The Gold Coast Titans were undefeated after three rounds to begin the 2023 NRLW regular season, but we learned most about their premiership credentials in a 22-10 loss to the Newcastle Knights in NRLW Round 4.
The Titans banked three wins to kick off the year by conceding just 10 points on average per game.
Their attack is statistically poor but they’re defending so well that the points haven’t mattered. By keeping their opposition to under two converted tries, the Titans have been putting themselves in positions to win games without piling on the points.
They couldn’t do it against the Knights on Sunday afternoon, but we saw enough in that loss to start taking the Titans seriously in the 2023 NRLW premiership race. Their ability to defend errors and absorb pressure against the defending premiers impressed, even if they couldn’t go with them to the siren.
It took some Tamika Upton brilliance to finally crack the Gold Coast defence in the 64th minute, but the resilience and composure the Titans showed has me signing their praises today.
It started with star fullback Evania Pelite.
Pelite’s on the ball efforts have been a highlight of the Titans season so far, but some of her defensive moments in NRLW Round 4 stood out.
An early Zara Canfield error inside Gold Coasts 20m line gifted Newcastle first shot in attack but the Titans held their nerve.
Some good defence from Georgia Hale and Brittany Brealey-Nati through the middle repelled Newcastle’s ruck attack while Pelite positioned herself smartly out the back.
You can see Pelite slot in at left centre with Jamie Chapman caught up in the tackle before repositioning back behind the ruck on play five:
A well-weighted grubber from Upton is plucked off the deck by Pelite who reads it perfectly and escapes into the field of play.
We didn’t see Pelite in these areas last year. She’s had an offseason to work out the intricacies of fullback play and she’s got a better base level of fitness this time around, too.
A lesser team would concede points after losing possession on their own line, but the Titans hold firm here.
Indeed, when the Knights did finally score, it took almost three consecutive sets on the Gold Coast’s line before they cracked.
Two forced drop-outs earned by the boot of Jesse Southwell gave Newcastle 15 play-the-balls inside the 20m line before Abigail Roache finally sliced through on the left edge.
It took a quick play-the-ball from Simone Karpani and an involvement from the best player in the NRLW to finally crack the Titans defence.
As Karpani fights to play the ball here, Hale (13) is late to peel from the tackle while Upton is lurking on the right edge.
Pelite organises her numbers accordingly, but she and the Titans can’t recover when Upton swings late to the left. Hale doesn’t offer any inside pressure to release her edge defenders and Upton toys with them to pass Roache into the opening try:
Another line dropout led to another Newcastle try shortly afterwards as the Gold Coast were starved for possession and field position.
Suddenly down by 10 points and finally earning a rare crack at the Knights line, the Gold Coast impressed to turn chances into points from a mid-field scrum:
A poor read from Jasmin Strange is to blame here but you can only play what’s in front of you. With Strange shooting on Pelite out the back, Niall Williams-Guthrie puts on a little swerve before passing through the line to an unmarked Emily Bass.
And just like that, the Titans do in one tackle what the Knights needed 15 to achieve and put points on the board.
And so it went on.
Every time the Knights fired a shot in attack, the Gold Coast scrambled desperately and refused to concede cheap points.
Look at the Titans response when Jesse Southwell passes Felila Kia through the line in yardage here:
Pelite makes a great tackle on the Knights backrower and is wonderfully supported by her teammates on the next play:
Every single Titans player is back onside except the 41-year-old Steph Hancock, who had made the previous tackle.
Not only are all the Titans onside but their linespeed is superb – led by Hale – on the following play to shut down Southwell on tackle five and win back possession.
That’s excellent scramble defence.
The Titans backed up their efforts off the ball with some smart and clinical footy when presented with an opportunity.
A sinbinning to Shanice Parker was one such opportunity and 18 year old halfback Sienna Lofipo took it with both hands.
With the Knights right centre on the sidelines, look where the Gold Coast send the ball:
Shaylee Bent carts it up down that very channel, dragging Kayla Romaniuk (15) and Tayla Predebon (17) into the tackle.
Laikha Clarke backs her up on the following play, again engaging Romaniuk and Predebon to leave just three Knights defenders on the short side where Parker would usually be:
With two tired defenders hanging off her, Clarke gets a clever offload away to Brown who immediately heads towards Parker’s vacated position. She straightens at Upton’s inside shoulder to drag Kia infield before bouncing overs and passing Lofipo right into the space where Parker usually defends.
That’s smart footy from the Titans, and another example of their ability to convert limited opportunities in attack.
Defence has clearly been a focus for Head Coach Karryn Murphy and the Gold Coast Titans in 2023.
Individually and systematically they are coming up with winning plays without the ball and putting themselves in positions to win any game.
As teenage halves Lofipo and Chantelle Kiria-Ratu grow in confidence, we should see them become more active in the Titans attacking shapes. They’ve got a powerhouse in Jamie Chapman out in the centres who we haven’t really seen in action so far this year – a good example of the Titan’s inexperience in attack.
Still, if they can continue to defend like this, their attack won’t matter:
On their defensive form alone, the Titans can be considered genuine NRLW premiership contenders this season and if their attack develops like it should, those credentials will only solidfy.
There’s Always Next Week For…
… the NRLW Wests Tigers
The NRLW Wests Tigers are now 2-and-2 to begin the year, following a 16-12 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys in NRLW Round 4.
It’s fair to say the Tigers have exceeded expectations to begin the season, having been marked as a $21 chance to win the 2023 premiership before a ball was kicked.
It’s also fair to say the Tigers might’ve beaten the Cowboys if Botille Vette-Welsh and Losana Lutu were available for selection in NRLW Round 4. Instead, five-eighth Pauline Pilae-Rasabale played between the halves and fullback while rookie playmaker Rebecca Pollard slotted in around her.
The Tigers created multiple chances down their left edge in this one – an area of strength over the first three rounds – but the attack often broke down through halfback Emily Curtain.
It’s a similar story to what we saw in previous games.
Lutu has been throwing the passes Curtain has not, using her tempo and deception to pull apart defensive lines and create overlaps to her outside.
Without Lutu’s efforts on the ball and without Vette-Welsh swinging out the back, the Tigers struggled to turn half chances into points and came away with only two tries.
Given they bested North Queensland in almost all key stat areas, we can expect an improvement from the Wests Tigers when their two key attacking players return.
NRLW Round 4 Shout-Outs
Georgia Hale
I’ve already taken a deep-dive into the Gold Coast Titans this week but I can’t not give Georgia Hale a shout-out today.
Hale has played every minute across four games for the Titans to begin the year. She’s a handy ball carrier and offers a nice pass option around the ruck, but it’s in defence where Hale is proving her worth.
The lock-forward has made 210 tackles in four games this season and has missed just one.
Let that sink in….
Welcome back, Maddie Studdon
She’s been around since 2018 but we haven’t seen Maddie Studdon in the NRLW for a while now.
The experienced playmaker missed the 2022 season but looked good in moments for the Cronulla Sharks in NRLW Round 4.
The tempo Studdon plays with is what gets Emma Tonegato one-on-one with Jess Sergis here, ultimately creating the overlap for Kiana Takairangi to dot down in the corner.
Studdon will be a frequent target in defence but can make up for it with attacking involvements like this.
Great to see her back in the NRLW.
Annessa Biddle
It’s taken just four games in the NRLW for Biddle to carve out a reputation as a defensive rock.
Some of her reads on Isabelle Kelly – arguably the best centre in the NRLW – seriously impressed as the Sharks went toe-to-toe with the Sydney Roosters for the best part of 50 minutes.
Not content with dominating her opposite number though, Biddle’s workrate and tackle technique stood out as the Roosters peppered Cronulla’s right edge.
On this form, we’re going to be watching Biddle for a long time in the NRLW.