Round 2, 2020: Parramatta 46 Gold Coast Titans 6

NRL.com

Titans v Eels: Peachey on bench; Arthur retains same 17

It's only round two but the Titans have to make a statement on home turf after going down to the Raiders last week.

They looked like they were in for a hiding at half-time but a couple of positional changes worked in their favour and rookie coach Justin Holbrook will be looking to build on what was a promising second-half performance.

Titans fans endured a miserable 2019 campaign and might quickly lose interest in 2020 if they don't like what they see on Sunday night.

The Eels opened their 2020 campaign with a win over the Bulldogs but had to fight every inch of the way and will be looking to improve in a few areas against the Titans.

The Rundown

Team news

Titans: Tyrone Peachey has been dropped to the bench, with Brian Kelly getting the nod to start in the centres. Moeaki Fotuaika has taken Jaiman Jolliffe's place on the bench, while AJ Brimson (back) and Shannon Boyd (shoulder) are a chance to return on Sunday after being included as reserves.

Eels: Coach Brad Arthur would've been pleased to see none of his players picked up any injuries in the bruising round one clash with the Bulldogs. Parra will line up with the same 17-man team.

Key match-up

Ash Taylor had some bright moments against the Raiders but probably wasn't involved enough in the first half when the game got away from the Titans. Mitch Moses wasn't able to put his stamp on the game against the Bulldogs in the manner he would've liked and will be keen for an improved showing against Taylor.

Where it'll be won and lost

The battle of the halves could be decisive, while Holbrook has to give Tyrone Peachey the green light to trust his instincts and take what the defence gives him. The Titans have to match Parra up front and look for Phil Sami to create space with his lethal left step. The Eels will be looking for big wingers Blake Ferguson and Maika Sivo to get involved as often as possible, while speedy centres Michael Jennings and Waqa Blake have to be closely marked.

Brett Kimmorley says

I didn't see anything from the Titans last week that suggested much has changed. They missed a lot of tackles, and I think once you highlight that on a video Parramatta can take advantage. The Eels were poor as well in round one, but they'll have a higher completion rate this game I imagine. If they earn the right to play football, I think they've got plenty of points in them. Eels by 14.

Stat Attack

Mitch Moses had a perfect day with the boot in last year's only game between the Eels and Titans, kicking six from six. Parra led 12-6 at half-time in that round 22 clash and overpowered the home team after the break to prevail 36-12. Mid-season recruit Waqa Blake scored twice for the Eels.

And another thing…

Justin Holbrook is the Titans' seventh coach since the club joined the NRL in 2007. John Cartwright was in charge from 2007-14, followed by Neil Henry (2014-17). Garth Brennan was at the helm in 2018 and a portion of 2019, while Craig Hodges (2017, '19), Luke Burt ('19) and Terry Matterson ('17) have all had short stints as interim coaches.

NRL.com

Eels sink injury-hit Titans with second-half blitz

Parramatta flexed their premiership muscle with a thumping 46-6 victory over Gold Coast on Sunday night, but the win may come at a cost with hooker Reed Mahoney suffering an ankle injury.

Eels halves Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown (two) provided the razzle dazzle with impressive tries, but the win was built by their powerful forward pack that simply monstered the Titans into submission and forced errors at crucial times.

Mahoney limped off just before half-time with an ankle injury, forcing fullback Clint Gutherson to play dummy half in attack as the Eels dominated the second half to run out seven tries to one victors.

Parramatta simply massacred the Titans all over the park with double the amount of possession (67 per cent to 33), completing 40 of 47 sets with 56 tackle breaks and seven line breaks.

It was another night of coach-killing moments for the Titans, reminiscent of their dreaded 2019 wooden spoon season when they'd give away silly penalties or drop the ball coming out of their own end.

By the end of the game the Titans had amassed 11 errors, completed just 14 of 24 sets, conceded 13 penalties and racked up 56 missed tackles.

While the Eels came up with their own mistakes, they were rarely made to pay for their errors.

The Titans on the other hand paid dearly for every lapse in concentration.

The tipping point came in the 56th minute. The Titans looked to gain confidence after Sivo was held up over the line by an incredible try-saver by Phil Sami in the 54th minute and the team then defended four tackles on their own line to hold out the Eels.

But Titans prop Jarrod Wallace dropped the ball cold on just the third tackle coming off his own 10-metre line and just a few plays later five-eighth Dylan Brown stepped his way through the defence to break the Titans' spirits.

That breakthrough became three tries in eight minutes as Kane Evans and Sivo both crossed, before late tries to Peni Terepo and another for Brown completed the rout.

Parramatta started the game sharply, their ball movement even from deep in their own half causing all sorts of headaches for the Titans defensive line.

It didn't take the Eels long to open up the Titans, with Nathan Brown's quick pass on his own 20-metre line creating space before Mitchell Moses received the ball and sprinted 70m to score in the corner.

Within a blink of the eye the lead was extended further as the Eels marched up the field off the re-start, courtesy of a stripping penalty, for hooker Reed Mahoney to score from close range to make it 12-0 after nine minutes.

It was a case of anything that could go wrong did go wrong for the Titans in the first half.

First they lost skipper Kevin Proctor in the warm up when he failed a fitness test on his hamstring.

Even when they put points on the board, with a try to Dale Copley, it came at a significant cost as the winger was immediately assisted from the field.

Copley had copped knees to his ribs from Eels lock Brown after he had scored, prompting an extra penalty shot at goal for the Titans which they converted to reduce the deficit to 12-6 after 15 minutes.

The winger's departure, however, sparked a huge backline shuffle as centre Brian Kelly was already off under the HIA rule. Anthony Don switched from the right to left wing, Kallum Watkins moved to the wing, Bryce Cartwright to centre and Nathan Peats went into the second row.

Then on the half hour five-eighth Tyrone Roberts was helped off the field with an ankle injury, although Kelly was able to return back to centre after passing his HIA assessment and Tyrone Peachey shifted into five-eighth while Roberts returned in the second half.

Amid all the confusion the Eels were unable to capitalise on their dominance and only added a penalty goal for a 14-6 lead at the break.