NRL Telstra Premiership Round Six Preview

NRL Telstra Premiership Round Six Preview. All round six matches previewed, check out the team lists and odds right here.

With half the round five matches predicted we take a more objective approach to the term “underdog” with our picks this week. Enjoy!

 

Brisbane Broncos v Sydney City Roosters

Broncos – $2.00

Roosters – $1.75

The Roosters lost tought last week and will be looking to get their season back on track but a tough assignment lay ahead of them with an inform Broncos side playing some exciting rugby league. Tuivasa-Sheck has announced he will be leaving the Roosters for the Warriors in 2016 for 3 years, this could be incentive to rally the troops or create dismay in the ranks. Broncos look too good, by 1-12.

 

Broncos

1 Lachlan Maranta 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 Dale Copley 5 Daniel Vidot 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Sam Thaiday  11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett 13 Corey Parker (c)

Interchange
14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Mitch Garbutt 16 Mitchell Dodds 17 Kodi Nikorima 18 Francis Molo
Roosters

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5 Nene Macdonald 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce (c)                                           8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Mitchell Aubusson 13 Isaac Liu

Interchange
14 Willie Manu  15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho
 

Cronulla Sharks v Newcastle Knights

Sharks – $1.80

Knights – $1.95

The Sharks return home this weekend to Remondis hoping to bring with them their form and flare in which they dominated the more fancied Roosters side. Barba returns to the bench as Jack Bird retains his spot. Tariq and Korbin start for the first time together at Newcastle as Beau Scott is out with an ankle injury bringing in Chris Housten. With so many big aggressive men it’s going to come down to who can control the emotion and winning the contact, it will be tight but Sharks by 1-12.

 

Sharks

1 Valentine Holmes 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Gerard Beale 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Michael Gordon 6 Jack Bird 7 Jeff Robson 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Michael Ennis 10 Chris Heighington 11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Ben Barba 15 Anthony Tupou 16 Matt Prior  17 David Fifita 18 Tinirau Arona 19 Jayson Bukuya

Knights

1 Kurt Gidley (c) 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale
10 Korbin Sims  11 Chris Houston 12 Tariq Sims 13 Jeremy Smith

Interchange
14 Tyler Randell 15 David Fa’alogo  16 Joseph Tapine 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia

 

Parramatta Eels v Gold Coast Titans

Eels – $1.42

Titans – $2.70

Both teams losing last round, the Eels blowing hot and cold early into the season with the Titans sitting 2nd to last courtesy of the Sea Eagles having a shocker of a 2015 so far. Eels are moving Reece Robinson back to the wing and Dave Gower onto the bench but the Titans are starting big man Dave Taylor which puts Pettybourne on the bench. Depending on what Eels side turns up we could see a big win from the Eels or we’ll get a low scoring scrap what the Titans will take. Titans by 1-12.

 

Eels

1 Will Hopoate 2 Bureta Faraimo 3 Ryan Morgan 4 John Folau 5 Reece Robinson 6 Corey Norman 7 Chris Sandow 8 Darcy Lussick 9 Nathan Peats 10 Tim Mannah (c) 11 Manu Ma’u 12 Tepai Moeroa 13 Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14 Isaac De Gois 15 Joseph Paulo 16 Danny Wicks 17 David Gower 18 Peni Terepo

Titans

1 Josh Hoffman 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 William Zillman 5 David Mead 6 Aidan Sezer 7 Kane Elgey 8 Luke Douglas 9 Kierran Moseley
10 Nate Myles (c) 11 Ryan James 12 Dave Taylor 13 Greg Bird

Interchange
14 Eddy Pettybourne 15 Agnatius Paasi 16 Lachlan Burr 17 Ryan Simpkins 18 Matt White

 

New Zealand Warriors v Wests Tigers

Warriors – $1.42

Tigers $2.70

The Warriors return home after being beaten comprehensively by the Storm, and the Tigers on a roll after doing the same to the Eels last round. For the Warriors their only change is Albert Vete for Dom Peyroux, Hurrell retains his spot after a poor comeback from injury. Tigers are unchanged. The Warriors must remain focused around completing the tackle and marking up as the likes of Farah, Halatau and co will be looking to expose the Warriors big men to gain valuable meters. Warriors at home are tough, it’ll be tight, but Warriors by 1-12.

Warriors

1 Tuimoala Lolohea 2 Jonathan Wright 3 Konrad Hurrell 4 Solomone Kata 5 Manu Vatuvei 6 Chad Townsend 7 Shaun Johnson 8 Jacob Lillyman
9 Thomas Leuluai 10 Ben Matulino 11 Bodene Thompson 12 Ryan Hoffman 13 Simon Mannering (c)

Interchange
14 Nathan Friend 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo 16 Sam Lisone 17 Albert Vete 18 Dominique Peyroux

Wests Tigers

1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5 Pat Richards 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah (c) 10 Keith Galloway 11 Curtis Sironen 12 Kyle Lovett 13 Martin Taupau

Interchange
14 Dene Halatau 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Jack Buchanan 17 Sauaso Sue
18 Asipeli Fine

 

Penrith Panters v Manly Sea Eagles

Panthers – $1.47

Sea Eagles – $2.55

Pepper Stadium hosts the Panthers and Sea Eagles. Manly sitting at the bottom of the competition, racked by injuries and player speculation which doesn’t help with losing again last round to the Raiders.. Penrith coming off a drubbing courtesy of the Cowboys have had mixed season so far. Dean Whare is out with injury which places Idris back at centre with Waqa Blake. Big man Sika Manu is starting in the second row. No changes for the Sea Eagles, Lyon and Matai still injured. Even though the Panthers looked average last weekend, Manly have some real issues at the moment, Panthers 13+.

 

Panthers

1 Matt Moylan 2 Josh Mansour 3 Waqa Blake 4 Jamal Idris 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6 Apisai Koroisau 7 Peter Wallace (c) 8 Sam McKendry
9 James Segeyaro 10 Jeremy Latimore 11 Sika Manu 12 Isaah Yeo
13 Elijah Taylor

Interchange
14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Nigel Plum 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17 Bryce Cartwright

Sea Eagles

1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Brayden Wiliame 4 Peta Hiku 5 Tom Trbojevic 6 Kieran Foran 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason 11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Tom Symonds 13 Dunamis Lui

Interchange
14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Ligi Sao  16 Justin Horo 17 Jake Trbojevic

 

Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm

Raiders – $2.45

Storm – $1.50

Both sides coming off very good wins in round 5 meet at GIO stadium. For the Raiders Jordan Rapana is serving a suspension which brings in Jeremy Hawkins. The Storm only change is losing Billy Slater for four weeks after a scan revealed his injured shoulder was worse than first thought. Expect to see Kurt Mann move to fullback. The hosts will look to expose and put a lot of pressure on whoever fills Billy’s spot. Whilst this could be a weakness for the Storm the Raiders need to ensure Cronk, Harris, and Smith are looked after on attack if they want to stay in the game. Should be an exciting fixture, for me Billy is a crucial loss for the Storm, Raiders by 1-12.

 

Raiders

1 Jack Wighton 2 Edrick Lee 3 Jarrod Croker (c) 4 Sisa Waqa 5 Jeremy Hawkins 6 Blake Austin 7 Sam Williams 8 Josh Papalii 9 Josh Hodgson
10 Dane Tilse 11 Jarrad Kennedy 12 Iosia Soliola 13 Shaun Fensom

Interchange
14 Glen Buttriss 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala 16 Paul Vaughan 17 Mark Nicholls

 

Storm

1 Billy Slater 2 Mahe Fonua 3 Will Chambers 4 Kurt Mann 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c) 10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane

Interchange
14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Tim Glasby 16 Dayne Weston 17 Felise Kaufusi

 

St George Illawarra Dragons v Canterbury Bulldogs

Dragons – $1.87

Bulldogs – $1.87

The Dragons boasting 3 wins on the trot, hosting a rather hard done by Bulldogs outfit racked by suspension and injuries from their encounter with the Bunnies. The Dragons are unchanged whilst the Doggies have lost James Graham, Dave Klemmer, and Sam Kasiano to suspension. Brett Morris and Tim Lafai are out with injuries. The Dragons have not scored a lot of points so far this season but they have shown a lot of heart on defense. Whilst the Bulldogs do still have playmakers on the pitch the players absent will make it an uphill batter.  Dragons by 1-12.

 

Dragons

1 Josh Dugan 2 Etonia Nabuli 3 Euan Aitken 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau
9 Mitch Rein 10 Mike Cooper 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson
13 Trent Merrin

Interchange
14 George Rose 15 Jack de Belin 16 Jake Marketo 17 Heath L’Estrange
20 Rory O’Brien

Bulldogs

1 Sam Perrett 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Moses Mbye 5 Corey Thompson 6 Josh Reynolds 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman (c)
9 Michael Lichaa 10 Tim Browne 11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange
14 Lloyd Perrett 15 Antonio Kaufusi 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Chase Stanley
19 Danny Fualalo

 

South Sydney Rabbitohs v North Queensland Cowboys

Rabbitohs – $1.70

Cowboys $2.05

After a tight win under controversial circumstances the Rabbitohs come into round six top of the table and the Cowboys lingering in the bottom half but looking to make it 3 wins in a row. The Rabbitohs lost Adam Reynolds last week which brings John Sutton into the halves and big George Burgess is cleared to play after successfully challenging his dangerous contact charge. Cowboys unchanged. Thurston is playing some good rugby league right now behind a charging pack, the Rabbitohs need to win the contact and keep Thurston quiet. We predict a bruising encounter which should provide a lot of entertainment, match of the round material. Cowboys big men to be the difference, Cowboys by 1-12.

 

Rabbitohs

1 Greg Inglis (c) 2 Alex Johnston 3 Daryl Millard 4 Bryson Goodwin 5 Joel Reddy 6 John Sutton 7 Luke Keary 8 George Burgess 9 Issac Luke 10 Dave Tyrrell               11 Glenn Stewart 12 Chris McQueen 13 Jason Clark

Interchange
14 Ben Lowe  15 Chris Grevsmuhl 16 Tim Grant 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Cameron McInnes19 Nathan Brown

 

Cowboys

1 Lachlan Coote 2 Matthew Wright 3 Tautau Moga 4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c) 9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe
13 Jason Taumalolo

Interchange
14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 John Asiata 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant 18 Glenn Hall

NRL Telstra Premiership Round 5 Preview

After a mixed round of predictions last week, we bring you our NRL Telstra Premiership Round 5 Preview hoping for a perfect 8.  Check out the rounds matches and teams below:

 

Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Bulldogs $2.30

Rabbitohs $1.57

 

Both teams sitting inside the top 4 (Rabbitohs 3rd & Doggies 4th) we should see a physical match up with both sides harboring very big packs and quality spread throughout the ranks. The Rabbitohs will need to their head back in the game after being out-played by the Eels last weekend, the Doggies winning in golden point after a grinding 80 should have them ready for the Rabbitohs backlash. Rabbitohs 1-12.

 

Bulldogs

1 Brett Morris 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Tim Lafai 5 Sam Perrett 6 Josh Reynolds 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman 9 Michael Lichaa 10 James Graham (c)
11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange
14 Sam Kasiano 15 David Klemmer 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Tim Browne 18 Moses Mbye 19 Corey Thompson

Rabbitohs

1 Greg Inglis (c) 2 Alex Johnston 3 Daryl Millard 4 Bryson Goodwin 5 Joel Reddy 6 Luke Keary 7 Adam Reynolds 8 George Burgess 9 Issac Luke 10 Dave Tyrrell       11 Glenn Stewart 12 Chris McQueen 13 Tim Grant

Interchange
14 Cameron McInnes 15 Ben Lowe 16 Chris Grevsmuhl 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Jason Clarke 19 Nathan Brown
Gold Coast Titan v Brisbane Broncos

Titans $2.40

Broncos $1.52

 

Both teams coming off hard fought wins in round 4, the Broncos appearing to be the stronger looking side in the campaign so far. Brisbane stalwart Justin Hodges is out with a hamstring issue however Dale Copley will have plenty of support as he fills he place. Nate Myles leads his team with an impressive forward pack support in Dave Taylor and Greg Bird; we should see a very even match with both teams squaring up across the park. The Titans need to clean their discipline up if they want to stay in the match as Corey Parker is sure from anywhere inside his range. Broncos 1-12.

 

Titans

1 Josh Hoffman 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 William Zillman 5 David Mead 6 Aidan Sezer 7 Kane Elgey 8 Luke Douglas 9 Kierran Moseley 10 Nate Myles (c)
11 Ryan James 12 Dave Taylor 13 Greg Bird

Interchange
14 Eddy Pettybourne 15 Agnatius Paasi 16 Ryan Simpkins 17 Matt Srama 18 Matt White 19 Lachlan Burr

 

Broncos

1 Jordan Kahu 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 Dale Copley 5 Lachlan Maranta 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Sam Thaiday   11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett13 Corey Parker

Interchange
14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Mitch Garbutt 16 Mitchell Dodds 17 Kodi Nikorima
18 Francis Molo

 

Manly Sea Eagles v Canberra Raiders

Sea Eagles $1.55

Raiders $2.35

 

The Raiders are on a run of 3 consecutive defeats and the Sea Eagles a grinding win from round 4. The Sea Eagles season marred by speculation of player movement and injuries to key personnel however halves Cherry-Evans and Foran are keeping the wheels rolling. Without Jamie Lyon the Sea Eagles tend to struggle in the goal kicking department so they will focus on crossing the white wash rather than taking points. The Raiders were woeful last weekend and the Sea Eagles are trying to get back on board so expect to see a close game. Sea Eagles to pull through 1-12.

 

Sea Eagles

1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Brayden Wiliame 4 Steve Matai 5 Peta Hiku 6 Kieran Foran 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason
11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Tom Symonds 13 Dunamis Lui

Interchange
14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Jake Trbojevic 16 Justin Horo 17 Ligi Sao 18 James Hasson

 

Raiders

1 Jack Wighton 2 Edrick Lee 3 Jarrod Croker (c) 4 Jeremy Hawkins 5 Jordan Rapana 6 Blake Austin 7 Sam Williams 8 Josh Papalii 9 Josh Hodgson 10 Dane Tilse
11 Jarrad Kennedy 12 Iosia Soliola 13 Shaun Fensom

Interchange
14 Glen Buttriss 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala 16 Paul Vaughan 17 Mark Nicholls

 

Newcastle Knights v St George Illawarra Dragons

Knights $1.42

Dragons $2.70

 

Both teams playing for the inaugural Alex McKinnon cup which will surely inspire and motivate both sides. The Knights will welcome Tariq Sims for his debut and the Dragons remain unchanged. Both teams coming off solid wins last week and the Knights looking the more convincing with their win and their physical approach to nullify the Penrith halves last weekend will have the Dragons cautious. Knights will be too strong, 13+ Knights

 

Knights

1 Kurt Gidley (c) 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale                     10 David Fa’alogo 11 Beau Scott 12 Tariq Sims 13 Jeremy Smith

Interchange
14 Tyler Randell 15 Chris Houston 16 Paterika Vaivai 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia

 

Dragons

1 Josh Dugan 2 Etonia Nabuli 3 Euan Aitken 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau 9 Mitch Rein 10 Mike Cooper 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson13 Trent Merrin

Interchange
14 George Rose 15 Jack de Belin 16 Jake Marketo 17 Heath L’Estrange 20 Rory O’Brien

 

Sydney City Roosters v Cronulla Sharks

Roosters $1.16

Sharks $4.75

 

Two confrontational packs with the likes of Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Michael Ennis & the Fifita brothers up against Aidan Guerra, Boyd Cordner, Sam Moa & Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Winning the collision and the hard yards will decide this match, expect fireworks and some red mst.

For the Roosters halves Maloney and Pearce are in fine form and with a pack going forward will put many points on any team. For the Sharks Gallen and Ennis will be crucial to keeping a lid on the game and their workman like play could be key to keeping the Sharks alive. Aslong as the Roosters keep their foot on the pedal and don’t blow over when niggled we should see the Roosters 13+

 

Roosters

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 5 Nene Macdonald 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce (c)                                          8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Isaac Liu

Interchange
14 Mitchell Aubusson 15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho 18 Willie Manu 19 Lagi Setu

 

Sharks

1 Valentine Holmes 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Gerard Beale 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Michael Gordon 6 Jack Bird7 Jeff Robson 8 Matt Prior 9 Michael Ennis 10 Chris Heighington
11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Jayson Bukuya 15 Anthony Tupou 16 Andrew Fifita 17 David Fifita

 

Parramatta Eels v Wests Tigers

Eels $1.75

Tigers $2.00

 

Both teams looking in good form and not afraid to run the ball, an Easter Monday fixture on the cards has an exciting prospect to it.

For the Eels an unexpected and impressive win against the Roosters last weekend will see them full of confidence to go back to back. The Tigers seeing the return of Aaron Woods and Dene Halatua from injury. Tigers halfback Luke Brooks had a good game last week and did look confident, his consistency is what often plagues the young half. Hopefully his form continues as this would certainly add fuel to a juicy fixture. The Eels confidence and form should carry through to this fixture to shut out the Tigers, Eels 1-12.

 

Eels

1 Will Hopoate 2 Bureta Faraimo 3 Ryan Morgan 4 John Folau 5 Reece Robinson 6 Corey Norman 7 Chris Sandow 8 Darcy Lussick 9 Nathan Peats                             10 Tim Mannah (c) 11 Manu Ma’u 12 Tepai Moeroa 13 Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14 Isaac De Gois 15 Joseph Paulo 16 David Gower 17 Danny Wicks 18 Peni Terepo

 

Wests Tigers

1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5 Pat Richards 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah (c)                       10 Keith Galloway 11 Curtis Sironen 12 Kyle Lovett 13 Martin Tapau

Interchange
14 Dene Halatau 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Jack Buchanan 17 Sauaso Sue 18 Brenden Santi

 

Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors

Storm $1.42

Warriors $2.70

 

The Storm host the Warriors at AAMI Park, traditionally the Warriors are the Storms bogey team and with returning son Ryan Hoffman now with the Warriors should add more excitement to this fixture. For the Warriors they need to be playing for 80 minutes, last week they were guilty of leaking tries early on and poor kick return defense. Johnson sparked midway through the game but he and Townsend need to complement each other and control their games, their pack will charge all night but they also need to control the urge to offload early in the set. Melbourne will look at Cronk and Smith to control play and much like the Warriors the Storm pack will be running hard to put Cronk and Smith on the front foot where they’re most dangerous. Storm offer a more complete game, it will be tight but the Storm will take it by 1-12.

 

Storm

1 Billy Slater 2 Young Tonumaipea 3 Will Chambers 4 Kurt Mann 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c)           10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Tohu Harris 13 Dale Finucane

Interchange
14 Ryan Hinchcliffe 15 Tim Glasby 16 Dayne Weston 17 Felise Kaufusi 18 Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 19 Hymel Hunt

 

Warriors

1 Tuimoala Lolohea 2 Jonathan Wright 3 Ngani Laumape 4 Solomone Kata 5 Manu Vatuvei 6 Chad Townsend 7 Shaun Johnson 8 Jacob Lillyman
9 Thomas Leuluai 10 Ben Matulino 11 Bodene Thompson 12 Ryan Hoffman 13 Simon Mannering (c)

Interchange
14 Nathan Friend 15 Sebastine Ikahihifo 16 Sam Lisone 17 Albert Vete 18 Sione Lousi

 

Penrith Panthers v North Queensland Cowboys

Panthers $1.50

Cowboys $2.45

 

Panthers are on a two game losing streak and come up against a Cowboys who look to have found some good form. The Cowboys will look to their pack again to lead the charge after impressive displays this year putting the likes of Thurston, Coote, and Morgan on the front foot to do some damage. The Panthers will need to muscle up against this hard running Cowboys outfit and the return of James Segeyaro should help with the hooker full of energy and exciting runs surely to catch the Cowboys pack napping. Whare and Idris combination should provide some supremacy for the Panthers but ultimately the Cowboys form and the packs confidence looks too good for this fixture. Cowboys 1-12

 

Panthers

1 Matt Moylan 2 Josh Mansour 3 Dean Whare 4 Jamal Idris 5 Dallin Watene Zelezniak 6 Isaac John 7 Peter Wallace (c) 8 Sam McKendry 9 James Segeyaro               10 Jeremy Latimore 11 Sika Manu 12 Isaah Yeo 13 Elijah Taylor

Interchange
14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Nigel Plum 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17 Bryce Cartwright 18 Apisai Koroisau

 

Cowboys

1 Lachlan Coote 2 Matthew Wright 3 Tautau Moga4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c)                   9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo

Interchange
14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 Kelepi Tanginoa 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant 18 John Asiata 19 Justin O’Neill

NRL Telstra Premiership Round 4 Results

NRL Telstra Premiership Round 4 Results. Who could finally get on track with a win, the Sharks or Titans? Exciting match ups with close games going down to the wire and won on the final whistle. Monday night footy in Townsville putting on an golden point thriller.

 

Eels (29) v (16) Rabbitohs

Round 3 started off in style with the Eels hosting the Premiers at Pirtek. The matched opened with the Rabbitohs scoring through Joel Reddy (8th) on the receiving end of slick passing through the line. The Eels replied 6 minutes later courtesy of John Folau who took a short pass 10 out to step and crash through defenders (14th).  Reynolds was done for decent towards the pocket referee and Sandow converted the penalty however he redeemed himself shortly after putting up a difficult bomb which was blundered by the Eels and Grensmuhl pounced for his first (34th). On the stroke of half time a barn storming run 10 out from John Folau carrying 3 Rabbitohs with him over the line saw him pick up his second try of the night (39th). The Eels were at it again early in the second half with some slick hands passing through the line giving Reece Robinson the advantage over his inside defense and he kicked into 2nd gear to get around a diving Inglis for the try (42nd). The Premiers under the pump in the second half, taking nearly 20 minutes to get substantial possession and a try scoring opportunity. A numbers game out wide saw the Rabbitohs strike back with a try to Alex Johnston (60th). It didn’t take long for the Eels to reply with Reece Robinson again getting the better of the defense, getting around his opposite on the outside (67th). Sandow extended the lead by 7 with a drop goal (76th) and on the stroke of full time Sandow grubber was spilled back into his path and easy pick up and dive gave Sandow the last laugh (79th).

Eels
Tries – J. Folau 2, R. Robinson 2, C. Sandow
Pen – C. Sandow
Con –  C. Sandow 3

F/Goal – C. Sandow

Rabbitohs
Tries – J. Reddy, C. Grevsmuhl, A. Johnston
Con – A. Reynolds 2

 

Wests Tigers (24) v (25) Canterbury Bulldogs

ANZ Stadium hosted the Tigers and Bulldogs, a match full of expectation. The Tigers first out of the blocks with a try inside 4 minutes when Kyle Lovett slipped through a yawning Bulldogs defensive line. The Doggies hit back after some well constructed plays through the middle to have Frank Prichard bulldoze close to the line and make an offload millimeters from the ground to put Curtis Rona over (15th).  Both team squandering chances for the remainder of the half. The Tigers charged into the second 40 much like the first scoring early with Luke Brooks blocking a poor grubber into the Tigers half, he scooped up the deflection running 50 metres to dot down (45th). 3 minutes later some slick running from dummy half put the Tigers ahead of the advantage line and a tactical grubber into space bounced favorably into Tedescos’ hands only having to run over the line to dot down (48th). Brooks was at it again from dummy half putting through a pin point grubber for Tedesco to run onto making it his second for the night (55th). With the gap widening the Doggies managed to apply some pressure to the Tigers with their big men running hard, Lichaa found himself over the try line after beating some tired tackles close to the line (58th). Curtis Rona added to his tally 8 minutes later after some excellent dummy pass skills courtesy of Kasiano to feed an open Rona (66th). The Doggies evened up the game with 5 to go through a Josh Morris run away. Golden point commenced and an 83rd minute droppy from Moses Mbye sealed victory for the Bulldogs.

Tigers
Tries – K. Lovett, L. Brooks, J. Tedesco 2
Con – M. Moses 4

Bulldogs
Tries – C. Rona 2, M. Lichaa, J. Morris
Con – T. Hodkinson 4

F/Goal – M. Mbye

 

Newcastle Knights (26) v (14) Penrith Panthers

 The unbeaten Knights hosted a Penrith Panthers outfit missing Soward and Segearo at Hunter Stadium. The hosts were strongest early on with a try to Chris Houston (7th) after receiving a short ball 5 out showing great balance and footwork for a big man to dot down. A dummy half run catching the Panthers defenders napping extended the score (14th) courtesy of Clydsdale.  Mounting pressure was taking its toll on the Panthers with well worked second man play seeing Gidley take the contact and bounce out of the tackle to crash over for the Knights 3rd (17th). After so much pressure the Panthers finally got a real attacking opportunity and cashed in through slick passing from the left hand attack feeding Mansour who gracefully stepped inside his opposite to dot down (23rd). Two missed opportunities from the Panthers saw them go into half 14 points down. Uate was the next man on the board with the Knights line drawing the defense to lead to an overlap, Uate dotting down (52nd). The Panthers hitting back, attacking the right hand defense and only to spin it back the other way and Moylan hitting a gap 20 out to dot down (65th). The Panthers getting back to back tries with Dean Whare pushing the advantage line to bust through some fragile Knights defense (71st). Newcastle withstood the onslaught keeping the Panthers scoreless in the final 5, Tyrone Roberts slotting a penalty on the final whistle.

Knights
Tries – C. Houston, A. Clydsdale, K. Gidley, A. Uate
Pen – T. Roberts
Con – T. Roberts 4

Panthers
Tries – J. Mansour, M. Moylan, D. Whare
Con – M. Moylan

 

Cronulla Sharks (22) v (24) Gold Coast Titans

 Both teams winless coming into the round, the Sharks hosted the Titans at Remondis. Michael Gordon putting the Sharks on the board early with a penalty (2nd) after a high shot. The opening 20 was dull as both sides were guilty of poor execution. Dave Taylor eventually crashing over after some ugly play 10 out from both sides losing possession, Taylor catching out defenders not playing the whistle (20th). The Sharks were quick to reply, Valentine Holmes getting the luck of the bounce with a dodgy grubber falling into his hands and he had little work to do beating his opposite on the outside (26th). Another Sharks try was on the board after the Sharks dissected the Titans up through the middle with Ennis running support to dot down under the posts (32nd). James Roberts claimed a try just inside of halftime with the Sharks defense ball watching a grubber hoping it would go out (41st). A pinpoint kick 20 out from Robson into the in-goal area was casually claimed by Holmes getting his second (47th). Nate Myles turned playmaker with a short burst 10 out and a beautiful short ball to Sezer on his shoulder seeing Sezer crash over (59th). Michael Gordon extended the Sharks lead with two penalties (65th & 72nd) after the Titans ill discipline in the tackle cost them. The four point lead evaporated with a soft pass on attack being intercepted by James Roberts who dotted down to even it up, Sezer converting to give the Titans the win.

Sharks
Tries – V. Holmes 2, M. Ennis
Pen – M. Gordon 4
Con – M. Gordon

Titans
Tries – D. Taylor, J. Roberts 2, A. Paasi
Con – A. Sezer 4

 

St George-Illawarra Dragons (12) v (4) Manly Sea Eagles

The Dragons on fire after a spirited come from behind win against the Raiders last round. The Dragons were on the board first with an early converted penalty to Widdop. The Dragons dominating possession inside the opening 10 with with Nightingale dotting in the corner after a slick offload from Duggan in contact (9th). Ill discipline from the Sea Eagles at ruck time cost them 3 points, pushing over the ball player, Widdop converting (24th). Duggan falling short on the stroke of halftime to extend the lead. Hiku nearly opening the Sea Eagles account early into the half with a heroic dive for the corner only to plant the ball out of play but with more possession midway into the second the Eagles finally dotting down through a Keiran Foran grubber cleaned up by Brayden Willame (58th). Off the ball infringement from Luke Burgess 30 out cost the Sea Eagles another 2 points with Widdop slotting the conversion (69th). The Sea Eagles had appeared to score through Willame but the officials deemed the Foran pass to go forward in the previous play. Dragons hold on.

Dragons
Tries – J. Nightingale
Pen – G. Widdop 3
Con – G. Widdop

Sea Eagles
Tries – B. Wiliame

 

New Zealand Warriors (16) v (24) Brisbane Broncos

The Warriors celebrating their 20th year hosting the Broncos at Mt Smart. The Broncos absorbing early pressure from the hosts and replying with a try through a experience cut out pass courtesy of Justin Hodges, Corey Oates dotting down in the corner (11th). The Broncos continued their crisp passing game catching the Warriors defense on the back foot, Lachlan Maranta diving over in the opposite corner (16th). The Warriors breaking the Broncos line but failing to convert points, Broncos dotting down again with Jarrod Wallace crashing over by the sticks (38th). Early into the second half the Warriors claimed their own bomb with a tap back to Allwood who found Townsend inside him, Townsend sprinting 10 to dive to over for the Warriors first (45th). Retaining possession was paying off for the Warriors and Shaun Johnson ran a great angle, with a behind the back offload opening a huge gap for Allgood to gallop through from 20 out, Allgood dotting down (64th) Another massive bomb from Johnson was tapped back by Vatuvei and Solomone Kata claiming the spoils to even it up (69th). Ill discipline at ruck time from the Warriors cost them two points and a short restart was fumbled by the Warriors back over the in-goal line with Andrew McCullough dotting down to seal the victory (79th).

Warriors
Tries – C. Townsend, M. Allwood, S. Kata
Con – S. Johnson

Broncos
Tries – C. Oates, L. Maranta, J. Wallace, A. McCullough
Pen – C. Parker
Con – C. Parker 3

 

Sydney Roosters (34) v (6) Canberra Raiders

 The Roosters hosting the Canberra Raiders at ALLIANZ Stadium. The hosts hot favorites going into the match, they did not disappoint the home crowd. Shaun Kenny-Dowall opened the scoring for the hosts after the Rooster line fed a series of passes gaining the advantage line and Pearce throwing a superb cut out pass to Kenny-Dowall who dotted down in the corner (4th). Tuivasa-Sheck extended the lead after he found a gaping hole in the defense, easing past the last man to score (10th). The Roosters continuing to make metres and gain ascendency found them over again after Blake Ferguson ran a great angle from 10 out, dummying, and the defence falling off gifted Ferguson an easy try (27th). Minutes out from half time an well constructed Raiders attack was finished off with a soft grubber which bounced favorably for Croker who beat the man and dotted down to open the Raiders account. That was all she wrote for the Raiders with the Roosters scoring 3 minutes into the second half, the Raiders defense flat footed and falling for the support runners allowing Jennings to walse over (43rd). Daniel Tupou was next on the board through air supremecy, easily defusing a bomb and crashing over the line (48th). Some smooth footwork from Jennings put him outside of his opposite and he fed Tupou who galloped up the line, feeding Maloney on his inside who ran away to close the game out (69th)

Roosters
Tries – S. Kenny-Dowall, R. Tuivasa-Sheck, B. Ferguson, M. Jennings, D. Tupou, J. Maloney
Con – J. Maloney 5

Raiders
Tries – J. Croker
Con – J. Croker

 

North Queensland Cowboys (18) v (17) Melbourne Storm

 Townsville hosted the final game of the round with the Cowboys facing the Melbourne Storm. The Storm were first to strike with a well constructed move out left seeing Kurt Mann take the overlap and crash through the last man (6th). The Cowboys were hot on a reply with hard yards up the middle and Thurston throwing a ranging cut out pass to Winterstein with the overlap, easily stepping inside to dive over (12th). Koroibete difussed a high bomb will ease and caught the attacking Cowboys off guard as he charged through napping defenders to race 90 meters and score (27th). The Storm hot on attack were over the line again as Kafusi was on the end a well timed shortball 10 out to ease through the defense (34th). Midway through the second half some slick cut out passing and dynamic running from the Cowboys left side attack opened the Storm defence up, Winterstein on the end of it all picking up his second (60th). With 10 to go Cooper Cronk slotted a field goal to put the Storm 7 points ahead (70th). The Cowboys endured and attacked the Storm line searching for a try, catching an overlap out right with Matthew Wright dotting down and Thurston converting to put the Cowboys a point behind (77th). With no pressure 40 out Thurston hit a field goal to put the game into extra time (79th). Sustain pressure into extra time and Thurston was at it again, hitting a similar field goal to give the Cowboys and extra time win (84th).

Cowboys
Tries – A. Winterstein 2, M. Wright
Con – J. Thurston

F/Goal – J. Thurston 2

Storm
Tries – K. Mann, M. Koroibete, F. Kaufusi
Con – C. Smith

F/Goal – C. Cronk

Rugby League: NRL Round 4 Preview

After a promising round of predictions last week, we bring you our NRL Round 4 Preview hoping for a perfect 8.  Check out the rounds matches and teams below:

Parramatta Eels v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Eels – $3.25

Rabbitohs – $1.36

The Eels need all the help they can get in the Round’s opener at Pirtek Stadium.  Home ground advantage will give them a small boost against the Rabbitohs, but’s its unlikely to get them over the line against the best side in the competition.

The Rabbitohs look increasingly like defending champions already after winning their three openers, two of which were against other top 4 contenders.  They’ve lost Dylan Walker for a month through a hand injury but are otherwise at full strength.  They are fortunate to have the best player in the NRL leading their side from fullback, and one of the toughest in Isaac Luke at hooker.

The Rabbits x-factor will be too much for an Eels line-up still missing ‘Semi-trialer’ and a number of other key personnel.  Rabbitohs to win this one by 13+.

Eels: 1. Will Hopoate 2. John Folau 3. Ryan Morgan 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Reece Robinson 6. Corey Norman 7. Chris Sandow 8. Darcy Lussick 9. Nathan Peats 10. Tim Mannah (C) 11. Manu Ma’u 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. Anthony Watmough.

Interchange: 14. Issac De Gois 15. Joseph Paulo 16. Danny Wicks 17. David Gower.

Rabbitohs: 1. Greg Inglis (c) 2. Alex Johnston 3. Daryl Millard 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Joel Reddy 6. Luke Keary 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Issac Luke 10. David Tyrrell 11. Glenn Stewart 12. Chris McQueen 13. Tim Grant

Interchange: 14. Cameron McInnes 15. Jason Clark 16. Chris Grevsmuhl 17. Thomas Burgess 18. Ben Lowe 19. Nathan Brown

West Tigers v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs

Tigers – $3.05

Bulldogs – $1.40

The all Sydney second encounter should be settled in favour of the Superior Bulldogs side.  They have made a good fist of the 2015 season and have plenty of go-forward from their in-form pack, particularly props Tolman and Graham.  The Tigers look a better side in 2015, but still ely too heavily on Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods.  While Tedesco, Moses and Brooks are fine young players and will are all future superstars, they’re all too defensively vulnerable and too easily targeted by opposition teams.

Pat Richards is serving a suspension and won’t play for the Tigers; he’s been replaced by Delouise Hoeter.  Aaron Woods is also a doubtful starter despite being named.

The Bulldogs are unchanged.  We think they’ll win this one, but only by 1-12.  They’re not really big scorers no matter how dominant.

Tigers: 1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5 Delouise Hoeter 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah 10. Keith Galloway 11. Curtis Sironen 12. Sauaso Sue 13. Martin Taupau.

Interchange: 14. Dene Halatau 15. Ava Seumanufagai 16. Jack Buchanan 17. Brenden Santi 18. Kyle Lovett

Bulldogs: 1 Brett Morris 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Tim Lafai 5 Sam Perrett 6 Moses Mbye 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman 9 Michael Lichaa 10 James Graham 11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood.

Interchange: 14 Sam Kasiano 15 David Klemmer 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Tim Browne.

Newcastle Knights v Penrith Panthers

Knights – $2.00

Panthers – $1.85

Second on the NRL ladder plays third in what shapes as an entertaining Saturday afternoon encounter between the Knights and the Panthers.  The Knights are the surprise packages of 2015, winning all three games (one of only two teams to do so).  They are playing an attractive brand of football entering around enterprising centre Dan Gagai.  Gagai is about to be the most sought after property in the player market and Wayne Bennett has already made a play to bring him to the Broncos.

They got a little lucky last week, but will compete strongly again against the Panthers.  The Panthers, like the Knights, had a TMO controversy last week, but this one went against them when Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was denied a freakish try.

Both teams have well-settled squads so this is tricky to pick.  We’ll have Panthers 1-12.

Knights: 1 Kurt Gidley 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale 10 David Fa’alogo 11 Beau Scott 12 Robbie Rochow 13 Jeremy Smith.

Interchange: 14 Tyler Randell 15 Chris Houston 16 Paterika Vaivai 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia.

Panthers: 1. Matt Moylan 2. Josh Mansour 3.Dean Whare 4. Jamal Idris 5. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6. Isaac John 7. Peter Wallace 8. Sam Mckendry 9. James Segeyaro 10. Brent Kite 11. Sika Manu 12. Lewis Brown 13. Elijah Taylor.

Interchange: 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Jeremy Latimore 16. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17. Bryce Cartwright

Cronulla Sharks v Gold Coast Titans

Sharks – $1.52

Titans – $2.60

Cronulla have lost Ben Barba to suspension, but it may be a blessing in disguise for a team who are struggling for points.  Wade Graham will play five-eighth instead, and will be hoping to use the for again Luke Lewis in a similar ball playing role to make it easier. Youngster Jack Bird is on the interchange bench if needed.

The Titans were okay last week.  The TMO cost them dearly, as they didn’t struggle at all with the addition of the drug baron trio.  The Sharks are favourites but the Titans could easily surprise.  If you fancy adding some grunt to your multi this week, seriously consider the Titans.  However, we’ll play it safe and tip the Sharks 1-12.

Sharks: 1 Michael Gordon 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Gerard Beale 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Valentine Holmes 6 Wade Graham 7 Jeff Robson 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Michael Ennis 10 Chris Heighington 11 Jayson Bukuya 12 Anthony Tupou 13 Paul Gallen.

Interchange: 14 Luke Lewis 15 Matt Prior 16 Jack Bird 17 David Fifita 18 Tinirau Arona.

Titans: 1 Josh Hoffman 2 Anthony Don 3 James Roberts 4 William Zillman 5 David Mead 6 Aidan Sezer 7 Kane Elgey 8 Luke Douglas 9 Beau Fallooon 10 Nate Myles 11 Ryan James 12 Dave Taylor 13 Greg Bird.

Interchange: 14 Eddy Pettybourne 15 Matt White 16 Ryan Simpkins 17 Kierran Moseley 18 Agnatius Paasi.

St George Illawarra Dragons v Manly Sea Eagles

Dragons – $2.30

Sea Eagles – $1.65

The worst team of the first two weeks (the Dragons) surprised all last week by sneaking some points against the Raiders in a fast finish.  They need to thank youngster Euan Aitken and experienced frontman Trent Merrin for doing so after the pair put in huge efforts in the second half.  Aitken was a revelation at centre, and he keeps his place after running for more than 200m on debut. Want-away Merrin was also huge and finally gets a start this week with Jack de Belin absent.

They’ll need a similar effort against the always professional Manly side who welcome back Jamie Lyon and Kieran Foran.  Those two will add a huge amount of experience and nous to the side.  The additions should be enough to get them home, by 13+ in our view.

Dragons: 1 Josh Dugan 2 Eto Nabuli 3 Euan Aitken 4 Dylan Farrell 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau 9 Mitch Rein 10 Mike Cooper 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson 13 Trent Merrin.

Interchange: 14 Rory O’Brien 15 Jack de Belin 16 Jake Marketo 17 Heath L’Estrange 20 George Rose.

Sea Eagles: 1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Jamie Lyon 4 Steve Matai 5 Peta Hiku 6 Kieran Foran 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason 11 Feleti Mateo 12 Jamie Buhrer 13 Dunamis Lui.

Interchange: 14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Jake Trbojevic 16 Tom Symonds 17 Ligi Sao 18 Justin Horo.

New Zealand Warriors v Brisbane Broncos

Warriors – $1.67

Broncos – $2.25

The Warriors are slight favourites to pip the Broncos at home in one of the closest games of the round.  Both sides enjoyed relatively comfortable wins last week, with the Broncos in particular looking strong as Ben Hunt finally took a game by the scruff of the neck.

The Warriors youngsters of Kata, Lolohea, Vete and Lisone continue to impress.  But Tomkins is a huge loss at the back of the field.  We feel as though that’s determinative in this one, and that Hunt will take control of the game better than Shaun Johnson will.  Broncos to cause an upset and win by 1-12.

Warriors: 1 Tuimoala Lolohea, 2 Jonathan Wright, 3 Matt Allwood, 4 Solomone Kata, 5 Manu Vatuvei, 6 Chad Townsend, 7 Shaun Johnson, 8 Jacob Lillyman, 9 Thomas Leuluai, 10 Ben Matulino, 11 Bodene Thompson, 12 Ryan Hoffman, 13 Simon Mannering.

Interchange: 14 Nathan Friend, 15 Ben Henry, 16 Sam Lisone, 17 Albert Vete, 18 Dominique Peyroux.

Broncos: 1 Jordan Kahu, 2 Corey Oates, 3 Jack Reed, 4 Justin Hodges, 5 Lachlan Maranta, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Ben Hunt, 8 Josh McGuire, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Adam Blair, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Matt Gillett 13, Corey Parker,

Interchange: 14 Jarrod Wallace, 15 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Sam Thaiday 17 Kodi Nikorima 18 Todd Lowrie

Sydney Roosters v Canberra Raiders

Rossters – $1.16

Raiders – $5.50

The Roosters will be buoyed by Blake Ferguson’s return to form.  He scored two tries last week against the Panthers and looked impressive eon defence and attack.  His form completes the puzzle for the Roosters who look well on their way to a top 4 finish this year.  The interchange strength of the Roosters continues to wow – Kane Evans and Sio Siua Taukeiaho some of the biggest and most exciting forwards in our game.

The Raiders, despite being much improved from last year, can’t quite finish off games.  The win adjacent the Sharks could have been followed up with Warriors and Dragons scalps if their execution had of been better.  they have Jack Wighton back, along with Fensom and Buttriss.

They don’t have a chance though.  Roosters by 13+.

Roosters: 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Blake Ferguson 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce 8 Jared WaereaHargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Isaac Liu

Interchange: 14 Mitchell Aubusson 15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho 18 Willie Manu 19 Lagi Setu

Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Sisa Waqa 3. Jarrod Croker © 4. Edrick Lee 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Mitch Cornish 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Dane Tilse 11. Jarrad Kennedy 12. Iosia Soliola 13. Shaun Fensom

Interchange: 14. Glen Buttriss 15. Frank-Paul Nuuausala 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Shannon Boyd

North Queensland Cowboys v Melbourne Storm

Cowboys – $1.80

Storm – $2.05

A Cowboys side getting no effort from a tired looking forward-pack are desperate to get some competition points before their 2015 chances fade away.  They host the Storm on Monday, and will be hoping LoLo and Thurston can bring their international experience to a squad lacking in direction.  We’d have them use Jake Granville in the starting hooker spot to spark something different than Kostjasyn, but instead they have dropped O’Neil and Feldt for Wright and Winterstein.

No changes to the Storm.  They played nice against the Sharks last week and will prevail the Cowboys too.  Picking an upset here, Storm 1-12.

Cowboys: 1 Lachlan Coote 2 Matthew Wright 3 Tautau Moga 4 Kane Linnett 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston 8 Matthew Scott 9 Rory Kostjasyn 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo.

Interchange: 14 Jake Granville 15 Kelepi Tanginoa 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant 18 John Asiata.

Storm: 1. Billy Slater 2. Young Tonumaipea 3. William Chambers 4. Kurt Mann 5. Marika Koroibete 6. Blake Green 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith (c) 10. Jordan McLean 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane

Interchange: 14. Ryan Hinchcliffe 15. Tim Glasby 16. Dayne Weston 17. Felise Kaufusi 18. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs 19. Hymel Hunt

Odds available at Sportsbet.

Rugby League: NRL Round 3 Preview

The NRL season is now in full flight after a riveting first two rounds of Rugby League action.  Round 3 is set to continue the trend of upsets, crushers, and Brett Morris heroics.   Round 3 also features our worst article introduction.

Check out our NRL Round 3 Preview:

Manly Sea Eagles v Canterbury Bulldogs 

Sea Eagles – $2.05

Bulldogs – $1.80

The Bulldogs are slight favourites to get the better of Manly in the round’s opener at Brookvale.  The Bulldogs have played exactly as you would expect; ruthless, disciplined and favouring solid defence patterns over expansive attacking plays.  The approach has led them to one win and one loss thus far.  The loss coming in close fashion against the impressive Panthers.  The Bulldogs are also enjoying a settled line-up with just Josh Reynolds facing time off.

The Sea Eagles are also one and one.  A win last week against arch rivals the Storm atoning for a weak effort against the Eels in round one.  The win against the Storm was delivered by the experienced trio of Cheery-Evans, Matai and Lyon; all stepping up to help during a minor injury crisis.  The crisis does have a silver lining.  Feleti Mateo gets to show off his ball skills at five-eighth and the promising Jake Trbojevic gets to show off his ability.

We’ve gone Bulldogs 1-12.

Sea Eagles: 1 Brett Stewart 2 Cheyse Blair 3 Jamie Lyon (c) 4 Steve Matai 5 Peta Hiku 6 Feleti Mateo 7 Daly Cherry-Evans 8 Luke Burgess 9 Matt Ballin 10 Willie Mason 11 Jamie Buhrer 12 Tom Symonds 13 Dunamis Lui.

Interchange: 14 Jesse Sene-Lefao 15 Blake Leary 16 Jake Trbojevic 17 Ligi Sao 18 Justin Horo.

Bulldogs: 1 Brett Morris 2 Curtis Rona, 3 Josh Morris 4 Tim Lafai 5 Sam Perrett 6 Moses Mbye 7 Trent Hodkinson 8 Aiden Tolman 9 Michael Lichaa 10 James Graham (c) 11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood

Interchange: 14 Sam Kasiano 15 David Klemmer 16 Frank Pritchard 17 Tim Browne 18 Lloyd Perrett.

Brisbane Broncos v North Queensland Cowboys

Broncos – $1.94

Cowboys – $1.90

The Queensland derby is in danger of being a Broncos boiler.  Not for the form of the Broncos, but for the woeful start the nervy Cowboys have made with three time Dally M Medal winner and captain Johnathan Thurston uncharacteristically uncertain.  The Broncs have one win to their names, but have at least improved slightly from week to week as Hunt and Milford find out more about each other’s games.  Their also likely to get more out of origin stars Corey Parker and Matt Gillett as they build into the season and get accustomed to following Wayne Bennett’s new Brisbane vision.

We expect them to beat North Queensland by 13+.  Mainly due to the horrific form of the Cowboys outside backs and halves.  They’ve turned to Lachlan Coote at fullback and asked Michael Morgan to replace Robert Lui at five-eighth.  It won’t have an impact in our view.  They’ll slump to 0-3 and in straight to panic mode.

Broncos: 1 Jordan Kahu 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 Justin Hodges (c) 5 Lachlan Maranta 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Adam Blair 11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett 13 Corey Parker

Interchange: 14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Jo Ofahengaue 16 Sam Thaiday 17 Kodi Nikorima

Cowboys: 1 Lachlan Coote 2 Justin O’Neill 3 Matthew Wright 4 Kane Linnett 5 Kyle Feldt 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c) 9 Rory Kostjasyn 10 Ben Hannant 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo

Interchange: 14 Jake Granville 15 Kelepi Tanginoa 16 Scott Bolton 17 James Tamou 18 John Asiata

New Zealand Warriors v Parramatta Eels

Warriors – $1.38

Eels – $3.05

Mt Smart gets its first look at the 2015 Warriors when New Zealand hosts the Ells on Saturday afternoon.  The locals will see a vastly different Warriors outfit with some unfamiliar names that are turning out to be real superstars.  Sam Lisone and Albert Vete are names for the future.  They have both made an immediate contribution to a squad that was short of a couple of their household names.  So much so, Sam Rapira has signed to play in the Super League, presumably understanding Lisone and Vete are the future.

The Warriors are favourites after picking up a win in Canberra last week.  However, the money on the Eels will no doubt prove attractive for some who witnessed the first round domination they inflicted on the Sea Eagles.  Sandow’s the key.  He plays well against the Warriors and should have some decent memory bank ammunition to kickstart his side into contention.

Last year, the teams thrashed each other at home.  That’s why we’ll give the Warriors the win on account of the home advantage.  Warriors 13+.

Warriors: 1. Sam Tomkins 2. Jonathan Wright 3. Tuimoala Lolohea 4. Solomone Kata 5. Manu Vatuvei 6. Chad Townsend 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Jacob Lillyman 9. Thomas Leuluai 10. Ben Matulino 11. Bodene Thompson 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Simon Mannering (C).

Interchange: 14. Nathan Friend 15. Ben Henry 16. Sam Lisone 17. Albert Vete 18. Matt Allwood (One to be omitted).

Eels: 1. Will Hopoate 2. Vai Toutai 3. Ryan Morgan 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Reece Robinson 6. Corey Norman 7. Chris Sandow 8. Darcy Lussick 9. Nathan Peats 10. Tim Mannah 11. Manu Ma’u 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. Anthony Watmough

Interchange: 14. Isaac De Gois 15. Joseph Paulo 16. Danny Wicks 17. David Gower

Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons

Raiders – $1.60

Dragons – $2.35

Two rounds into the competition these two sides have accumulated 38 points collectively at an average of just 9.5 points a game.  The Raiders contribute 30 of those and the Dragons just 8.  Thus, we wouldn’t expect this match to be a cracker.

The Dragons points problem are not their halves doing.  They have no go forward from their forward pack. They need more out of Frizell, Ah Mau and Merrin.  They need to give Widdop and Marshall more opportunity to control the game.

For the Raiders, who look to be the most improved team in the competition, they need to reduce their error count if they are to pick up two more completion points.  Without all the errors last week against the Warriors they might have had more of a chance of releasing Wighton and Soliola down the left hand side.  Unfortunately, Wighton is out with injury in a blow for the Raiders.  They should still win though.  Raiders 1-12.  Opt to read about this one rather than watch it live.

Raiders: 1 Jordan Rapana, 2 Sisa Waqa, 3 Jarrod Croker (c), 4 Jarrad Kennedy, 5 Edrick Lee, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Mitchell Cornish, 8 Shannon Boyd, 9 Josh Hodgson, 10 Dane Tilse, 11 Josh Papalii,12 Iosia Soliola, 13 Shaun Fensom

Interchange: 14 Josh McCrone, 15 Frank-Paul Nuuausala, 16 Paul Vaughan, 17 Luke Bateman

Dragons: 1 Peter Mata’utia, 2 Etonia Nabuli, 3 Dane Nielsen, 4 Dylan Farrell, 5 Jason Nightingale (c), 6 Gareth Widdop, 7 Benji Marshall, 8 Leeson Ah Mau, 9 Mitch Rein, 10 George Rose, 11 Tyson Frizell, 12 Joel Thompson, 13 Jack de Belin

Interchange: 14 Trent Merrin, 15 Heath L’Estrange, 16 Rory O’Brien, 17 Mike Cooper, 19 Jake Marketo

Melbourne Storm v Cronulla Sharks

Storm – $1.28

Sharks – $3.65

Apparently the Sharks season ticket holders haven’t received their seat passes this years despite playing two games at home this season.  Fortunately, they needn’t worry this week as Melbourne hosts them at AAMI park where there is no chance of something similar happening to the Storm fans.  There’s also no chance of a Sharks win.

The match will be one of the most interesting forward battles of the whole season.  Gallen and Fifita against Procter and Bromwich, with Smith, Finucane, Graham and Ennis thrown in their too.  The bruising battle up front might take away from the action outside them, though will likely settle the match either way.

Huge pressure on Ben Barba to front this week.  His place looks like going to Jack Bird if he’s a passenger through another 80 minutes.  Storm 1-12 in a low scorer.

Melbourne: 1. Billy Slater 2. Young Tonumaipea 3. Will Chambers 4. Kurt Mann 5. Marika Koroibete 6. Blake Green 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane

Interchange: 14. Ryan Hinchcliffe 15. Tim Glasby 16. Dayne Weston 18. Tom Learoyd-Lahrs

Cronulla: 1. Michael Gordon 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Gerard Beale 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Ben Barba 7. Jeff Robson 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Michael Ennis 10. Sam Tagataese 11. Jayson Bukuya 12. Wade Graham 13. Paul Gallen

Intercharge: 14. Matt Prior 15. Chris Heighington 16. Anthony Tupou 17. David Fifita 18. Luke Lewis 19. Tinirau Arona

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Wests Tigers

Rabbitohs – $1.22

Tigers – $4.25

The NRL frontrunners are overwhelming favourites to make it three from three to start the season when they meet the West Tigers in the first of the Sunday action.  The all conquering Rabbitohs (NRL, Nines, World Club, Arizona Night Life) will look to inflict the first loss of the season on a young Tigers side that is building nicely under Jason Taylor with Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses at the helm.

No injury issues for either side, therefore, form will give the best indication of the winner.  Almost impossible to argue with the form of the Rabbits.  We can see them using George Burgess and the rest of the forward pack to run at Luke Brooks all day; inflicting serious pain.  Bunnies 13+.

Rabbitohs: 1 Greg Inglis 2 Alex Johnston 3 Dylan Walker 4 Bryson Goodwin 5 Joel Reddy 6 Luke Keary 7 Adam Reynolds 8 George Burgess 9 Issac Luke 10 Dave Tyrrell 11. Glenn Stewart 12 John Sutton 13 Chris McQueen

Interchange: 14 Chris Grevsmuhl 15 Jason Clark 16 Ben Lowe 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Tim Grant 19 Cameron McInnes 20 Darryl Millard.

Tigers: 1 James Tedesco 2 Kevin Naiqama 3 Tim Simona 4 Chris Lawrence 5. Pat Richards 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods 9 Robbie Farah 10 Keith Galloway 11. Curtis Sironen 12 Sauaso Sue 13 Martin Taupau

Interchange: 14 Dene Halatau 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Matthew Lodge 17 Brendan Santi 18 Lamar Liolevave.

Gold Coast Titans v Newcastle Knights

Titans -$2.15

Knights – $1.70

Another of the “avoid” games of the round gets slightly more interesting thanks to the return of drug barons Beau Falloon, Dave Taylor and Greg Bird.  The three previously suspended stars get their first chance of the season and will be looking to make an immediate impact for the winless Titans.

The Titans have been conceding points for fun in the two outings this season, and they won’t get any respite from surprise packages the Knights on Sunday.  In Gagai and Leilua the Knights have two of the form centres in the competition, both capable of destroying any opposition flank defence, especially one welcoming back three new faces into their setup.

Close game predicted, but we’ll go the Knights to get another 1-12 win.

Titans: 1 Josh Hoffman, 2 Anthony Don, 3 James Roberts, 4 William Zillman, 5 David Mead, 6 Aiden Sezer, 7 Daniel Mortimer, 8 Luke Douglas, 9 Beau Falloon, 10 Nate Myles, 11 Ryan James, 12 Dave Taylor, 13 Greg Bird.

Interchange: 14 Eddy Pettybourne, 15 Matt White, 16 Ryan Simpkins, 17 Kierran Moseley

Knights: 1 Kurt Gidley 2 James McManus 3 Dane Gagai 4 Joey Leilua 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Tyrone Roberts 8 Kade Snowden 9 Adam Clydsdale 10 Korbin Sims 11 Beau Scott 12 Robbie Rochow 13 Jeremy Smith.

Interchange: 14 Tyler Randell 15 Chris Houston 16 David Fa’alogo 17 Jack Stockwell 18 Sione Mata’utia.

Sydney Roosters v Penrith Panthers

Roosters – $1.42

Panthers – $2.85

The third round finale should be the game of the season.  It’s a shame it’s been scheduled for a Monday and the crowds might not give it the attention it warrants.  If any club can get numbers through a Monday gate though its Sydney.  Their membership is booming and they’re again looking like genuine title contenders.  So too are Penrith however; looking mightily handy in two unbeaten rounds.

Penrith’s strong squad gets a boost from the retuning man-beast Josh Mansour, coming on to the wing at the expense of youngster George Jennings, and offsetting the loss of Jamie Soward.  Penrith’s unity will allow Sowards’ replacement Isaac John to settle in seamlessly and assist Peter Wallace to steer the ship.

It will need to be manoeuvred well too; the Roosters are incredibly strong 1 through 17.  We’ll give it to the Roosters by 1-12.

Roosters: 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Michael Jennings 4 Blake Ferguson 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6 James Maloney 7 Mitchell Pearce 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9 Matt McIlwrick 10 Sam Moa 11 Boyd Cordner 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Isaac Liu.

Interchange : Mitchell Aubusson 15 Dylan Napa 16 Kane Evans 17 Sio Siua Taukeiaho 18 Willie Manu 19 Martin Kennedy.

Panthers: 1 Matt Moylan 2 Josh Mansour 3 Dean Whare 4 Jamal Idris 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6 Isaac John 7 Peter Wallace 8 Sam McKendry 9 James Segeyaro 10 Brent Kite 11 Sika Manu 12 Lewis Brown 13 Elijah Taylor.

Interchange: 14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Jeremy Latimore 16 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 17 Bryce Cartwright.

Round 3 Mutli

A $1 multi on the above predictions will return the following:

Head to Head = $28.68

Margin = $1209

Odds available at CrownBet (formerly BetEasy)

Rugby League: NRL Round 1 Review

The first week of NRL action featured plenty of rust, and more than a few surprises.

The Rabbitohs, Roosters and Panthers look head and shoulders over the others in the competition, but it’s unfair to make rash comments like that this early in the season.  It’s not rash to quit Fantasy NRL after one week though.  598 points (including 11 to Milford and 20 to Josh Jackson) warrants quitting.

Here’s how the round played out:

Brisbane Broncos (6) v South Sydney Rabbitohs (36)

The year’s season opener was an unexpected boilover as last years champions eased past a disappointing Brisbane side at Suncorp.  Led by the astute direction and expert goal kicking of Adam Reynolds, the Bunnies were the better side throughout and chalked up their first two points without a hint of fuss.

Glenn Stewart’s ball playing abilities added versatility to an already strong side, indicating that the Rabbits will again be tough to beat.  Test players Dylan Walker and Greg Inglis both got on the scoresheet, while the Broncs were left to rue ill-discipline and a stuttering halves pairing of Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford – desperately lacking cohesion in their first outing together.

Parramatta Eels (42) v Manly Sea Eagles (12)

Anthony Watmough’s grudge match against his old club was not nearly as brutal as experts predicted.  Instead, the Eels overwhelmingly got the better of the injury hit Sea Eagles, who appear to be on the brink of an internal halves crisis with rumours swirling around both Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans.

The enigmatic Chris Sandow was brilliant for the Eels, as was Semi Radradra who bagged the first hat-trick of the season.  Will Hopoate took over from Jarryd Hayne with aplomb; leading raids into Sea Eagles territory often, and showing some positive signs with his defensive reads.

In a word, Manly were, useless.

Newcastle Knights (24) v New Zealand Warriors (14)

More of the same for the frustrating New Zealand outfit.  The Warriors butchered a nice start, and a dominating share of possession to go scoreless in the second half and gift Newcastle two competition points.

The Warriors had positives in the performances of youngsters Kata, Lolohea, and Lisone, but will be dreadfully disappointed with their poor completion rate, poor fifth tackle kicking options and soft one and one defence.

For the Knights, Joey Leilua was dangerous with ball in hand and Tyler Randell played nicely from the bench.  They’ll still feel as though they escaped with points from this one though.

Gold Coast Titans (18) v Wests Tigers (19)

The Titans put to the side and incredibly challenging buildup, and a host of unavailable players to surprise many with a  fighting effort adjacent the West Tigers.  Pat Richards slotted a late field goal to complete a greedy individual haul for him and a win for his side.

Earlier, the James’ were dominating the scoring.  James Roberts had two tries for the Titans,  Ryan James also crossed the line, and walking sick note James Tedesco dotted over for the Tigers.

Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods were in the thick of everything for the visitors, while the Titans just want their players to return from a long pool game.

North Queensland Cowboys (4) v Sydney Roosters (28)

We predicted a Roosters win, but the manner and margin still surprised us.  That’s factoring in many people’s predictions that 2015 is the year of the Cowboys.

The Roosters proved Sonny Bill Williams wasn’t the key to their NRL success, with a complete team performance capped off by a memorable Mitchell Pearce showing.  They still look an excellent side and with Guerra and Cordner picking up the SBW slack, they will go along way.

The Cowboys shouldn’t play this badly again; Jonathan Thurston certainly won’t.  So don’t hit the panic button just yet if you’re a Cowboys fan or have Thurston in your fantasy team.

Penrith Panthers (24) v Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (18)

Penrith were incredible for 60 minutes; the Bulldogs were good for twenty minutes.  The net result was a close win to the Panthers in a difficult first round match.

After building their squad, their experience and confidence over the past two season under Ivan Clearly, the Panthers are now genuine title contenders, and displayed their credentials in an efficient first 60 minutes.  They’ll be smarting they gave the Bulldogs a sniff but pleased they withheld the fast finishers.

Individually, James Segeyaro has carried on his form from last season’s playoffs; George Jennings justified the hype; and for the Doggies, Brett Morris was impressive in joining his brother at the club.

Cronulla Sharks (20) v Canberra Raiders (24)

Canberra’s win was a little surprising to tell the truth, but thoroughly deserved in a close encounter with the Cronulla Sharks.  Jack Wighton was the star of the show, both for his electric running that led to two tries and his almighty haymaker aimed at Sosaia Feki.  The young fullback was involved in everything, and although lucky to escape sanction for the punch (don’t the NRL have a one punch rule?), his performance suggests he’ll be a Dally M smokey this year.

Fifita and Gallend were excellent for the Sharks as they so often are, however, Ben Barba failed to find opportunities in the number 6 jersey.  The kindest thing we can say about Barba’s performance was that he was on the field.  I’m calling the fullback to number 6 failed experiments – the Lockyer curse.

St George-Illawarra Dragons (4) v Melbourne Storm (12)

Just the 16 points in a pretty dour encounter at Jubilee Oval.

The less said about this game the better.  Although we were pleased for former hotel porter Eto Nabuli crossing for a try on debut.

The statistic that sums up how much of an arm wrestle this match was is the tackle count of the two hookers; Cameron Smith had 48; Mitch Rein had 47.

Don’t expect either of these sides to set your pulse racing this season.