| NRL Preview and Tips - Round 8 | | Print | |
| Friday, 01 May 2009 19:05 | |||
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May 1, 2009 5:59pm Gold Coast Titans V South Sydney Rabbitohs TITANS: 1. Preston Campbell 2. Kevin Gordon 3. Esi Tonga 4. Brett Delaney 5. Chris Walker 6. Mat Rogers 7. Scott Prince (c) 8. Luke Bailey (c) 9. Nathan Friend 10. Michael Henderson 11. Anthony Laffranchi 12. Mark Minichiello 13. Ashley Harrison RABBITOHS: 1. Luke Capewell 2. Nathan Merritt 3. Colin Best 4. Beau Champion 5. Fetuli Talanoa 6. John Sutton 7. Chris Sandow 8. Luke Stuart 9. Issac Luke 10. Roy Asotasi 11. David Kidwell 12. David Fa'alogo 13. Craig Wing The Titans went down by 14 against Penrith on Monday, missing co-captain Luke Bailey. Well, the big man is back this week, and it will be interesting to see how much of an effect he has on the team. Friend, Prince and Campbell are proving to be a great combination of 9, 7 and 1 and will as always play a formidable role. For the Bunnies, they’re playing off the back of a win, albeit a close and scrappy one, over Cronulla and will be looking to improve in a few areas. Chris Sandow played well last week and will need to back it up again if he wants to outplay a classy Prince. After last week’s knock from Paul Gallen, question marks hover over Craig Wing. MM Matty: Titans by 8
Parramatta Eels V North QLD Cowboys EELS: 1. Luke Burt 2. Etu Uaisele 3. Jarryd Hayne 4. Taulima Tautai 5. Joel Reddy 6. Feleti Mateo 7. Kris Keating 8. Nathan Cayless 9. Matthew Keating 10. Fuifui Moimoi 11. Todd Lowrie 12. Ben Smith 13. Joe Galuvao COWBOYS: 1. Matt Bowen 2. Ben Farrar 3. Ashley Graham 4. Willie Tonga 5. John Williams 6. Travis Burns 7. Johnathan Thurston (c) 8. Shane Tronc 9. Aaron Payne 10. Antonio Kaufusi 11. Carl Webb 12. Scott Bolton 13. Steve Southern The question is: can the Eels get any worse? The answer: we’ll find out tonight. Last week’s flogging at the hands of Brisbane was embarrassing. No one really knows why a team with a stack of talent on paper cannot click. But the consensus is that heads will roll if things don’t start to improve. With their pride and reputation in the gutter, the Eels may just find something tonight. With a congested table – a couple of wins could put Parramatta’s season back on track. For North Queensland, they sit mid-table in tenth place after three wins so far. Matt Bowen was in good form last week against the Sea Eagles, as with Johnathan Thurston and his kicking, so if those two key men and the Cowboys forward pack lift it up a notch, they could find themselves with back to back two points. MM Matty: An upset, Parra by 4 Manly Sea Eagles V Melbourne Storm SEA EAGLES: 1. Michael Robertson 2. David Williams 3. Jamie Lyon 4. Steve Matai 5. Michael Bani 6. Chris Bailey 7. Matt Orford (c) 8. Brent Kite 9. Matt Ballin 10. Josh Perry 11. Anthony Watmough 12. Glenn Hall 13. Glenn Stewart STORM: 1. Billy Slater 2. Steve Turner 3. Will Chambers 4. Greg Inglis 5. Joseph Tomane 6. Brett Finch 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jeff Lima 9. Cameron Smith (c) 10. Adam Blair 11. Wairangi Koopu 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Dallas Johnson Brookvale is the lucky venue this weekend for the Grand Final rematch. Manly’s troubles have been well documented – they just can’t win without Brett Stewart. With only two wins to their credit, and coming off the back of a loss to North Queensland, the Sea Eagles will be wanting to fire in front of their fans. Those beloved heroes of last year’s competition victory are still there – they just need to click into gear. The Storm had a tough encounter with the Warriors last week and was lucky to even scrap home with a point. Brett Finch seems to fit well after arriving in Melbourne, so look for a big game from him. MM Matty: Manly by 2 Cronulla Sharks V Sydney Roosters SHARKS: 1. Mitch Brown 2. David Simmons 3. Ben Pomeroy 4. Matthew Wright 5. Luke Covell 6. Trent Barrett 7. Brett Seymour 8. Kade Snowden 9. Corey Hughes 10. Luke Douglas 11. Reece Williams 12. Anthony Tupou 13. Paul Gallen ROOSTERS: 1. Jordan Tansey 2. Sam Perrett 3. Ben Jones 4. Setaimata Sa 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6. Braith Anasta 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. Nate Myles 9. James Aubusson 10. Frank Paul Nuuausala 11. Iosia Soliola 12. Craig Fitzgibbon 13. Shane Shackleton Cronulla just can’t find any luck. They’re not the best football team in the world but they usually put in a stack of effort. Execution has been poor, and silly mistakes happen all to often. Look for Tupou to have a big game against his old club. News that Barrett is out is a dampener for them but they shouldn’t be too disheartened. Things will click soon. For the Roosters, players like Anasta, Mason, and Fitzgibbon will look to have blinders after being brushed by Origin selectors. Expect a rough, tough, and close encounter from two struggling teams. MM Matty: Sharks by 6 Newcastle Knights V Brisbane Broncos KNIGHTS: 1. Kurt Gidley (c) 2. James McManus 3. Junior Sau 4. Adam MacDougall 5. Akuila Uate 6. Ben Rogers 7. Scott Dureau 8. Mark Taufua 9. Issac De Gois 10. Chris Houston 11. Steve Simpson 12. Zeb Taia 13. Matt Hilder BRONCOS: 1. Karmichael Hunt 2. Antonio Winterstein 3. Steve Michaels 4. Justin Hodges 5. Israel Folau 6. Darren Lockyer (c) 7. Peter Wallace 8. Nick Kenny 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Joel Clinton 11. Sam Thaiday 12. Ashton Sims 13. Corey Parker Newcastle went down to the Tigers in a close one last week but would have put that behind them. One of the buys of the year is Issac De Gois – a handy dummy-half. Scott Dureau is back in the no.7 this week with Mullen out. He only played 30 odd minutes last week but will be back in charge. Chris Houston is playing well. For Brisbane, they’ve got class written all over their back-line and forward pack. After belting the Eels last week they’ve found some rythem and will be a big challenge for the Knights. Wallace needs to have a big one to secure the NSW 7. MM Matty: Broncos by 6 Canberra Raiders V Penrith Panthers RAIDERS: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Adrian Purtell 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Joel Monaghan 5. Justin Carney 6. Terry Campese 7. Josh McCrone 8. David Shillington 9. Glen Buttriss 10. Scott Logan 11. Joe Picker 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Alan Tongue (C) PANTHERS: 1. Lachlan Coote 2. Michael Gordon 3. Michael Jennings 4. Gavin Cooper 5. Shane Elford 6. Wade Graham 7. Luke Walsh 8. Frank Puletua 9. Paul Aiton 10. Petero Civoniceva 11. Trent Waterhouse 12. Frank Pritchard 13. Luke Lewis The Raiders went down in front of their home crowd by 10 points last week against the Dogs so will be looking to redeem themselves. Fearless leader Alan Tongue always leads from the front while Terry Campese and Josh McCrone are still working on their combination. Penrith coach Matt Elliott, who re-signed during the week, knows many of the Canberra boys well after spending time there. The Canberra defence will need to contain Michael Jennings if they want to win. MM Matty: Raiders by 2 St George Illawarra Dragons V New Zealand Warriors DRAGONS: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Brett Morris 3. Beau Scott 4. Matt Cooper 5. Wendell Sailor 6. Jamie Soward 7. Ben Hornby (c) 8. Justin Poore 9. Dean Young 10. Michael Weyman 11. Matt Prior 12. Ben Creagh 13. Jeremy Smith WARRIORS: 1. Wade McKinnon 2. Denan Kemp 3. Simon Mannering 4. Jerome Ropati 5. Manu Vatuvei 6. Joel Moon 7. Stacey Jones 8. Jesse Royal 9. Ian Henderson 10. Steve Price (C) 11. Ben Matulino 12. Jacob Lillyman 13. Micheal Luck (VC) Jamie Soward is the ‘hottest’ player in the NRL at the moment according to some of the commentators but it is his on-going consistency that will bestow him the recognition set aside for only the premier players in the competition. The Soward led Dragons will host a New Zealand Warrior side that has not won in Wollongong since 1996 and is coming off consecutive golden point matches. Most eyes will be set upon the mammoth showdown on the Dragons right and the Warriors left flank as heavyweight wingers Wendell Sailor and Manu Vatuvei do battle in what will be an absorbing contest. Manu Vatuvei is one of the most potent try scoring wingers in the competition and Sailor’s defence is sure to be tested along with that of Soward and Scott who also defend on the Dragons right. Wade McKinnon returns to the fullback position for the visitors and his support play in the middle of the ruck is a major benefit for the Warriors. Another quality match up will be the battle of the metre eaters in NSW Origin hopeful Michael Weyman against QLD stalwart Steve Price. The effectiveness of their respective carries and associated metres will establish the field position for their sides. VM Matty: Dragons by 14 Canterbury Bulldogs V Wests Tigers BULLDOGS: 1. Luke Patten 2. Hazem El Masri 3. Daryl Millard 4. Jamal Idris 5. Bryson Goodwin 6. Ben Roberts 7. Brett Kimmorley 8. Ben Hannant 9. Michael Ennis 10. Michael Hodgson 11. Gary Warburton 12. Andrew Ryan 13. David Stagg TIGERS: 1. Tim Moltzen 2. Taniela Tuiaki 3. Dean Collis 4. Chris Lawrence 5. Beau Ryan 6. John Morris 7. Benji Marshall 8. Bryce Gibbs 9. Robbie Farah (c) 10. Keith Galloway 11. Gareth Ellis 12. Chris Heighington 13. Todd Payten Another terrific contest looms for Sunday afternoon football enhanced by the match up of the respective hookers Robbie Farah and Michael Ennis. Both hookers possessing contrasting styles, have strong claims for the coveted NSW position and will be out to highlight their strengths to selectors whilst at the same time leading their respective teams to victory. The Tigers are coming off a good victory against the in form Knights last weekend and if Marshall can re-ignite some of his masterful play from last week’s second half, the Bulldogs defence will have their work cut out for them. The Tigers will also welcome back workhorse backrower Chris Heighington after missing a week with an ankle injury. For the Bulldogs, their impressive start to the season can be attributed to the harmonious relationship formed between their hooker Ennis and halfback Kimmorley. Their combination has been paramount to their success this season and further distances the disastrous 2008 season. A big crowd is expected to meet the two in form sides as both teams attempt to win their last match before their upcoming bye next weekend. VM Matty: Tigers by 4
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