Gold Coast Titans 2020 draw snapshot
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Here is all you need to know about the Gold Coast Titans' 2020 Telstra Premiership draw.
The Lowdown
Teams they play twice
Raiders, Broncos, Storm, Sea Eagles, Tigers, Panthers, Cowboys, Warriors, Dragons.
Teams they play once
Eels, Roosters, Bulldogs, Sharks, Knights, Rabbitohs.
Day-by-day breakdown
Thursday – 1, Friday – 8, Saturday – 7, Sunday – 8.
Five-day turnarounds
0.
Kick-off
They have not been lucky in drawing both grand finalists (Roosters, Raiders) and the minor premiers (Storm) in their first five games. Under new coach Justin Holbrook, it is crucial the club gets off to a good start for long-suffering fans, not to mention the club coffers. The Titans averaged 11,587 spectators for home games this year, so wouldn't want that figure to drop any lower.
Five key match-ups
Broncos (Round 3 Cbus Super Stadium; Round 22 Suncorp Stadium): These clubs are only separated by 90km of bitumen so the local derby no matter what year or round, is only an hour's drive in either direction. The Titans stunned Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium in 2019, 26-18, but were beaten at home in the return match 34-12. Tyrone Roberts starred in that first win, with Brian Kelly scoring twice.
Roosters (Round 4, SCG): The 58-6 loss at the SCG in early August was the worst of the 20 defeats the Titans players endured last season. It was also the second-worst loss in the club's 12-year history, after a 54-point loss to the Broncos in 2017.
Sea Eagles (Round 6 Lottoland, 25 Cbus Super Stadium): The comprehensive seven tries-to-three win in round 11 last season was the Titans second straight win at Lottoland and their third consecutive victory over Manly. Despite Kane Elgey retiring in September there is still the remnants of a strong rivalry with Brian Kelly, Morgan Boyle and Brendan Elliot facing former teammates.
Cowboys (Round 9 North Queensland Stadium; Round 14 Cbus Super Stadium): The 6-4 loss to their other Queensland neighbour really hurt in round 12 last season. It was their closest loss all year but would have been a victory if Tyrone Roberts and Ashley Taylor had landed two of their three missed goals.
Knights (Round 15, McDonald Jones Stadium): The Titans romped away to a 22-0 halftime lead in this round six match. They kept the Knights at bay in the second half winning 38-14 scoring six fine tries, including a double to Tyrone Roberts. That kind of domination makes you want to repeat the effort the next season to show the first result wasn't a fluke.
Toughest stretch
Rounds 4-6. As mentioned above, facing the Raiders (R1), Roosters (R4) and Storm (R5) will certainly test the Titans resolve. But Round 6 against Manly means these three games are all 'away' at the SCG, AAMI Park and Lottoland. Then again, the Titans have breached the walls at 'The Fortress' in both 2018 and 2019.
And another thing
The Titans play Round 22 at Suncorp Stadium and then have Rounds 24-25 games at Cbus Super Stadium, so that's virtually three home games – or in other words limited travel – out of their final four. But if you add in the Rounds 20-21 home games then that's five out of the last six matches in the south-east corner of Queensland.
