Friday, Skilled Park, 7.45pm
Referee: Jason Robinson
The Gold Coast would have loved to have seen their halfback, Scott Prince, get a run for Queensland in State of Origin I, because he deserved it, but the selectors looked elsewhere, so now the Titans are set to reap the benefit of having the number one player in the NRL this season, on form, playing for them on a weekend when 34 other players selected for the Maroons and NSW are unavailable for their clubs. The Titans get another big boost with the return from injury of prop Luke Bailey.
The Bulldogs get several stars back from injury and they sure need them, after getting flogged 30-4 by the Panthers last weekend. The Bulldogs should improve significantly on that effort, but it's still going to be very difficult for them to stick with the Titans at Skilled Park. The Titans are unbeaten at their new home ground and after losing their most recent game - away against the Knights - they have had the chance to re-focus through having the bye last weekend.
Prince, the king of the show and go, will be fired up to prove the selectors wrong, and if he plays as he has played in most games for the Titans this year, they will be well on the road to their seventh win from nine games.
Late mail
Halfback Joe Williams may be a shock starter for the Bulldogs tonight against Gold Coast after Aaron Groom, set to make his debut, was hospitalised this week with a virus.
Williams, who signed with the Bulldogs only this week from Penrith, was rushed to the Gold Coast yesterday as cover for Groom, who was only released from hospital yesterday.
Groom will fly to the Gold Coast this morning and may still play, in what would be a dramatic recovery but hardly the best preparation for a first NRL game.
"There's too many balls in the air to say anything concrete, but Joe Williams is a chance, maybe," Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes said yesterday.
Of Groom, who was pencilled into the side in place of the injured Ben Roberts (hamstring), Folkes said: "He was cleared to leave hospital. Whatever the problem was, they fixed it."
The good news for the Bulldogs is, Folkes declared second-rower Sonny Bill Williams (quad) and fullback Luke Patten (back) "fine". Titans coach John Cartwright said his side would be "1-17".
TITANS: Brenton Bowen, Ben Jeffery, Luke O'Dwyer, Brett Delaney, Smith Samau, Ashley Harrison, Scott Prince, Luke Bailey, Nathan Friend, Michael Hodgson, Brad Meyers, Mark Minichiello, Daniel Conn. Interchange: Aaron Cannings, James Stosic, Josh Graham, Gavin Cooper.
BULLDOGS: Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Tim Winitana, Cameron Phelps, Matt Utai, Aaron Groom, Daniel Holdsworth, Jarrad Hickey, Corey Hughes, Chris Armit, Sonny Bill Williams, Andrew Ryan, Reni Maitua. Interchange: Lee Te Maari, Nick Kouparitsas, Michael Sullivan, Bradley Morrin.
