NRL Round 9 Preview and Prediction - Gold Coast Titans v Newcastle @ CBUS Super Stadium

Gold Coast Titans v Newcastle Knights @ CBUS Super Stadium
 
Preview - The Titans will be looking for back-to-back wins for the first time this season when they take on the last placed Newcastle Knights at CBUS Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Whilst the Titans might be sitting just 1 point ahead of the Knights in 15th place on the competition ladder, they showed what they are capable of last week with a 16-12 victory over the Sharks at Shark Park. With the return of several key players to the side including Kevin Proctor and Jarryd Hayne, the Titans will be looking to build a bit of momentum in their season after a wretched run of losses and injuries. The Knights lost their 6th straight game, going down 24-12 in Townsville despite leading the game 12-6 nearing halftime. 
 
History - These sides have already clashed this season with the Knights managing to register their lone win in an entertaining game at McDonald Jones Stadium. In a high scoring encounter, the Knights held on for a 34-26 victory. The Knights also have a decent record on the Gold Coast, having won 4 of their past 7 clashes there. Narrow wins are rare between these teams with the past 10 games the average winning margin being over 18 points. 
 
Gold Coast Titans’ Scouting Report - The Titans can't seem to strike off the injury curse, losing 3 players to injury in their last match against the Sharks. Dale Copley, Karl Lawton and Chris Greshmal are all out injured. Englishman Dan Sarginson returns to the centres for this clash with Paterika Vaivai added to the bench and Kane Elgey replacing Lawton on the bench. With the return of Jarryd Hayne at fullback last week, Tyrone Robert shifted to five-eight and retains his place there after a strong performance. 

Newcastle Knights Scouting Report - There is no room for Trent Hodgkinson once again with Jaelen Feeney starting at halfback. Rookies Luke Yates and Sam Stone remain in the starting side whilst Sione Mata' utai returns to the back row. 
 
Verdict - Titans 1-12 in a high scoring game 
 
I think this game will be a bit closer than people expect, however it’s difficult to tip the Knights after 6 straight losses. I just think there is more at stake here for the Titans as they came into the season as a finals contender and they have rarely been able to put close to their best team on the paddock. The Titans will want some revenge for the loss they copped in Round 2 from Newcastle and the chance to claim back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The Knights, to me, look like a team running out of ideas in attack, having not scored more than 2 tries in each of their last 3 games. Once again I expect the Knights to be competitive here and maybe score 3 tries in this game, but I expect the Titans’ attacking talents to click into gear and them to score around 30 points to register another win.