Round 18
Gold Coast Titans 18 d. Parramatta Eels 12

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Eels go down fighting against Titans
Mon July 13, 2009
Source: www.parraeels.com.au

The Pirtek Parramatta Eels have come up short in their Telstra Premiership round 18 clash with the Gold Coast Titans, losing 18-12 at the end of a Skilled Park encounter in which both sides scored three tries.

The Eels fought their way back from 14-nil down after 10 minutes to trail the Titans by just two points for most of the second half, a 69th minute try to Titans youngster David Mead ultimately putting an end to the Eels hopes.

The win maintained the Titans undefeated record at home for the season, while the Eels were left to rue a none from three record with the boot.

The Titans wasted no time opening their account, co-captain Luke Bailey marking his return from injury by scoring under the posts after a Scott Prince grubber rebounded off the upright in just the second minute of play.

Prince converted and then added a penalty goal after he was hit late by Krisnan Inu to see the Titans lead by eight after as many minutes.

Chris Walker showed great poise to touch down for his side's second try soon after, the touchdown coming off two phases which saw the Titans travel nearly 80 metres and the full width of the field.

Prince's conversion stretched the home side's lead to 14 points.

Joe Galuvao marked his 150th game in the top grade by getting the Eels on the board after 23 minutes, the second rower bumping off Jake Friend and Esi Tonga to slam it down five minutes inside the right touchline.

Inu was however unable to convert, leaving the Eels trailing by 10 with 15 minutes left until half time.

The Eels were then denied a try by the video referee, the Eric Grothe score called back for a knock on at dummy half.

But the very next set would cancel it out, Inu putting Daniel Mortimer over after a Mat Rogers kick took a mean ricochet off Broderick Wright.

Trailing 14-8, the Eels inched themselves closer ten minutes into the second half when a Luke Burt cut-out pass from dummy half found Grothe, who showed great strength to score wide out.

Burt - having taken over the kicking duties - struck the post with his attempt, leaving the Eels two points adrift and without a conversion for the night.

Despite both teams having chances the next score wasn't until the 69th minute of the match, when the Titans worked the overlap to put Mead over for their third try.

Faced with a conversion to put his side's lead out to eight points Prince missed, leaving a converted try in it heading into the final ten minutes of play.

Rogers missed with a shot at field goal with three and a half minutes left on the clock, while the Eels final few tilts at the line ended just short, which neatly summed up a night in which they'd come so close to ending the Titans unbeaten run at home.

The Eels next assignment comes in seven days time, when they play host to the Melbourne Storm in Monday Night Football at Parramatta Stadium.

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP
Gold Coast Titans 18 (Luke Bailey, Chris Walker, David Mead tries; Scott Prince 3 goals from 4 attempts) defeated the Pirtek Parramatta Eels 12 (Joe Galuvao, Daniel Mortimer, Eric Grothe tries; Krisnan Inu 0 goals from 2 attempts, Luke Burt 0 goals from 1 attempt) At Skilled Park. Crowd: 14,840 Half Time: Titans 14-8.


NRL Betting Preview: Titans v Eels - Round 18
Mon July 13, 2009
Source: RleagueBetting.com

The Titans are red hot favourites to join the Bulldogs in second spot on the ladder when they host the Eels at Skilled Park tonight.

The best odds you'll get for the Coast are a miserly $1.29 from BetCris. You'd have to be mad to tip the Eels in a tipping competition, but for a two horse race the $4.15 odds from Pinnacle are of good value.

In the Margin Betting market, consider the $2.15 odds from Sportsbet of a 13+ victory to the Titans, and/or $3.05 for a 1-12 victory from Flemington Sportsbet. If you combine them together to get any victory for the Gold Coast inside 80 minutes, the formula is 100/(100/2.15+100/3.05), which equates to $1.26. This falls short of an equivalent bet on the Titans to win in the 80 minutes match betting market, paying $1.29 at Stan James.

The Titans usually start very well at home, so consider : the $1.82 odds from Sportingbet of a Titans try being 1st Scoring Play; Gold Coast winning the Race to 10 paying $1.50 from Stan James; and a Titans/Titans Half Time/Normal Time Double paying $1.62 at Centrebet (this compares very favourable with the $1.50 available elsewhere).

In the 1st Try Scorer market, Stan James are top odds on favourites Chris Walker ($11), Kevin Gordon ($12) and Eric Grothe ($13). In some cases these odds are over 50% better than competitors prices, showing that shopping around can make a big difference to a punters bank balance. It's also worth taking into consideration promotions like Sportingbet's 100% bonus on winning 1st Try Scorer bets to get the best bang for your buck.

Click Here to Compare NRL Odds on Titans vs Eels

Sun July 12, 2009
• Titans shoot for eight straight at home (Incl Audio)
  
Fri July 10, 2009
• Titans wary of slippery Eels
  
Tue July 7, 2009
• Bailey, Minichiello and Rogers return for Titans (Incl Audio)
  
Tue July 7, 2009
• Eels shuffle the deck for Gold Coast
  

Advanced Search