The Manly Sea Eagles take on the Gold Coast Titans in Round 12 of the 2026 NRL season, with both sides looking to build momentum heading into the State of Origin period. This preview covers the latest team news, key matchups and our prediction for the clash at 4 Pines Park.

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Matchday Details

Saturday, 23 May 2026 – 7:35pm AEST – 4 Pines Park, Sydney
📺 Kayo / Foxtel
Referee: Gerard Sutton | Senior Review Official: Chris Butler

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles: 1. Clayton Faulalo, 2. Jason Saab, 3. Josh Feledy, 4. Reuben Garrick, 5. Blake Wilson, 6. Luke Brooks, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Taniela Paseka, 9. Brandon Wakeham, 10. Ethan Bullemor, 11. Jackson Shereb, 12. Ben Trbojevic, 13. Jake Trbojevic (c), 14. Jake Simpkin, 15. Nathan Brown, 16. Kobe Hetherington, 17. Simione Laiafi, 18. Hugo Hart, 19. Joey Walsh, 20. Onitoni Large, 21. Zach Dockar-Clay, 22. Aaron Schoupp

Gold Coast Titans: 1. Keano Kini, 2. Jensen Taumoepeau, 3. Jaylan De Groot, 4. AJ Brimson, 5. Phillip Sami, 6. Jayden Campbell, 7. Zane Harrison, 8. Moeaki Fotuaika, 9. Oliver Pascoe, 10. Klese Haas, 11. Arama Hau, 12. Beau Fermor, 13. Cooper Bai, 14. Kurtis Morrin, 15. Josh Patston, 16. Luke Sommerton, 17. Adam Christensen, 18. Lachlan Ilias, 19. Bodhi Sharpley, 20. Max Feagai, 21. Chris Randall, 22. Tony Francis

Match Preview

This is a clash between two sides experiencing contrasting ‘new coach bounce’ fortunes.

After a disappointing 2025, Manly hit rock bottom when they lost to the Sydney Roosters in Round 4: their third straight loss cost Anthony Seibold his job. Since Kieran Foran came in, the Sea Eagles (6-4) have been almost unstoppable, with six wins from seven under “Fozball”, rising from 14th to fourth. What looked like another rebuilding year has flipped to a probable top eight finish.

The Gold Coast have shown promise under Josh Hannay, but their 2-8 record doesn’t reflect it. Aside from the Round 1 loss to Cronulla-Sutherland (50-10), the Titans have been competitive in every match (excluding the Sharks loss, the average losing margin improves to 13).

The 36-12 Magic Round loss to Newcastle summed up their competitive-but-not-quite-good-enough season: they only trailed 18-12 after 60 minutes, but Newcastle scored the last four tries to romp home.

Aside from the 52–10 win over Parramatta, one of the season highlights has been the Gold Coast Chargers heritage jersey. They pushed all the right 1990s nostalgia buttons with this: sales were massive and the feedback from the NRL community was overwhelmingly positive.

While both sides have minimal Origin representation (Tolu Koula and Haumole Olakau’atu for Manly; Tino Fa’asuamaleaui and Jojo Fifita for the Gold Coast), the Sea Eagles will still be strong favourites: they lead the head-to-head 16-13 since the Titans entered the NRL in 2007.

For Manly, Josh Feledy replaces Koula and Jackson Shereb replaces Olakau’atu. Brandon Wakeham returns at hooker after his suspension, while Blake Wilson replaces the suspended Lehi Hopoate. Hugo Hart and Simione Laiafi join the six-man bench.

For the Titans, Klese Haas replaces Tino and Jaylan De Groot replaces Jojo. Lachlan Ilias, Bodhi Sharpley, and Adam Christensen are on the six-man bench.

Foran has unlocked Manly’s attacking potential and given his players the freedom to pile on points: they’ve scored between 30 to 50 points in five of their last seven games. More importantly, they’re winning without Turbo (Tom Trbojevic), which would have been unthinkable a few years ago. They decimated the Wests Tigers during Magic Round, with eight tries and a Jason Saab hat-trick. Even without his wing partner Hopoate, Saab could cause the Titans’ edges some bother with fast service and room to move.

The Titans have the third-worst attack this season (182), with a -86 points differential. They’re only ahead of Canterbury-Bankstown (173) and St George Illawarra (130) and have only scored 12 points in each of their last three games. The Titans offloaded the wooden spoon at the 11th hour last year, and they’ll be spoon contenders again if the Dragons can somehow string a few wins together.

The halfback battle is between the old and the new: Jamal Fogarty vs Zane Harrison. A former Gold Coast Titan, Fogarty had a mostly productive four seasons at Canberra, but the backlash came after the Raiders’ dramatic straight sets finals exit after winning the minor premiership last year. His inability to step up in the pressure moments and his poor defence – adding to Canberra’s paper-thin right edge – were the main reasons. He’s settled in at Manly, playing eight games, scoring 77 points (three tries, 32 goals, and a field goal), and his booming general kicking game has been vital. He won’t fully replace DCE, but most Manly fans would be happy with his output so far, at least until Joey Walsh (who’s already proven he has the temperament to play first grade) is ready to take over.

On the other side, Harrison has played just two games for the Titans after 16 Hostplus QLD Cup games for the Tweed Seagulls. He’s had 582 kicking metres so far, which suggests he has the kicking game to get the Titans out of trouble when needed. Getting consistent first grade footy in now will hopefully pay off for the Titans in the next few years. It’s almost certain that Fogarty will dominate this match-up, but Harrison is one to watch for the keen observers.

Prediction

RLZ Tip: Sea Eagles by 20
Bold call: Jason Saab to score at least two tries.

For full State of Origin coverage, see our series hub → /state-of-origin/2026-series/

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Andrew Pelechaty
Web Content Editor for Rugby League Zone.

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