NRL Round 5 Preview - Titans v Sea Eagles @ Marley Brown Oval

Gold Coast Titans v Manly Sea Eagles @ Marley Brown Oval
 
Preview - The Titans clash with the Sea Eagles in the battle of two 2-2 sides at Marley Brown Oval in Gladstone in Central Queensland on Sunday afternoon. They bounced back in a big way from their 54-8 defeat to the Dragons by stunning the Broncos 26-14 at Suncorp Stadium last week. The Sea Eagles continued their Jekyll and Hyde form by thumping the Raiders 32-16 after being so disappointing against Souths the week before. 
 
Gold Coast Titans’ Scouting Report – Garth Brennan named an unchanged side following the shock win over local rivals the Broncos. Bryce Cartwright remains on the bench, where he played just one minute.
 
Manly Sea Eagles Scouting Report - Tom Trbojevic (ankle) is replaced at fullback by Matthew Wright, although Trbojevic remains a chance after being included in reserves. Dylan Walker (ankle) returns from a long lay-off at centre with Brad Parker pushed to the wing. Frank Winterstein replaces Curtis Sironen (ACL) in the back row. Jack Gosiewski replaces Kelepi Tanginoa (ACL) on the bench.
 
Verdict - Titans by 6-14 in a high scoring game

Terribly difficult game to pick as both sides have been extremely erratic in the opening four rounds. However, Manly have some key injuries, and the fact they are winless on the road leads me to think the Titans can register their third win of the season. Both these sides seem to have plenty of flair and points in them – it’s more about their defence and reaction when things are going against them. I think this will be a high scoring and entertaining game with both sides scoring over 20 points. However, I think the Titans are ready to put two good performances together and assert themselves as a fairly dangerous side in 2018 with a victory here over an understrength Manly.