Titans vs Warriors NRL Rd 2 betting tips & odds – 19/3/2022

The New Zealand Warriors and Gold Coast Titans both started the 2022 NRL Premiership with losses, but it’s not all doom and gloom for one of these sides. The Warriors showed flashes of brilliance in their loss to the Dragons last week, but an injury to key playmaker Shaun Johnson has thrown a spanner in the works early. This is in stark contrast to the Titans, who lost narrowly to a Parramatta Eels side that piled on 32 points. Of 29 head-to-head matches, the Warriors have won 19, despite their last meeting being a 44-point thumping in favour of the Titans.

Along with the loss of Johnson, the Warriors have lost representative winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak who was the benefactor of a try where he never gave up on a play. Followed by the try to Eliesa Katoa, set up by halfback Johnson, the Warriors have lost strike across the park in attack. The forward pack is bolstered by the return of enforcer Matt Lodge along with young gun Reece Walsh.

The Warriors were deprived of possession against the Dragons, forcing them to push the pace and make 12 errors in the process. Back up halfback Ash Taylor will need his forwards to win the battle in the centre third of the field, which should create time and space for Chanel Harris-Tavita and young gun Reece Walsh to utilise their outside backs, along with their own skills, to put points on the board for the Warriors.

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While an argument could be made the Titans were robbed of an opportunity to beat the Eels, they were incredibly impressive in their loss. Two early tries to the Eels didn’t stop the Titans from getting to the scoreboard, where Phillip Sami and Brian Kelly both scored doubles, to end up four points short of the win. The Titans greatest aspect of their game was the ability they had to take full advantage of every opportunity the Eels provided to score points. Should the Warriors off similar opportunities, it’s hard to see the Warriors limiting the try scoring ability of this young Titans squad.

Add into the Gold Coast’s starting side AJ Brimson, who performed incredibly well at State of Origin for QLD, and the Titans look harder and harder to beat. Plug Brimson into a spine with Jayden Campbell, Toby Sexton and Erin Clark, Brimson will provide both experience and stability to his teammates. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Moeaki Fotuaika led the forwards against the Eels and will need to step up again in the face of Addin Fonua-Blake and Matthew Lodge, and with the help of Isaac Liu and David Fifita, the Titans have the strength in the middle to win the field position battle.

With the Titans as host, they should be proving very hard to beat, considering they pushed the Eels to the 79th minute in Round 1. With the Warriors losing Shaun Johnson, they could find themselves behind the eight ball when it comes to key points of the game. The Titans possess a squad with greater talent across the board, with the ability to score tries up front in the forwards, or out the back for their outside backs. Expected to play the full 80 minutes again, expect David Fifita to score any time in a game where the Titans certainly hold the firepower to beat the Warriors by 13+ points.

Titans vs Warriors match prediction

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