| Laurie Daley's round 15 preview | | Print | |
| Thursday, 17 June 2010 16:42 | |||
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Boost ... return of Burgess hands Souths a big advantage. Brett Costello Fox Sports commentator Laurie Daley offers his thoughts and predictions for round 15 of the NRL premiership. Manly v South Sydney, Brookvale Oval, Saturday 7.30pm (EST) The Rabbitohs will be hurting after last week but they get Sam Burgess and a couple of other back. John Sutton and Chris Sandow have a lot to prove because last week they went back to a few bad habits, their kicking game was poor and that is something they will want to improve. At the moment Manly are lacking rhythm and have a few too many injuries. When they are fit and have everyone back they will push for the title but at this stage there’s just too many problems. Souths had a hiccup last week but will win this through their forwards. It will be a physical clash because both play a physical brand. But with Burgess and Dave Taylor back Souths will have too much go forward and should get the money. Brisbane Broncos v Penrith, Suncorp Stadium, Friday 7pm (EST)
A lot will have to do with how the Broncos players back up from Origin. Penrith this year have been patchy with their performances and even though they should be fresh coming off a bye they might struggle against the Brisbane. The Broncos are building momentum and I have been very impressed with them the last couple of weeks, especially how the youngsters have handled things. I think Brisbane can make it another victory and push for a finals’ position. Canterbury-Bankstown v Gold Coast Titans, Suncorp Stadium, Friday 8.45pm (EST) The Titans will take a lot of confidence from their performance last week and they are not heavily involved in Origin. I think the Dogs are struggling at the moment. They have been lacking confidence and the ability to put points on the board. Their forwards have not been creative and have had a lack of go forward and no quick play the balls which has meant it has been hard for the outside backs to do much. So I think the Titans will win this. They play at a fast tempo and the way Greg Bird and Scott Prince are playing at the moment they will score a few points. Melbourne Storm v North Queensland Cowboys, AAMI Park, Saturday 5.30pm (EST) Again it will depend on how many back up for the Storm after Origin. They will have been disappointed with how they played last week and will want to rectify that. The Cowboys beat the Raiders last weekend but it wasn’t impressive. Defensively they still have a few issues. I think Melbourne will have been stung from their performance last week and they will rebound and rebound well. Cronulla v St George Illawarra, Toyota Stadium, Sunday 2pm (EST) It is difficult to go past the Dragons even though the Sharks have been playing well the last month or so. But the Dragons are a very professional outfit, very disciplined, they give away few penalties, they get through their sets and build pressure on the opposition and force the opposition into mistakes. They are cruising along well at the moment and I expect them to continue along with the job. Wests Tigers v Canberra, Leichhardt Oval, Sunday 3pm (EST) The Raiders are going good with the football in hand but still have defensive issues. They just can’t hang in through tough periods in a game, they leak points. And with the Tigers at Leichhardt on a dry Sunday afternoon I think the Raiders will struggle and the locals will watch a big win from their team. Newcastle Knights v Parramatta, EnergyAustralia Stadium, Monday 7pm (EST) It will be difficult to go past Parramatta here. The Knights are battling at the moment. Newcastle are looking for respect so it is still a danger game for the Eels but Parra were very good against the Storm last week. They were aggressive and strong in all aspects of their game and with players like Jarryd Hayne they have the ability to score points so it is a matter of them just focussing. If they can do that they will come away with a good win.
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| Last Updated on Thursday, 17 June 2010 16:46 |