Date: Friday 17^th of March

Venue: Cbus Super Stadium

Gates Open:

Kick off: 8:05pm (NYC 5:50pm)

Head Referee: Ashley Klein

Assistant Referee: Chris James

Head to head: Played 15, Titans 10, Eels 5

Head to head odds: Eels ($ 1.37), Titans ($ 3.10)

Broadcast: Live Channel Nine (Broadcast from): 7:30pm

Last four encounters:

1. Titans 34, Eels 14 at Cbus Super Stadium (2016)
2. Eels 22, Titans 12 at TIO Stadium (2016)
3. Titans 24, Eels 14 at Cbus Super Stadium (2015)
4. Titans 38, Eels 16 at Pirtek Stadium (2015)

Preview: This week’s Friday night encounter will feature a battle between the Gold Coast Titans and the Parramatta Eels up on the Gold Coast at Cbus Super Stadium. The Gold Coast Titans enter this match off the back of two consecutive losses. One to the Sydney Roosters in Round 1 before the Newcastle Knights ran them down in Round 2 to claim their first vicotry in almost a year. Factoring in the injuries to ex-Eels Jarryd Hayne and Nathan Peats, you could say that the Gold Coast Titans have copped a very rough start to the season. They are in desperate need of a win.

On the other side of the coin we have the Parramatta Eels whose fortunes this season have contrasted starkly with that of the Titans. The Eels have started their campaign by rattling off two victories – the latest of which coming against the St George Illawarra Dragons. The Eels made it look easy against the Dragons en route to securing an 18-point victory. Going on respective form the Eels should come out winners comfortably in this one. There is one caveat. Eels primary play-maker Corey Norman will be absent for this clash with a minor hamstring injury. This will be a crucial factor in giving the Titans a real hope of upsetting the Eels. This clash is sure to be interesting so make sure you tune into the prime time fixture!

Value Bet: This week’s value bet is for Parramatta Eels winger Semi Radradra to claim the first try. Radradra is at $7.50 to claim the first try (all odds via Sportsbet). As for the other first try favorites for both teams, the Titans have both Will Zillman and Tyrone Roberts Davis at $12 while the Eels their first try favorites are Semi Radradra (as mentioned at $7.50) and Bevan French at $9.50.

Interesting fact: This Round 3 encounter was meant to mark the first time Jarryd Hayne faced his former club the Parramatta Eels since controversially returning to the NRL last season with the Gold Coast Titans. Instead, Goulburn junior product and career halfback, Tyler Cornish, will make his debut at fullback.

It will be a big game for: This game is sure to be a yet another big test for Eels five-eighth Clint Gutherson. So far this season Clint Gutherson has been in outstanding form – helping the Eels claim victory in their first two matches. Although it must be said that much of Gutherson’s form has been dependent on his halves partner Corey Norman taking a lot of pressure from him. Come Friday night the Eels will be without Corey Norman and this in turn dials the pressure up on Gutherson. Jeff Robson, a seasoned veteran of the NRL, is set to partner Gutherson in the halves, rekindling a surprisingly fruitful partnership with Gutherson after making a mid-season transfer from New Zealand to Parramatta.

Robson isn’t the flashiest player in the world, but he is however a very tradesman-like player and always does a reasonable job. One could suggest he is a very reliable back up for the Eels. Even though Robson is is stepping into the considerable void left by Norman, it could be argued that more pressure will be on Gutherson given his place in the team as a starter. We know that Gutherson doesn’t have the strongest kicking game in the NRL, so it can be speculated that Robson will take on some of the kicking duties. Bevan French could also pop up as an option for the Eels in that capacity.

In an encouraging sign, Gutherson has shown over the last couple of weeks that he has the qualities of a leader on the field. Gutherson has a decent passing game and an excellent running game and with his speed he is capable of converting half-a-gap into a four-pointer. Look for Clint Gutherson to take the line on through the match up against the Titans come Friday night.

Danger man: This week’s danger man is Titans prop and captain Ryan James. Despite the Gold Coast losing their first two matches of the season to the Roosters and Knights, Ryan James personally has had a respectable start to the season. James has put in big efforts and big minutes in his team’s twin defeats. Over the past couple of years Ryan James has truly come of age as a player. He is now the captain of the Gold Coast Titans and it seems like the sky is the limit for the Gold Coast firebrand.

For the longest time James has been seen as a future Origin player for the NSW Blues but his potential representative career has been repeatedly stalled by injuries. It now seems like the injuries are behind James and a sky blue jersey, depending on form, might be just around the corner. James is very much a danger man for the Eels. He is big and strong and on the whole, a rather difficult human being to tackle. He often takes more than two men to bring him down during a hit up and he compounds matters with his ability to produce a late offload. This offload can be deadly given that James can often attract a number of defenders before promoting the ball.

James also has an ability to score tries more often than your average run of the mill props. Close to the goal line James posses a rare threat to the Eels and the goal line defence would do well to ensure that James is well marked and tightly wrapped up! It is a great deal easier said than done mind you.

Team lists:

Gold Coast Titans (14^th coming into the round)

1. Tyler Cornish
2. Tyrone Roberts Davis
3. Dan Sarginson
4. Konrad Hurrell
5. Will Zillman
6. Kane Elgey
7. Ashley Taylor
8. Jarrod Wallace
9. Tyrone Roberts
10. Ryan James (C)
11. Kevin Proctor (C)
12. Chris McQueen
13. Agnatius Paasi

14. Ryan Simpkins
15. Nathaniel Peteru
16. Leivaha Pulu
17. Joe Greenwood

18. Paterika Vaivai
19. Max King
20. Eddy Pettybourne
21. Karl Lawton

Coach: Neil Henry

Late mail: Don’t count out a reshuffle in the Titans backline that may see Will Zillman play fullback. Despite their recent acquisition of Dale Copley by way of the Roosters, the NRL has denied the Titan’s request to play him from outside the 21-man team list.

Parramatta Eels (1^st place coming into the round)

1. Bevan French
2. Semi Radradra
3. Michael Jennings
4. Brad Takairangi
5. Josh Hoffman
6. Clint Gutherson
7. Jeff Robson
8. Suaia Matagi
9. Kaysa Pritchard
10. Tim Mannah (C)
11. Manu Ma’u
12. Tepai Moeroa
13. Beau Scott (C)

14. Nathan Brown
15. Daniel Alvaro
16. Rory O’ Brien
17. Frank Pritchard

18. David Gower
19. Marata Nuikore
20. Kirisome Auva’a
21. Siosaia Vave

Coach: Brad Arthur

Late mail: Siosaia Vave has been named on an extended bench and may find himself in the starting 17 come kick off, watch this space.

2 Key Match Ups:

Ashley Taylor vs Jeff Robson: The first key match up I would like to highlight for this encounter will feature as a battle between the halfbacks as Titans’ young gun Ashley Taylor squares off against Eels’ fill-in tradesman Jeff Robson. If you squint your eyes and don’t include the one game Ashley Taylor played for the Brisbane Broncos in 2015 against the Melbourne Storm this marks Ashley Taylor’s second year in the NRL. At the start of 2016 it was expected that Taylor was at least a couple years off making it full-time as an NRL first grader. However in the preseason of 2016, regular incumbent Titans halfback at the time Kane Elgey suffered a season ending ACL injury that left the Titans in search of an answer in the halves. After a month or so of searching the Titans decided to take a punt on their recently acquired rookie and the rest, as they say, is history.

it was expected that Taylor would struggle to a degree given the fact that the Titans looked to be one of the weaker rosters coming into the 2016 season. Not only that but Taylor only had the single game of NRL experience to his name. Even though the odds were stacked against him Taylor proved all the critics and naysayers wrong by hitting the ground running for the Titans. Taylor went on to have an impressive 2016 season and played a major hand in steering the Titans to the 2016 NRL finals series.

Given Taylor’s impressive season in 2016 the Titans decided to stick with Taylor as their first string halfback, even when Kane Elgey was ready to return from injury. Elgey has returned to the NRL as a five-eighth which in turn has pushed 2016 starter Tyrone Roberts into a utility role. Roberts is now playing hooker in the absence of former Parramatta Eels hooker Nathan Peats.

Taylor’s start to the 2017 NRL season itself hasn’t been overly impressive, although in saying that the Gold Coast Titans as a team haven’t been too impressive on the whole. Regardless of the slow start, it is known that Taylor has talent in bucket loads and come Friday night he will most definitely be a danger man for the Eels. Taylor, even at his young age, possesses one of the games most dangerous repertoires of attacking kicks. The Eels’ back three will do well to be wary of the boot of Ashley Taylor. Given Taylor’s strong kicking game this could be a real test for rookie Eels fullback Bevan French.

Now moving on to the Eels’ tradesman-like halfback Jeff Robson who this week has the enormous task of filling in for the emerging superstar Corey Norman, Norman has been arguably the games most dangerous player in attack through the start of 2017. That may seem like an outrageous compliment for Norman but in the two games the Eels have played this season Norman has been the best on the park. The Eels will most certainly miss his presence but Jeff Robson has proven himself in the past to be a reliable replacement if called upon. Come Friday night it would be unfair to suggest that Robson’s job will be to guide Clint Gutherson in steering the Eels around the park. Not only that but he will take some pressure off Gutherson through the match by taking control of most of the Eels kicking duties.

Konrad Hurrell vs Michael Jennings: The second key match up I would like to highlight for this encounter will feature a battle of the centers as the Titans’ man mountain Konrad Hurrell prepares to face off with Eels’ speedster Michael Jennings. Much like most of the Titans players over past couple of weeks Konrad Hurrell hasn’t been overly impressive, however as I mentioned earlier I believe this is because the Titans team as a whole have not been too impressive. As a result, I would not put too much stock into individual form coming into this game. You are better served saving judgment until at least five rounds of the season have been completed.

Hurrell is definitely a player that possesses a certain x-factor; Hurrell has the ability to score a try from just about anywhere on the field and he is one of the games most physical and intimidating centers. There is no doubt some opposing players would fear him to a degree and given his athletic profile at 183cm tall and tipping the scales 105kg, can you really blame them? Hurrell is built more like your run of the mill prop in the modern game…except imagine that prop is as fast as your average winger – then you have the human wrecking ball known as Konrad Hurrell.

Hurrell started his NRL career at the New Zealand Warriors back in 2012 and immediately made an impact, scoring try after try for the Auckland franchise. Hurrell’s success at the Warriors would be short lived with the ‘Hurrellcane’ spending a few years in and out of the Warriors’ first grade squad. After just over three years in the Warriors’ NRL squad the Warriors would part ways with Hurrell and as a free agent it wasn’t long before the Gold Coast Titans secured the behemoth’s signature.

The change of clubs has since done Hurrell a world of good as he has been one of the Titans’ best performers over the past year and a bit. Hurrell, much like any elite modern day centre, knows how to score a try and attract multiple defenders to a tackle in order to potentially create an overlap or try scoring opportunity. The Eels will do well to be very cautious each time Hurrell has the ball in hand.

Now moving onto Eels’ speedster Michael Jennings who has had a very impressive start to the 2017 season. Jennings was solid in the Eels’ Round 1 win against the Sea Eagles but it was the triumph against the Dragons in which Jennings truly excelled. Jennings played a part in a number of Eels’ tries and had his fair share of great runs and meters. With all that said, there was one particular moment that caught the eyes of the wider NRL fanbase when Jennings made that pass to Eels’ winger Semi Radradra. That pass was a variation between a tunnel ball pass and tennis like tweener shot but whatever you want to describe it as it looked simply amazing and was very effective in putting Semi Radradra in for one of his four tries.

With Corey Norman out of this clash Jennings looms as one of the Eels’ biggest strike weapons next to fullback Bevan French. If the Eels are to defeat the Titans you can imagine Jennings being fed plenty of early and quality ball becomes a high priority. Jennings is among the games’ most explosive players and in a foot race he would have most of his opposition numbers covered.Whether it be Konrad Hurrell or Dan Sarginson who is tasked with marking Michael Jennings they would want to be on their guard because if they’re not, Jennings may very well make them look stupid.  

My tip: As I like to do I will keep my tip for this one short and sweet. I think the Eels will make it three from three to start the season. The Eels will be without star halfback Corey Norman, however the Titans’ line-up is riddled with injuries, most notably to star fullback Jarryd Hayne and front line hooker Nathan Peats. I expect the Eels to be too strong here. Eels 22, Titans 12.

Man of the match: Bevan French or Michael Jennings.

Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !!!

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