NRL Round 4 Preview and Prediction - Gold Coast Titans v North Queensland Cowboys @ CBUS Super Stadium

Gold Coast Titans v North Queensland Cowboys @ CBUS Super Stadium
 
Preview - We get another early season Queensland Derby here as the Cowboys head to the Gold Coast to take on the Titans. The home side broke through for their first win of the season with a come from behind 26-14 victory over the Eels. The Titans, without Jarryd Hayne and with a host of others out, showed toughness and resolve that forged their reputation for much of last season under Coach Neil Henry. The Cowboys, after two epic Golden Point victories to start the season, came out really flat against Manly and were dispatched 30-8. The Cowboys really missed a couple of their key forwards and made a few fundamental errors inside the opponent’s halves as they failed to build enough pressure on the Sea Eagles.
 
History - The Titans have only won 1 of their past 5 games against the Cowboys, with their last victory coming back in Round 4 of 2014 where they triumphed 13-12. Last season, the teams had to wait until Round 26 to clash with the Cowboys running out 32-16 winners. The Cowboys have an average record on the Gold Coast, winning just 3 of their last 8 games, and have not won there since 2011. 
 
Gold Coast Titans Scouting Report - The Titans have two new recruits debuting for them in the outside backs with both Dale Copley and Daniel Vidot set to start. Copley has had an unsettled couple of years, moving from the Broncos to the Roosters and now back to the Titans. At his best he is a strong running centre that is solid defensively and I expect him to make a starting spot his own in this Titans’ backline that is lacking the depth it had last year. Vidot had stints at the Raiders, Broncos and Dragons, and whilst his best can be very good, he was often a confident player that could have trouble with his hands on occasions. 
 
North Queensland Cowboys Scouting Report - Without Matt Scott and Jason Taumololo, the Cowboys really struggled last week and they need more from some of their starting forwards. Kayln Ponga showed glimpses of his potential last week and I think Michael Morgan has made a quiet start to the season and needs to have more impact in attack. 
 
Verdict - Cowboys by 1-8 in a high scoring game
 
Hard game to call here with both sides disrupted by injuries and coming off contrasting performances last week. I just think the Cowboys were way off their game last week and will be desperate to make amends with a far more committed and clinical performance particularly in attack. With Jason Taumololo back, I believe he makes such a difference to this Cowboys’ teams’ as he gives the ability for their halves to play off the front foot and off the back of quick play the balls. To that effect he is worth almost more than 1 player, and I think the likes of Thurston, Morgan and Ponga, who were well below their best last week, might be able to feed off the back of that. The Titans get Dale Copley and Daniel Vidot into their side for the first time this year, however I think they are going to need some time to adjust to their new Club and may take a few weeks before we see the best from them.