NRL Ladder / Andy Morris / 30 April 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

When the Sydney Roosters take on the Gold Coast Titans, the 12th and 13th-placed NRL teams get together in an eighth-round game at Skilled Park on Saturday, 30th April.

The teams have met seven times in the past, with the Titans holding a 4-3 edge in wins. The last time they met in last season's preliminary final, the Roosters were 32-6 winners. Both teams go into the game with identical records of two wins and five losses.

Gold Coast will go with the same line-up that lost to the Eels last weekend. This means they'll have to do without the services of Preston Campbell and Kevin Gordon, with Gordon being out for the rest of the season. The Roosters will also stick with the same team as last weekend.

The Titans seemed to be on the right track, with two wins out of three games, until they ran into the Eels last week. It was a game they should have won, but instead ended up paying for several simple mistakes. However, they've been doing it all season so far and that's why they've only won two out of seven games.

With the same 2-5 record, the Roosters obviously haven't been much better. They played well enough in the Anzac Day game with the Dragons, but it's hard to believe these are the same two clubs that made it to last year's preliminary final.

Steve Michaels has been one of Gold Coast's better players so far this season. He's proven to be quite versatile by playing in the centre and on the wing and had a four-pointer against Parramatta last week.

Nate Myles has been the Roosters best player up to now and should get picked to represent Australia in the country's next test match. However, it's rumoured that the Roosters might let him go next season due to the salary cap.

Both of these squads have been disappointments this season after the fine years they had in 2010. Nobody really expected them to be in the lower half of the ladder, but that's where they deserve to be based on their performances so far.

The Titans' Nathan Friend will be playing in his 100th match for the club in this one and considering they're at home, they should be motivated enough to pull out a win by six points.