermind the Tigers' only premiership triumph, which also remains the club's only finals campaign.

But with a return to the post-season already booked for 2010, Marshall said how the Tigers performed in their comeback to finals footy would depend heavily on the 20-year-old's efforts.

And that meant Lui finding his voice, with Marshall encouraging the young playmaker to take control of the game to give him a genuine running mate for the first time since Prince's departure from the club.

"He struggled to try and overrule me and Robbie (Farah) on the field, which is pretty hard to do because if no-one else says anything I'm just going to say it," Marshall said.

"I tell him that all the time `if you don't say anything, you don't get the ball.'

"Slowly, slowly he's at a point now where he's actually telling me what he wants and demands the ball now, which is nice.

"I've been waiting for it to happen for a long time - I haven't had a consistent halves partner for four years so it's been nice to see Robbie doing well.

"When defences and other teams have to worry about what Robert Lui's doing, that's going to take their mind off me for a second and opens it up a but more for me I think."

The Tigers have won four of six games since Lui returned from a knee injury in round 20, and can wrap up second spot heading into the finals with a win over the Titans at Skilled Park.

[titanstattman]

Ok gold coast we are up to 23,341 sold so far come on.....

[Tamwelg]

Ok gold coast we are up to 23,341 sold so far come on.....

That's awesome, looks like it's going to be a sell out.

[TITAN PETE]

That's awesome, looks like it's going to be a sell out.

Brilliant news lets hope the "Sold Out" sign goes up before the gates open which may encourage more people to become members