Round 7: Manly Sea Eagles vs Gold Coast Titans

[TITAN PETE]

Travelling with an 18 man squad , that leaves Rankin at home so i hope he has a run with Burleigh

[Jamal's Hamstring]

Just hoping the Sea Eagles didn't run themselves into form last week.

[DavidBouveng]

late mail in the sydney papers says Keiran Foran and Brett Stewart wont play, and Liam and Dean Whare will stand in again.

[GoldCoastTitans100]

That gives us a chance, but I still have that feeling I had for the last 2 weeks.

[Supergoose]

Looks pretty damn good.

1. Zillman
2. Gordon
19. Peyroux
3. Idris
5. Mead
6. Sezer
7. Prince
8. Bailey
9. Srama
10. Douglas
18. Bird
11. Myles
13. Harrison

14. White
16. Minichiello
17. Thompson
11. O'Dwyer

Sure does - Ryan James for O'Dwyer and we're there - I hope we play Idris right and Dom left (not really sure which is Dom's best side) - only Rankin at fullback and Zillman on the left as well as James in for O'Dwyer to make this as strong as we get (and maybe BJ Lawrence on the bench)

[karnage]

Sure does - Ryan James for O'Dwyer and we're there - I hope we play Idris right and Dom left (not really sure which is Dom's best side) - only Rankin at fullback and Zillman on the left as well as James in for O'Dwyer to make this as strong as we get (and maybe BJ Lawrence on the bench)

Betcha Carty doesn't know what Dom's best side is either...

I just want to see us play some interesting footy and put some points up. Brisbane just played a sloppy sort of game against the Raiders and still put up 30 points on them. I wouldn't take odds of 50-1 that we could score 30 points tomorrow night even with our strongest side playing an understrength Manly.

[Titanic]

I think Falloon should be considered in that mix. James/Lawrence/Thompson/Falloon would get my vote for our bench with question marks over Peyroux/Zillman/Harrison in the starting team. Graham/O'Dwyer/Champion/Ridge/Minichiello/White/Rankin/Page/Lawton for depth. I wouldn't let Michaels or Henderson near the firsts.

[Princey's Titanz]

Jesus this is close to our best team if bird plays.

if only Lawrence was in the team. Also need Ryan James to be on the bench.

[DIEHARD]

Titans' Bird desperate to play tonight

GOLD Coast Titans bruiser Greg Bird is desperate to front up against Manly's `grubby' forward pack tonight but will resist the temptation to have a painkilling injection.

Bird tore ligaments in his ankle a fortnight ago against the Bulldogs and was expected to miss a month of competition.

But the Titans backrower, who has been notching incredible numbers this season, yesterday travelled with the squad to Brookvale Oval and is likely to be a late inclusion.

Bird is renowned as a fast healer, but with representative honours around the corner and a bye next week the 28-year-old doesn't want to risk further injury.

However, the Titans need all hands on deck after centre Beau Champion was ruled out with a shoulder injury. Dom Peyroux has been named at right centre.

Bird said facing Manly at home was one of the biggest challenges in the NRL and he couldn't bear to watch from the sidelines with the Titans on the verge of a club record six-match losing streak.

"They're a physical team. They've always been renowned for a grubby, physical forward pack," the Country and NSW star said.

"They've been like that since I can remember with (Anthony) Watmough, (Jason) King and them. They get in there and get rough.

"That suits our forward pack because we're really strong in the middle."

Switching the focus to his injured ankle, Bird said he was prepared to give it a go.

"I'll see how it pulls up after running on it. There's a little bit of pain there," he said.

"(I won't get an injection) at this stage of the season. I'm not a big fan of needles, especially in weight-bearing joints. You can do more damage. That's not really an option for me.

"I'd love to play. I always want to play. I hate missing games, especially when the team's struggling.

"There's no use rushing at this time of year. I'll do everything I can though."

Bird is the leading metre-gainer for the Titans this year, clocking an average of 134m from 16 runs a match.

He has also been busy in defence and said Gold Coast's forward pack had been doing its job despite results.

"Although we haven't been winning games, we've been getting out of our own end well," he said.

"Our forwards have been doing their job for the team -- it just hasn't been working for us in other areas.

"They (Manly) are the benchmark team. They've probably been a little off sorts early in the year and turned up last week and blew Penrith off the paddock.

"You always want to play against those teams."

http://www.goldcoast.com.au

[DIEHARD]

Manly Sea Eagles v Gold Coast Titans
Brookvale Oval Saturday 7.30pm

After what must surely be one of the most difficult and protracted road trips in NRL history, the Sea Eagles finally returned home to Brookvale Oval last week with a bang.

After kicking off their pre-season with a trip over to Old Blighty to face Super League champions Leeds, Manly started the NRL proper with a trip over the Tasman, then took their Round 2 home game up to Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford and followed that with three consecutive away games against Cronulla, St George Illawarra and Parramatta.

But last week they showed just how much they love playing at Brookvale, where they went undefeated last year. Despite being without four internationals in Glenn Stewart, Tony Williams, Kieran Foran and Brett Stewart (the latter two only being officially ruled out shortly before kick-off) Manly tore apart the Panthers to the tune of 30-0. Halfback Daly Cherry-Evans was the star in a dominant second half that has brought the defending premiers right back into calculations for this season.

The fact they were able to do it while missing not only two back-rowers who would both have been in calculations for the upcoming Anzac Test, but also their star fullback and five-eighth, would have been particularly pleasing for rookie coach Geoff Toovey.

The news is not quite so good for the embattled Titans however ? despite receiving some good news regarding their financial affairs recently the team bumbled their way to a fifth straight loss against the Roosters, leaving them stuck with the Eels and Tigers at the foot of the ladder with just a solitary win from the opening six rounds.

The Titans missed 35 tackles and made 17 errors last week as they completed just 62 per cent of their sets. Although the Roosters somehow managed an even worse completion rate of just 55 per cent, the Bondi club outran the Titans by 1419 metres to 1151. The fact the Titans were in with a shot of forcing golden-point following David Mead?s second try was a reflection of how poorly the Roosters handled the footy.

Coach John Cartwright has responded by naming highly rated Bulldogs junior Aidan Sezer as Scott Prince?s third halves partner of the year, dropping Jordan Rankin to a five-man bench. After returning from injury on the bench last week Jamal Idris comes into the run-on side replacing Steve Michaels at centre. Mark Minichiello and Matthew White join the bench, with Brenton Lawrence dropping out of the side.

Toovey has named Brett Stewart to return at fullback for Dean Whare who substituted admirably against Penrith, although Whare remains on a five-man bench as cover in case Stewart does not pull up from the rib cartilage injury suffered against Parramatta. Kieran Foran has been named to return from a hamstring strain at the expense of his older brother Liam, who also deputised with aplomb against the Panthers.

Club stalwart and co-captain Jason King will play his 200th NRL game, all of which have been for the Sea Eagles, aside from the first 22 which were played at the Northern Eagles.
For the Titans, William Zillman racks up his 100th NRL game.

Watch Out Sea Eagles: Hulking centre Jamal Idris, who returns to the starting line-up after being eased back from injury last week, is one of several major off-season signings Cartwright will be expecting to help lead his side out of its current slump.

Idris was equal fifth in the competition last year in terms of tackle busts, with a massive 117 across the 23 matches he played. He also registered the second-most offloads at the club with 31 and the second-most line-breaks with 10.


Idris scored a double in the Titans? Round 1 win over the Cowboys and if he can recapture the kind of form that saw him grab a State of Origin bench spot in 2010 it may just give the Titans the kind of X-factor at the back that they need to inspire the rest of the team.

Danger Sign: Idris can have the tendency to switch off a little when he?s playing out in the centres but it?s when he comes in looking for work that he can really create havoc. If he goes out of his way to take some early hit-ups when the Titans are working it out of their own end, or tries to assert himself late in an attacking set, the Manly defence will need to be on their toes.

Watch Out Titans: Daly Cherry-Evans produced one of those all-round games last week where everything fell into place. Desperate to make amends for a lacklustre showing against the Eels and with an increased burden of responsibility in the absence of regular five-eighth Kieran Foran, Cherry-Evans produced a playmaking masterclass.

The three try assists were the key ? the highlight an unconventional but very effective perfectly placed cross-field grubber towards the posts for centre Steve Matai to score.

His nine tackle busts were a feature that you won?t see from too many halfbacks, while a crucial 40/20 kick could easily be forgotten in amongst the other highlights. If Cherry-Evans can put in a repeat showing in Manly?s second consecutive Brookvale appearance the Titans will be in huge trouble.

Danger Sign: Not to suggest that there?s anything lacking in Cherry-Evans? passing game ? but it was his running of the football and pinpoint kicks that shredded the Penrith defence last week. The more he takes on the line himself the better, from Manly?s point of view, and the Titans? big men will have to watch him closely ? or they will know how Penrith felt last week.

Steve Matai v Jamal Idris: Unfortunately these two uncompromising centres may not clash directly too often because each tends to play on the left side of the field ? but that doesn?t mean they won?t go looking for each other if either wanders infield.

Matai is well known for his bruising defence and Roosters pivot Braith Anasta will certainly attest to the fact that Idris is also capable of crunching defence after wearing a big shot last week. Both players have missed game time already this year through injury but can be game-breakers when in form. Matai was close to Manly?s best in the loss to the Eels and bagged a four-pointer last week, and Idris will be keen to make up for lost time after playing just three of the opening six rounds.

Idris ran just three times for 10 metres last week despite being on the field for almost 40 minutes, while Matai made just a solitary tackle in 80 minutes. Expect far greater involvement from each man this week.

Where It Will Be Won: The mental approach. Quite simply, if each side plays the way they played last week, the Titans have no hope. But this is rugby league, the domain of the upset, where anything can happen on the night ? as the Sea Eagles recently found out against Parramatta.

If the Titans venture out to fortress Brookvale believing they can?t win, then they won?t. They will need to find some spark, whether it comes from debutant Sezer who is unscarred by the side?s previous five losses, the effervescent Idris, or the never-say-die Nate Myles ? but they need to believe if they are to have a chance.

Conversely if Manly go in believing the game already won then that is where the Titans gain an opening. Manly fans would hope at 3-3, after the upset at Parramatta and with a couple of stars still missing, that complacency wouldn?t be an issue. But league can be a funny game and Manly will still have to do the little things right against a Titans side that will have their backs to the wall.

The History: Played 8, Manly 5, Gold Coast 3. The Titans have a fair record against the Sea Eagles given how dominant Manly has been in the five seasons the Titans have been in the NRL ? although they have won just one of four at Brookvale. That one win was on their last trip to the peninsula however, when they emerged 24-22 winners in Round 7 of the 2010 season.

The Last Time They Met: The only meeting between these two clubs last season was played at Skilled Park in Round 10 as Manly edged the Titans 16-12 in a three-tries-to-two victory.

The Sea Eagles exploded out of the blocks as Ashley Harrison was penalised for an incorrect play-the-ball on just the second tackle of the match. A Cherry-Evans cut-out pass followed by a Jamie Lyon flick pass put David ?Wolfman? Williams over in the corner inside the first minute of play. Opposite winger Michael Robertson also crossed in the 23rd minute before Scott Prince dragged one back for the Titans late in the half.

Robertson earned a double midway through the second half before Esi Tonga brought the margin back to four when he crossed 10 minutes from time.

Both sides completed around three quarters of their possessions although Manly missed double the number of tackles with 38 against 19 for the Titans. There was little between the teams in terms of running metres, possession or penalties.

The loss came despite huge 80-minute contributions from Titans back-rowers Greg Bird (155 metres from 15 runs) and Ashley Harrison (142 metres from 19 runs).

Match Officials: Referees ? Jason Robinson & Tony De Las Heras; Sideline Officials ? Jason Walsh & Brenden Wood; Video Referee ? Paul Mellor.

The Way We See It: There?s no sugar-coating it ? Gold Coast will be massive underdogs here and rightly so. As mentioned above, if both teams put in a repeat of last week?s efforts there can be only one winner. But a week can be a long time in rugby league, as we?ve seen plenty of times in the past, and the Titans have plenty of quality players, while Manly have plenty missing or in doubt. But since we?re playing it safe we?ll take Manly by 13-plus.

Televised: Fox Sports ? Live 7.30pm.

http://www.nrl.com/

[DavidBouveng]

Nice verbal jab from Birdman in the bulletin.

"Our forwards have been doing their job... It just hasn't been working for us in other areas".

Boom! Take that Prince and backline!

I would be pissed too if I was busting my gut like some of our forwards.

[tnkd]

Looking forward to the match up tonight, the Titans are clearly underdogs but 1 win from 6 rounds, with a revived team, as well as lots to prove could well be the making of a great win.

[DavidBouveng]

Yeah the away crowd could unite us and produce a backs to the wall victoryz

[Titanic]

Will miss this game as I have other commitments but am vaguely more interested in it than the previous couple of weeks. Sezer in, Srama for 80 and Idris on the left all work for me.

I know many of us don't like Idris on the left but I thought that his work with Bird in the early games was better than solid and I really don't like the idea of him with the tackle-shy Prince and the glue-fingered Peyroux on the right. I feel sorry for Mead in that regard ... perhaps the Prince cut-out pass is the only way he'll get the ball ... certainly not from Peyroux and unlikely from the other Glues Brother Zillman.

[teke]

Nice verbal jab from Birdman in the bulletin.

"Our forwards have been doing their job... It just hasn't been working for us in other areas".

Boom! Take that Prince and backline!

I would be pissed too if I was busting my gut like some of our forwards.

Forwards have been doing their job in defence but a few of them are stifling the attack something serious. There is a reason Harro is in the Qld SOO team and it's not to do 18 hitups a game. A few passes that cutout the 2nd rowers could go a long way to making the team look dangerous out wide.