| NRL Preview & Tips - Round 21 | | Print | |
| Friday, 31 July 2009 13:54 | |||
Article League Unlimited Written by:
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Jul 31, 2009 12:01am These are the glory bound rounds. All sixteen NRL clubs begin their run home with just six rounds remaining before the business end of the season. Eight spots are up for grabs and in light of recent weeks, still 11 teams are in the running. The smell of semi-final football is in the air. Round 21 National Rugby League: 31 July - 1 August 2009 South Sydney Rabbitohs v Bulldogs 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 9. Issac Luke 10. Roy Asotasi (c) 11. Ben Lowe 12. Eddy Pettybourne 13. David Fa'alogo The jostling for spots in the final countdown to the semis continues on Sunday afternoon with the born-again Rabbitohs hosting the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs fumbled and bumbled their way to a 27-8 loss to Parramatta last Saturday and coach Kevin Moore will be looking for a marked improvement or they could slip to fourth if results weren’t to go their way. The Rabbitohs were patchy on Monday night, doing enough to run out comfortable winners over the Roosters, but the Bulldogs will prove to be more formidable. One thing is for sure, the Bulldogs won’t be as poor as they were last Saturday and the Rabbits will need to go with them early. While the game is a South Sydney “home game”, the Bulldogs have registered six wins from seven starts against the Rabbits at Homebush and registered a 14-12 victory earlier this year. The Rabbitohs aren’t without a hope here, but the Bulldogs will be looking to bounce back with a vengeance and continue on their way to a probable top-two finish. Tip: Bulldogs by 8.
St George Illawarra Dragons v Melbourne Storm DRAGONS: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Brett Morris 3. Beau Scott 4. Chase Stanley 5. Wendell Sailor 6. Jamie Soward 7. Ben Hornby (c) 8. Justin Poore 9. Nathan Fien 10. Michael Weyman 11. Dean Young 12. Ben Creagh 13. Neville Costigan An intriguing round 21 of the Telstra Premiership gets underway with the Dragons tackling the Storm. In recent years, the Storm have appeared to have had the edge over their red-and-white counterparts, but the Dragons are the real deal this year as evidenced in their four-point break at the top of the ladder. In the previous five encounters, the Dragons only victory was against a severely depleted Melbourne side in the midst of Origin in 2008. The Storm snuck home in golden point in round 1 this year, but a lot has happened since then. The Storm appear to have lost the aura that was associated with them during the 2006 to 2008 seasons and in recent weeks have lost games they perhaps should have won against the Raiders and Eels. Interestingly enough, both games have been away from home. Should the Dragons beat the Storm, it will go a long way to proving to those few who remain, that they are premiership favourites. Who knows, that mental edge the Storm have over the Dragons just might come to the fore. Tip: Dragons by 2. Gold Coast Titans v North QLD Cowboys TITANS: 1. William Zillman 2. Kevin Gordon 3. Esikeli Tonga 4. Brett Delaney 5. David Mead 6. Preston Campbell 7. Scott Prince 8. Matt White 9. Nathan Friend 10. Michael Henderson 11. Luke Bailey 12. Mark Minichiello 13. Brad Meyers The Gold Coast Titans will be looking to make it a perfect 10 when they host the Cowboys in the other Friday night blockbuster on the Gold Coast. The Titans have swept aside anything that has stood in their way on their home surface and it is difficult to see anything else other than a Titans victory as they surge towards their maiden semi-final appearance. However, in saying all of that, the Cowboys were rather disappointing in going down to the Panthers last week in Townsville and led by Johnathan Thurston, will be looking to make amends. The Titans are struggling with injuries, especially in the back row, with Luke Bailey winding back the clock and finding himself partnering Mark Minichiello. The Cowboys have their own problems, with Thurston rumoured to have been involved in a disagreement with coach Neil Henry in recent weeks. If there is any truth to that rumour, all will be forgotten should the Cowboys come up with a rare away victory. In the last five encounters, the Titans have won four, including a 14-10 victory at Dairy Farmers in round 5. This game is yet another toss of the coin job, but the Titans at home are difficult to go past. Tip: Titans by 4. Canberra Raiders v Brisbane Broncos 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. Troy Thompson 11. Glen Turner 12. Bronson Harrison 13. Nigel Plum Edition 21 of Super Saturday kicks off in the nations capital with two completely out-of-sorts sides doing battle. The Raiders go from bad to worse, while the Broncos aren’t much better. The positive for all Broncos fans is that the Origin series is now over and this part of the year is usually when the Broncos make their charge to the semi-finals. This year needs to be no different, otherwise they face the distinct possibility of missing the finals for the first time since 1992. Some of the cavalry returns for the Broncos including AFL-bound Karmichael Hunt, captain Darren Lockyer and forward Tonie Carroll. The Raiders have their own problems, with halfback Marc Herbert out injured, replaced by Josh McCrone while captain Alan Tongue returns to the hooking duties, replacing the dumped Glen Buttriss. The Raiders semi-final hopes evaporated before their very eyes last week when the Tigers methodically disposed of them 25-4 in Canberra. They will be looking to regain some hurt pride as they begin to build for next year. The Broncos have won five of the past seven encounters, although they haven’t won in Canberra since 2005. If the Broncos are serious about making the top eight, and not just limping in, they should win this. Tip: Broncos by 7. Newcastle Knights v Sydney Roosters KNIGHTS: 1. Kurt Gidley 2. Keith Lulia 3. Junior Sau 4. Adam MacDougall 5. Akuila Uate 6. Ben Rogers 7. Jarrod Mullen 8. Mark Taufua 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Richard Fa’aoso 11. Steve Simpson 12. Zeb Taia 13. Matt Hilder The Knights were awful last week against the Eagles in Gosford and will be looking to bounce back in style against the hapless Roosters on Saturday night in Newcastle. The Knights exploded out of the blocks early, leading 14-0 after just 12 minutes, before the wheels fell right off. In light of what has happened in the last week and a bit, this match shapes as a blockbuster off the field. Roosters’ coach Brad Fittler lit the fuse for a potentially fiery encounter by suggesting through the week Smith purposely rested Mullen and Gidley from last week’s encounter to ensure they were right to go this week. The Knights will still harbour ambitions of a top four finish, especially if the Storm were to lose on Friday night, the Knights would be just one point behind the fourth-placed Melbournians with a victory over the Roosters. Conversely, should they suffer an unlikely defeat, their semi-final hopes would take a beating as they could find themselves outside the top eight. Interestingly enough, the Roosters have no problem playing at EnergyAustralia Stadium with their last defeat occurring way back in 2001. The Knights surely have too much to play for here. Tip: Knights by 10. Penrith Panthers v New Zealand Warriors PANTHERS: 1. Jarrod Sammut 2. Junior Tia-Kilifi 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Tighe 5. Michael Gordon 6. Wade Graham 7. Luke Walsh 8. Frank Puletua 9. Paul Aiton 10. Matthew Bell 11. Trent Waterhouse (c) 12. Gavin Cooper 13. Nathan Smith Super Saturday wraps up at the foot of the mountains with the nearly dead Warriors looking to have the last rites for season 2009 delivered to them. Mathematically the New Zealanders are still a chance of a remarkable late-season surge into the play-offs, but recent weeks would indicate they are no show. The Panthers will be looking to cement their position inside the top eight as they also look to put the pressure on the current top four. Penrith were sloppy at times during their victory over the Cowboys, but did enough to come away with the two points. A similar effort should be enough to get them over the Warriors this week, however coach Matthew Elliott will be looking for a marked improvement as they tune up for the finals. For the Warriors to register a rare away victory, they will have to do so minus captain Steve Price and their win-loss record without their skipper doesn’t make for pretty reading. The Panthers and Warriors traditionally put defence on the backburner in their recent encounters and this should be no different. The Panthers have won seven from 11 at CUA against the Warriors and should win this easily. Tip: Panthers by 14. Cronulla Sharks v Parramatta Eels SHARKS: 1. Nathan Stapleton 2. Blake Ferguson 3. Ben Pomeroy 4. Matthew Wright 5. Luke Covell 6. Blake Green 7. Scott Porter 8. Kade Snowden 9. Corey Hughes 10. Johnny Mannah 11. Luke Douglas 12. Grant Millington 13. Reece Williams Where have the “real Eels” been all year? It comes as no coincidence that their recent good form can firstly be attributed to Jarryd Hayne’s breathtaking displays and also coach Daniel Anderson’s ability to stick with what he believes. A few weeks ago the Eels were gone for 2009 and looking like a club who couldn’t wait for the season to finish. Now they are playing an exciting brand of football and halves Mortimer and Robson keep on going from strength to strength. The Eels need to win at least five of their remaining six games to make the finals, but may need to win all six, so they cannot afford to let this game slip. The Sharks, much like the Roosters, are looking towards 2010 and lost their only remaining attacking “spark” during the week. Recent encounters between the two sides have been close and expect Sunday’s match to be no different. The Sharks have won the last three clashes, but the Eels simply must win this one. Tip: Eels by 10. Wests Tigers v Manly Sea Eagles Monday 3 August 19:00 - Sydney Football Stadium TIGERS: 1. Shannon Gallant 2. Taniela Tuiaki 3. Blake Ayshford 4. Chris Lawrence 5. Beau Ryan 6. Benji Marshall 7. Tim Moltzen 8. Bryce Gibbs 9. Robbie Farah 10. Todd Payten 11. Gareth Ellis 12. Danny Galea 13. Corey Payne Monday Night Football finds itself to arguably be the best match of the weekend when the Wests Tigers tackle Manly. The premiers have been building in recent weeks, culminating in a thorough dismantling of the Knights in Gosford last Friday. While the Knights didn’t help their own cause with plenty of dropped ball, the Eagles went on the attack, at one stage scoring 34 unanswered points in a 22-minute blitz either side of halftime. The Tigers have been on a roll themselves, registering three wins on the trot, including last week’s methodical 25-4 victory in Canberra. But they, much like Souths and Parramatta, must keep winning to give themselves a realistic shot at making the semi-finals in six weeks time. For them to come away with the two competition points, a similar defensive display to what they showed in Canberra last week will be required. The Eagles have just about everyone on deck apart from Brett Stewart and can score points in quick time, as evidenced last week. The Eagles have won the past 5 matches and 8 of 12 all time and this one is sure to go down to the wire. Tip: Sea Eagles by 1.
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