VENUE & TIME: ANZ Stadium, Friday March 19, 8.35pm (AEDT).
COVERAGE: Channel 9
HEAD TO HEAD: Played 5, Titans 3, Rabbitohs 2
LAST TIME: Titans 22 – Rabbitohs 14 at ANZ Stadium, Round 23, 2009.
MATCH ODDS: Luxbet: Rabbitohs $1.75, Titans $2.08
WALKING WOUNDED: The Rabbitohs picked up a couple of injuries out of Round 1, with back-rower Eddie Pettybourne's being the most serious. The Kiwi international did a 'John Sattler' by playing 58 minutes of last week's clash against the Roosters with a broken jaw. He will miss the next two months, while experienced centre Colin Best sustained a rib injury, forcing him out for at least a week. They join Michael Crocker (ankle, shoulder, groin) on the sidelines.
Titans full-back Preston Campbell remains in slight doubt after suffering a heavy knock late in the game against the Warriors on Sunday. William Zillman, fresh from a two-try performance for Ipswich in the QLD Cup, is on standby. Players unavailable for the Titans include Aaron Cannings (shoulder), Luke O'Dwyer (knee), Michael Henderson (broken toe), Josh Graham (hip) and season casualty Esi Tonga (torn pectoral).
FORM: The talking up of Souths in the off-season has become a bit of habit over the last few years, only for fans of the foundation club to be sadly let down. Last Sunday an early dose of reality again hit out Redfern way when the Bunnies were absolutely pummeled by bitter rivals, the Roosters. The Rabbitohs' much-vaunted forward pack was nowhere to be seen, ruining any chance their halves had of getting quality ball to the speedsters out wide. Let's just say new coach John Lang has plenty of homework to do.
The Titans were slow out of the blocks in their season-opener against the Warriors, trailing by 0-12 and 6-18 at various stages throughout the first half. But an Anthony Laffranchi try in the shadows of half-time, gave the home a side the confidence to go on with it in the second stanza with the likes of Preston Campbell and Brad Meyers proving difficult to contain.
WHO'S HOT: Sam Burgess may have coughed up a couple of balls in his debut NRL match for the Rabbitohs, but he still showed glimpses of what he is capable of in both attack and defence. The big Englishman was the Bunnies' leading metre-gainer (144), also topping the tackle-count with 25. He also managed three offloads during the game.
Preston Campbell couldn't remember much about his man-of-the-match performance for the Titans after copping a knee to the head late in the game, but the 16,000 or so fans at Skilled Park sure would have. 'Presto' produced a couple of special touches in the game, including a clever short kick-off that eventually led to a Gold Coast try and of course that match-winning effort late in the game.
WE THINK: Those expecting the Rabbitohs to be better for the run last week could well be right, but we can also expect a better showing from the Titans, who do appear to have more strike power than the Bunnies at this stage of the season. Scott Prince and Greg Bird form a terrific halves combination on paper and it will only improve as the season progresses. Bird was far from his best last week, but that will only make him more determined