| NRL Preview & Tips - Round 23 | | Print | |
| Friday, 14 August 2009 13:11 | |||
League Unlimited Written by:
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Aug 14, 2009 9:20am Round 23 National Rugby League: 14 - 17 August 2009 South Sydney Rabbitohs v Gold Coast Titans RABBITOHS: 1. Nathan Merritt 2. Jamie Simpson 3. Colin Best 4. Beau Champion 5. Fetuli Talanoa 6. John Sutton 7. Chris Sandow 8. Luke Stuart (c) 9. Issac Luke 10. David Fa'alogo 11. Ben Lowe 12. Eddy Pettybourne 13. Michael Crocker Another must win for the pride of Redfern the South Sydney Rabbitohs as they host the third placed Gold Coast Titans at ANZ Stadium in Homebush. Fresh from a comprehensive victory of premiers Manly, the Rabbitohs will need to overcome the significant loss of Roy Asotasi who is out for the season rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament. However, bolstering the starting pack is Michael Crocker who has played the last few games off the bench and his experience in big matches is just the tonic the Rabbitohs need going into this important encounter. Jamie Simpson also returns to the wing replacing Chris McQueen who made a promising debut last weekend against the Sea Eagles. The Titans registered a first last weekend becoming the first Gold Coast based side to win in New Zealand in a match that they dominated. Successive away matches will surely test a Titans side more comfortable with playing at home in Robina, but coach John Cartwright will want to visibly see how far his team has come this season as we approach the business end. Titans prop Luke Bailey will see the absence of Asotasi as an opportunity to impose his dominance on a weakened South Sydney forward pack but the Rabbitohs pack have been leading the way in recent weeks giving John Sutton the necessary space to produce his magic. VM Vlado: Rabbitohs by 7
North QLD Cowboys v Bulldogs COWBOYS: 1. Matthew Bowen 2. Ty Williams 3. Ash Graham 4. Willie Tonga 5. John Williams 6. Grant Rovelli 7. Johnathon Thurston 8. Shane Tronc 9. Anothoy Watts 10. Matt Scott 11. Carl Webb 12. Scott Bolton 13. Luke O'Donnell A huge match for the North Queensland Cowboys in particular as they take on the Bulldogs in front of what is sure to be a packed Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville. The Cowboys currently sit on 24 competition points, in the midst of a log jam of teams competing for the last remaining spots in the finals. A positive for the home side is that they welcome back international backrower Luke O’Donnell with his strong work ethic and effective carries providing another option for skipper Johnathon Thurston on the fringes. Ash Graham also returns to the centres after a long injury lay-off giving the Cowboys backline a much more familiar and balanced look about it. Thurston again holds the key and his kicking game in particular needs to be precise to ensure that the Cowboys compete for field position against the solid kicking games of Bulldogs Brett Kimmorley and Michael Ennis. A loss for the Cowboys could see them out of the top eight. For the Bulldogs Ben Hannant is out for 2-4 weeks with a knee injury in a blow to their top two chances. His tireless work ethic will need to be replicated by the likes of Jarrad Hickey, Michael Hodgson and Chris Armit if the Bulldogs are any chance of maintaining the momentum so valuable at this stage of the season. VM Vlado: Cowboys by 4 Sydney Roosters v Manly Sea Eagles ROOSTERS: 1. Sam Perrett 2. Iwi Hauraki 3. Mitchell Aubusson 4. Setaimata Sa 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6. Anthony If anything the frustrations do highlight that there is still some fight left in the Roosters as they approach the end of a disappointing season. Anthony Minichiello remains in the number six jersey for another week after last weekend’s first up performance. A try assist, a line-break and a close call for a try were his respectable stats coming out of a game in the unfamiliar five-eighth position. After coming back into the premiership calculations with some steely resolve after a nightmare start to the season, the Sea Eagles are vulnerable once again. Remaining on 24 competition points, the Sea Eagles could slip out of the eight with a loss against the last placed Roosters. Discipline again holds the key for the Sea Eagles side that continues to give away cheap penalties generating the frustration prevalent in the team at the moment. No more so than last weekend when Anthony Watmough and skipper Matt Orford had an obvious verbal spat out on the field. Penalties aside Watmough along with Parramatta’s Jarryd Hayne and the Dragons’ Jamie Soward are the premier players of the competition at present and his involvement against the Roosters will surely be too hard to handle for worst defence in the competition. VM Vlado: Sea Eagles by 18 Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons RAIDERS: 1. Josh Dugan 2. Daniel Vidot 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Joel Monaghan 5. Phil Graham 6. Terry Campese 7. Josh McCrone 8. Dane Tilse 9. Alan Tongue (c) 10. Scott Logan 11. Joel Thompson 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Josh Miller It is fair to say that Canberra Stadium is not a happy hunting ground for the St.George Illawarra Dragons not having won at the ground since 2000. The home side whilst largely disappointing this season are notorious for their fast starts so the Dragons need to remove the thermals and be ready to play from the outset. Hulking origin forward Tom Learoyd-Lahrs returns to the line-up where he will take aim at the vacated right edge of the Dragons defence who are missing Beau Scott and Matt Prior through suspension. Joel Monaghan remains in doubt for the Raiders due to a leg injury but his omission would give Joel Thompson another run at centre after his strong display last week. The table-stopping Dragons will not be alone this weekend in Canberra with busloads of Dragon Army faithful making the trek down the Hume highway to support the team. The Red V juggernaut has been moving along soundly, winning games even when they have been below par in a healthy sign for the club. Beau Scott and Matt Prior are out of the team through suspension but the Dragons managed to get Justin Poore’s charge downgraded and he is free to play against the Green Machine. World Cup winning lock Jeremy Smith made a timely return last weekend for the red and whites, making three line-breaks and scoring two tries. His contributions and confidence going into the finals are immeasurable for a side noted for finishing seasons in tragedy. VM Vlado: Dragons by 14 Parramatta Eels v New Zealand Warriors EELS: 1. Jarryd Hayne 2. Luke Burt 3. Krisnan Inu 4. Joel Reddy 5. Eric Grothe 6. Daniel Mortimer 7. Jeff Robson 8. Tim Mannah 9. Matthew Keating 10. Fuifui Moimoi 11. Nathan Hindmarsh (c) 12. Joe Galuvao 13. Todd Lowrie The faltering Warriors have one of the most daunting road trips when they take on the firing Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday night. The New Zealand club have been diabolical this season, currently sitting third last. The Eels’ late season resurgence sees them in the thick of the final race and playing some exciting football. Jarrad Hayne is in career best form and will again prove extremely difficult to contain. Mortimer and Robson look more and more like first grade footballers with every week they play, and they have been assisted with strong performances from the forward pack, from the likes of FuiFui MoiMoi and the evergreen Nathan Hindmarsh. The Warriors will need a miracle from their severely underperforming roster, but the match will provide the chance for up and comers like Kevin Locke and Aaron Heremaia to prove their worth in the top grade. Punters should look to take the Eels at 13+ because the Warriors will offer little resistance. CH Vlado: Eels by 20 Cronulla Sharks v Wests Tigers SHARKS: 1. Bronx Goodwin 2. Misi Taulapapa 3. Ben Pomeroy 4. Mitch Brown 5. Luke Covell 6. Matthew Wright 7. Scott Porter 8. Kade Snowden 9. Corey Hughes 10. Luke Douglas 11. Jack Afamasaga 12. Grant Millington 13. Paul Gallen The Sharks will face an extremely tough challenge in trying to beat the red hot Wests Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Toyota Stadium. The Sharks have lost their last 4 games, including a big loss against fellow strugglers, Brisbane at Suncorp last week. For the Tigers, Tim Moltzen will move from the number 7 position to cover the injured Shannon Gallant at fullback, and Robert Lui will start in the halfback position. This could damage the Tiger’s momentum and finals prospect but they should still be too strong for the Sharks who sorely miss Trent Barrett in the halves.CH Vlado: Tigers by 20 Brisbane Broncos v Penrith Panthers BRONCOS: 1. Karmichael Hunt 2. Antonio Winterstein 3. Alex Glenn 4. Justin Hodges 5. Jharal Yow Yeh 6. Darren Lockyer (c) 7. Peter Wallace 8. Nick Kenny 9. Andrew McCullough 10. David Taylor 11. Tonie Carroll 12. Sam Thaiday 13. Corey Parker Both the Broncos and Panthers face off on Sunday afternoon at Suncorp stadium in a match that will all but end one team’s season, and propel the other team towards a spot in the finals. The Panthers fell victim to the table topping Dragons last week, while the Broncos snapped a horror run with a win over the hapless Sharks. The Broncos have had the rare luxury of naming an unchanged line-up, while the Panthers have made one change with Junior Tia-Kilifi coming in for the injured Shane Elford. The Panthers have been in better form than the Broncos of late and this is likely to show on the weekend. The Broncos have lacked the cohesion which saw them at the top of the ladder after the first few rounds of the competition, while the Panthers, despite playing ordinary football over the past couple of weeks look a more organised and committed side than their opponents. CH Vlado: Broncos by 8 Newcastle Knights v Melbourne Storm KNIGHTS: 1. Kurt Gidley (c) 2. Keith Lulia 3. Junior Sau 4. Adam MacDougall 5. Cooper Vuna 6. Ben Rogers 7. Jarrod Mullen 8. Mark Taufua 9. Isaac DeGois 10. Chris Houston 11. Steve Simpson 12. Zeb Taia 13. Matt Hilder The Knights and Storm meet at Energy Australia Stadium to cap off Round 23 on Monday night. The Knights have been dreadful ever since the announcement that coach Brian Smith would be departing the club at season’s end, while the Storm have displayed reasonable form of late. However, they have been rocked by the Greg Inglis controversy and will as a consequence miss him for the clash. This could prove a fatal blow for the Storm who are entrenched in the top 4, while it proves as a timely blessing for the struggling Knights. Jarrad Mullen and Kurt Gidley must find the form that got them selected as State of Origin players if Newcastle are to find some form and make the finals. There will be a lot more pressure on the likes of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith as a result of Inglis’ omission and this may prove crucial in deciding who wins this one. CH Vlado: Knights by 5
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