Round 21 Preview — 2026 NRL SeasonNRL Analytics

Dragons v Titans

SavvyPlays · Sunday 26 July 2026 · Jubilee Stadium · 2:00pm AEST

Visual Comparison

01Key Metrics Side-by-Side

Motivation is the finals-race tier each side enters the round on; Wins to Finals is how many of their remaining games they need to reach the top eight ("-" already there, "x" out of reach).

Headline averages from every completed match this season (Dragons n=17, Titans n=17). Bars diverge from centre — longer bar wins on the metric (green where lower is the goal, like points conceded or penalties).

Dragons
Metric
Titans
WOODEN SPOON RACE
Motivation
WOODEN SPOON RACE
x
Wins to Finals
x
15.1
Points For / G
19.7
29.6
Points Against / G
25.9
1,512m
Run Metres / G
1,520m
2.6
Tries / G
3.5
75.1%
Completion %
74.6%
4.5
Penalties Conceded / G
3.9
3.9
Six Agains / G
3.5

Team Records

02Season Records & Scoring

Dragons
Metric
Titans
2-15-0#17
Season Record
#165-12-0
1-6-0 (H)Home games
Home / Away Record
Away games2-8-0 (A)
14.3Home · #17
Avg Points For (Home / Away)
Away · #1120.8
36.0Home · #17
Avg Points Against (Home / Away)
Away · #1025.7

Against the Spread

03ATS Performance (W-L-P | % = Cover Rate)

Dragons
Metric
Titans
7-10-0 (41%)
2026 Season — All
10-7-0 (59%)
1-6-0 (14%)
2026 Season — Home (H) / Away (A)
7-3-0 (70%)
6-4-0 (60%)
2026 Season — Away (H) / Home (A)
3-4-0 (43%)
W4
Current Streak
W2
19-21-1 (48%)
2025-26 — All
19-22-0 (46%)
7-11-1 (39%)
2025-26 — Home (H) / Away (A)
11-11-0 (50%)
12-10-0 (55%)
2025-26 — Away (H) / Home (A)
8-11-0 (42%)

Streak format: W3 = three covers in a row, L2 = two ATS losses. Within each block Home + Away equals All.

Over / Under

04O/U Performance (O-U-P | % = Over Rate)

Dragons
Metric
Titans
4-12-0 (25%)
2026 Season — All
5-11-0 (31%)
3-3-0 (50%)
2026 Season — Home (H) / Away (A)
4-6-0 (40%)
1-9-0 (10%)
2026 Season — Away (H) / Home (A)
1-5-0 (17%)
U5
Current Streak
O1
19-21-0 (48%)
2025-26 — All
18-22-0 (45%)
9-9-0 (50%)
2025-26 — Home (H) / Away (A)
12-10-0 (55%)
10-12-0 (45%)
2025-26 — Away (H) / Home (A)
6-12-0 (33%)

Within each block Home + Away equals All.

Halves Breakdown

05How Each Team Builds the Game

1H = first half, 2H = second half. 1H/2H averages across the full 2026 season. "1H win → match win" is how often leading at half-time converts into the win.

Dragons
Metric
Titans
8.6
1H Avg For
7.1
15.4
1H Avg Against
12.6
-6.9
1H Net
-5.4
33%
1H Win → Match Win
33%
6.0
2H Avg For
11.9
16.6
2H Avg Against
12.9
-10.6
2H Net
-1.0

Player Contribution Scores

06Spine vs Spine, Forwards vs Forwards, Backs vs Backs

PCS (Player Contribution Score) is a correlation-informed rating built from play-by-play stats — run metres, line breaks, tackle breaks, missed tackles and so on. Each stat is weighted by how strongly it correlates with winning margin across 1,000+ matches. Aggregated to position group over a 15-game rolling window.

Why position groups matter: the spine (FB, halves, hooker) controls structure, the forwards set the ruck and tempo, the backs finish chances. A team can be middling overall but elite at one group — and that often shows up as a directional edge in the result.

Dragons
Metric
Titans
118.9#16 Δ +3.9
Squad PCS
#13 Δ +9.9135.7
17.7#17 Δ +0.9
Spine PCS
#11 Δ +2.740.0
36.2#7 Δ +2.8
Forwards PCS
#14 Δ +2.629.8
50.3#15 Δ +0.3
Backs PCS
#13 Δ +4.752.7

Sub shows current league rank. Δ = change vs last round (noisy week-to-week — treat the rank as the headline).

First Scoring Play

07Who Strikes First

Strictly the very first scoring play of each match — try, penalty goal, or (rarely) field goal. Teams that open the scoring tend to lead at half-time about 65% of the time and win about 60% — so the opening play matters. Penalty-goal openings are shown as raw counts because most games never open with a PG; the position-group breakdown only fires when the first play was a try.

Dragons
Metric
Titans
4/17 (24%)
Scored first try — All games
3/17 (18%)
1/7 (14%)
Scored first try — Home / Away
2/10 (20%)
9/17 (53%)
Conceded first try — All games
13/17 (76%)
5/7 (71%)
Conceded first try — Home / Away
7/10 (70%)
3 (H:0 A:3)
Scored first via penalty goal
1 (H:0 A:1)
1 (H:1 A:0)
Conceded first via penalty goal
0 (H:0 A:0)
0 (H:0 A:0)
First try scored by Spine (All games)
1 (H:1 A:0)
0 (H:0 A:0)
First try scored by Forwards (All games)
2 (H:0 A:2)
4 (H:1 A:3)
First try scored by Backs (All games)
0 (H:0 A:0)
0 (H:0 A:0)
First try scored by Interchange (All games)
0 (H:0 A:0)
4 (H:3 A:1)
First try conceded to Spine (All games)
3 (H:2 A:1)
0 (H:0 A:0)
First try conceded to Forwards (All games)
3 (H:2 A:1)
5 (H:2 A:3)
First try conceded to Backs (All games)
7 (H:2 A:5)
0 (H:0 A:0)
First try conceded to Interchange (All games)
0 (H:0 A:0)

Position groups: Spine = FB/halves/hooker. Forwards = prop/lock/second row. Backs = centre/wing. Interchange = bench.

Current Streaks

08Active Streaks

Dragons
Metric
Titans
L1
Win / Loss — 2026
W1
W4
ATS — 2026
W2
U5
Over / Under — 2026
O1
L1
1st Half — 2026
L1
W1
2nd Half — 2026
W1
W1
Win / Loss — Home / Away
L2
W1
ATS — Home / Away
W1
U2
Over / Under — Home / Away
U1

Includes previous season(s) where applicable. D = Draw, P = Push (ATS/O/U).

Consistency / Disruption

09Volatility & Squad Health

Consistency Index (CI) measures how predictable a team's results are. It's built from the standard deviation of their margin and their points-conceded across the season. Higher CI = tighter range of results, more dependable.

Disruption Score (DS) measures how far the named squad is from each team's best 17 — weighted by position importance (a halfback out hurts more than a bench prop) and by how fresh the absence is. Higher DS = more disrupted, less the side coaches game-plan around.

Dragons
Metric
Titans
0.563
Overall CI
0.562
0.549
Defensive CI
0.600
15.0
Margin SD
17.3
0.6
Disruption
5.4
88%
Best-17 %
76%
0
New Outs This Round
1

CI (Consistency Index) measures result predictability from 0 to 1 — higher = more consistent. Defensive CI isolates defensive performance. Margin SD measures the spread of winning/losing margins — lower = more predictable outcomes. Teams with high CI and low Margin SD are the safest to tip; teams with low CI and high Margin SD are volatile and produce the most upsets.

Named Squads

10Dragons — 88% Best 17 (DS 0.6) — Squad avg ±/G: -11.8

#PlayerPositionGP±/G
1Clinton GuthersonFullback14-10.1
2Setu TuWing15-13.8
3Mathew FeagaiCentre12-11.2
4Valentine HolmesCentre17-14.5
5Tyrell SloanWing8-14.5
6Daniel AtkinsonFive-Eighth16-11.4
7Kyle FlanaganHalfback14-8.9
8Jnr Pasifiki TongaProp
9Damien CookHooker17-11.6
10Toby CouchmanProp16-10.6
11Dylan EganSecond Row9-9.6
12Hamish StewartSecond Row17-13.1
13Ryan CouchmanLock13-12.2
14Jacob LiddleInterchange9-1.8
15Luciano LeiluaInterchange14-7.9
16Josh KerrInterchange15-7.2
17Jacob HalangahuInterchange

±/G (Plus/Minus per Game) measures each player's average impact on the scoreboard while on the field — the team's scoring margin during their minutes, divided by games played. Positive values indicate the team scores more than it concedes with that player on; negative values indicate the opposite. Best 17% reflects how many of the team's optimal starting lineup are named for this match. GP = games played in 2026.

Named Squads

11Titans — 76% Best 17 (DS 5.4) — Squad avg ±/G: -6.3

#PlayerPositionGP±/G
1Keano KiniFullback17-6.6
2Dean IeremiaWing2-5.0
3Jojo FifitaCentre15-6.4
4Jaylan De GrootCentre3-9.3
5Phillip SamiWing17-6.2
6Jayden CampbellFive-Eighth15-4.1
7Zane HarrisonHalfback9-6.7
8Moeaki FotuaikaProp17-8.2
9Oliver PascoeHooker9-6.7
10Tino Fa'asuamaleauiProp14-6.4
11Arama HauSecond Row17-5.9
12Beau FermorSecond Row17-6.6
13Chris RandallLock14-4.0
14Kurtis MorrinInterchange16+0.1
15Josh PatstonInterchange
16Klese HaasInterchange16-2.3
17Cooper BaiInterchange16-1.2

±/G (Plus/Minus per Game) measures each player's average impact on the scoreboard while on the field — the team's scoring margin during their minutes, divided by games played. Positive values indicate the team scores more than it concedes with that player on; negative values indicate the opposite. Best 17% reflects how many of the team's optimal starting lineup are named for this match. GP = games played in 2026. Out: Brimson is a new out this round. Players listed as out are ordered by Disruption Score (DS) — a measure of how difficult each absence is to replace based on positional importance and individual performance.

Dragons — Recent Form

12Dragons — Last 5 Games

RoundOpponentH/AScoreResMarginLineATSTotalO/U
2026 R20WarriorsA12-20L-8+16.5W46.5U
2026 R18Wests TigersH24-10W+14+3.5W47.5U
2026 R17RaidersA16-24L-8+9.5W50.5U
2026 R16KnightsA20-22L-2+12.5W49.0U
2026 R14SharksA12-34L-22+11.5L52.5U

Titans — Recent Form

13Titans — Last 5 Games

RoundOpponentH/AScoreResMarginLineATSTotalO/U
2026 R20Sea EaglesH38-32W+6+4.5W45.5O
2026 R19StormA18-22L-4+9.5W45.5U
2026 R17BulldogsH12-30L-18-1.5L44.5U
2026 R16PanthersH19-18W+1+12.5W48.5U
2026 R15Wests TigersA28-36L-8+5.5L49.5O

Dragons — Try Scoring

14Dragons — Try Scorers (2026)

PlayerPosT1stLast1st 20m2nd 20m3rd 20m4th 20mH / A
V.HolmesCentre8113224 / 4
S.TuWing81112234 / 4
T.SloanWing6231112 / 4
C.TuipulotuWing310112 / 1
H.StewartSecond Row302101 / 2
M.FeagaiCentre3101111 / 2
D.CookHooker202000 / 2
L.LeiluaInterchange211001 / 1
M.SuliInterchange200111 / 1
C.GuthersonFullback211001 / 1

Titans — Try Scoring

15Titans — Try Scorers (2026)

PlayerPosT1stLast1st 20m2nd 20m3rd 20m4th 20mH / A
P.SamiWing11112266 / 5
J.CampbellFive-Eighth812410 / 8
J.FifitaCentre71103135 / 2
A.HauSecond Row61111133 / 3
K.MorrinInterchange6103212 / 4
S.FaeamaniWing410120 / 4
O.PascoeHooker3121003 / 0
A.BrimsonCentre3111011 / 2
K.KiniFullback3200030 / 3
C.BaiInterchange200200 / 2

SavvyPlays Tips — Lean

16The Call

Dragons
Lean · WOODEN SPOON RACE v WOODEN SPOON RACE
Win
Dragons -1.5
predicted Dragons margin +2 vs line -1.5
ATS
projected total 47.3
Over / Under
Titans Backs
HIGH · 2.21/g
Anytime Edge
RankGroupScore /GOpp Concede /GCombined
Attacking Dragons (vs Titans defence)
1Backs1.652.592.12 HIGH
2Spine0.291.180.74 MODERATE
3Forwards0.240.760.50 MODERATE
4Interchange0.410.120.26 LOW
Attacking Titans (vs Dragons defence)
1Backs1.532.882.21 HIGH
2Spine0.821.351.09 MODERATE
3Forwards0.590.710.65 MODERATE
4Interchange0.530.240.38 LOW

Anytime Try Scoring — Matchup Likelihood: each side's position groups ranked by how often they score against how often this opponent concedes.

Titans Backs are the standout anytime bet — the top combined matchup score in this game at 2.21/game (Titans backs score 1.53/game; Dragons concede to the backs at 2.88/game).

Both sides are in the wooden-spoon race and out of finals contention — the Titans are eliminated and lose Brimson as a new out — so the lean is the Dragons at home.

Before you bet

ATS tip is based on SavvyPlays' predicted margin compared against the line at the time of publication. Lines move — always verify the current spread with your bookmaker before placing.

Data & Methodology

Team records sourced from official NRL data. Play-by-play timeline data drives the halves analytics. PCS is a correlation-informed player rating aggregated to position groups (Spine, Forwards, Backs) over a 15-game rolling window. Best-17% reflects the proportion of each team's optimal lineup named for this round. CI/DS combines result-volatility and squad-disruption signals. Closing-line market data via The Odds API.

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