Parramatta Eels v Cronulla Sharks 5.35pm at Parramatta Stadium on Saturday evening
Head to head: Played 62, Sharks 32, Eels 30.
Last clash: Parramatta 74 bt Cronulla 4
(Parramatta Stadium, Rd 24 2003)
TAB: Eels $1.45, Sharks $2.60.
Oh, the memories. The last time these sides met the Sharks had a meltdown, losing 74-4. It ranks as one of the lowest days in the club's history.
They've had their share of problems this year as well under coach Stu Raper but scored an impressive win over Canberra at their most recent outing.
The Eels
will be keeping their fingers crossed that Nathan Hindmarsh backs
up from Friday night's test. Hindmarsh was been a one-man wrecking
machine this
season.
Key: Hindmarsh. If he backs up the Eels are favourites, if not it's an even-money bet.
Eels: 1. Luke Burt, 2. Matt Petersen, 3. Junior Langi, 4. David Vaealiki, 5. Eric Grothe, 6. Daniel Wagon, 7. Adam Dykes, 8. Adam Peek, 9. John Morris, 10. Craig Stapleton, 11. Nathan Hindmarsh, 12. Nathan Cayless (capt.), 13. Luke O'Dwyer. Interchange: James Webster, Chris Armit, Dean Widders, Justin Tsoulos, Ronald Prince (one to be omitted)
Sharks: 1. David Peachey, 2. David Simmons, 3. Nigel Vagana, 4. Phil Bailey, 5. Matt Rieck, 6. Mat Hilder, 7. Brett Kimmorley (capt.), 8. Jason Stevens, 9. Pat Gibson, 10. Danny Nutley, 11. Paul Gallen, 12. Andrew Lomu, 13. Daniel Dumas. Interchange: Jason Williams, Sam Isemonger, Matt Bickerstaff, Michael Sullivan, Reece Williams, Chris Beattie (two to be omitted).
Referee: Steve Lyons
Tip: Eels by 4
Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights 7.35pm at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night
Head to head: Played 20, Raiders 12, Knights 7,
Drawn 1.
Last clash: Canberra 24 bt Newcastle 16 (Canberra
Stadium, Rd 24, 2003)
TAB: Raiders $1.38, Knights $2.85
This is an important game for both sides. The Raiders are coming off a disappointing performance against Cronulla and they'll be without Wiki, who was suspended by the NRL judiciary on Wednesday night.
Troy Thompson is likely to come into the squad. The Knights have several players backing up from the test while captain Ben Kennedy (hamstring) is racing against time to be fit. If he plays, this could be a lot closer than people expect.
Key: The Raiders should be too strong at home.
Raiders: 1. Clinton Schifcofske, 2. Joel Monaghan,
3. James Evans, 4. Adam Mogg, 5. Michael Robertson, 6. Mark
McLinden, 7. Brad Drew, 8. Ryan O'Hara, 9. Simon Woolford (capt.),
10. Luke Davico, 11. Ruben Wiki, 12. Michael Hodgson, 13. Ian
Hindmarsh. Interchange: Tyran Smith, Jason Bulgarelli, Ben Cross,
Terry Martin, Troy Thompson, Josh Miller. (two to be omitted)
Knights: 1. Robbie O'Davis, 2. Craig Hall, 3. Matthew Gidley, 4. Timana Tahu, 5. George Carmont, 6. Steven Witt, 7. Kurt Gidley, 8. Josh Perry, 9. Danny Buderus, 10. Adam Woolnough, 11. Clint Newton, 12. Daniel Abraham, 13. Ben Kennedy (capt.). Interchange: Matt Parsons, Matthew Kennedy, Andrew Price, Todd Lowrie, Michael Ennis (one to be omitted)
Referee: Paul Simpkins
Tip: Raiders by 8
Melbourne Storm v North Queensland Cowboys 7.35pm at Olympic Park on Saturday night
Head to head: Played 10, Storm 8, Cowboys 2.
Last clash: Melbourne 22 bt North Queensland 16
(Olympic Park, Rd 18, 2003)
TAB: Storm $1.25, Cowboys $3.60.
Melbourne looks to be hitting its straps thanks to the incredible form of halfback Matt Orford. `Ox' has been outstanding this season and could tear the Cowboys apart.
He'll have Matt Geyer to help him this weekend, with the former NSW winger making his return from a knee injury.
The Cowboys have looked good the past two weeks.
Winger Matt Sing and prop Paul Rauhihi will want big games after being snubbed by representative selectors.
"Last year when we went to North Queensland Matty Sing tore us apart scoring a hat-trick and Rauhihi did a number on us down here at Olympic Park later in the season, so we know what they're capable of," Geyer said.
Key: Orford. Can the Cowboys stop him?
Storm: 1. Billy Slater, 2. Matt Geyer, 3. Steven Bell, 4. Matt King, 5. Dustin Cooper, 6. Scott Hill, 7. Matt Orford, 8. Robbie Kearns, 9. Cameron Smith, 10. Alex Chan, 11. Peter Robinson, 12. Stephen Kearney (capt.), 13. David Kidwell. Interchange: Danny Williams, Kirk Reynoldson, Dallas Johnson, Ryan Hoffman, Robert Tanielu, Rodney Howe, Glen Turner, Antonio Kaufusi (four to be omitted).
Cowboys: 1. Matt Bowen, 2. Ty Williams, 3. Josh
Hannay, 4. Paul Bowman, 5. Matt
Sing, 6. Chris Sheppard, 7. Nathan Fien, 8. Paul Rauhihi, 9. Aaron
Payne, 10. Jamie
McDonald, 11. Kevin Campion, 12. Glenn Morrison, 13. Travis Norton
(capt.).
Interchange: Micheal Luck, Luke O'Donnell, Mitchell Sargent, Shane
Tronc, Brenton Bowen. (one to be omitted)
Referee: Jason Robinson
Tip:
Storm by 6
Brisbane Brocnos v Penrith Panthers 2.35pm at Suncorp
Stadium on Sunday afternoon
Head to head: Played 31, Broncos 21, Panthers
10.
Last clash: Penrith 28 bt Brisbane 18 (Penrith
Stadium, qualifying final, 2003).
TAB: Broncos $1.65, Storm $2.15.
The winner of this match is likely to be determined by how well each side's players pull up from the test match.
Both are
heavily represented in Newcastle and an injury to a key player on
Friday
night could be the deciding factor.
After a shaky start, the Broncos have hit white-hot form and once again look a premiership force.
Penrith looked shellshocked when the Dragons rolled them last week but have the wood on the Broncos, having beaten them in their past two matches.
Key: Who backs up best from the test.
Broncos: 1. Karmichael Hunt, 2. Michael De Vere, 3. Brent Tate, 4. Shaun Berrigan, 5. Craig Frawley, 6. Darren Lockyer, 7. Brett Seymour, 8. Shane Webcke, 9. Barry Berrigan, 10. Corey Parker, 11. Gorden Tallis (capt.), 12. Dane Carlaw, Tonie Carroll. Interchange: Sam Thaiday, Brad Meyers, Darren Mapp, Casey McGuire, Motu Tony, Tom Learoyd (two to be omitted)
Panthers: 1. Rhys Wesser, 2. Amos Roberts, 3. Ryan Girdler, 4. Luke Lewis, 5. Luke Rooney, 6. Preston Campbell, 7. Craig Gower (capt.), 8. Joel Clinton, 9. Luke Priddis, 10. Martin Lang, 11. Joe Galuvao, 12. Tony Puletua, 13. Trent Waterhouse. Interchange: Ben Ross, Shane Rodney, Frank Pritchard, Paul Whatuira, Luke Swain, Danny Galea.
Referee: Tony Archer
Tip: Panthers by 2
St George Illawarra Dragons v Sydney Roosters 3.05pm at Aussie Stadium on Sunday afternoon
Head to head: Played 10, Dragons 5, Roosters 4,
Drawn 1.
Last clash: Dragons 24 bt Roosters 20 (Aussie
Stadium, Rd 7, 2003).
TAB: Dragons $2.20, Roosters $1.60.
This match will be played for the ANZAC Cup. St George Illawarra's surprisingly comfortable win over Penrith was their best performance in a long time.
This game is absolutely crucial for them if they are to shake off the "inconsistent" tag.
The Roosters had a tougher match against Newcastle last week than the 10-point scoreline would suggest and are looking for a second win on the trot after three losses.
The battle in the centres shapes as intriguing - Gasnier and Cooper against Hodges and Cross.
Key: The halves match-up, pitting Barrett and Head against Fittler and Finch.
Dragons: 1. Ben Hornby, 2. Nathan Blacklock, 3. Mark Gasnier, 4. Matt Cooper, 5. Reece Simmonds, 6. Trent Barrett (capt.), 7. Mathew Head, 8. Luke Bailey, 9. Mark Riddell, 10. Brent Kite, 11. Dean Young, 12. Lance Thompson, 13. Shaun Timmins. Interchange: Ashton Sims, Justin Poore, Michael Howell, Lincoln Withers, Ben Creagh, Ryan Powell (two to be omitted).
Roosters: 1. Anthony Minichiello, 2. Todd Byrne, 3. Ryan Cross, 4. Justin Hodges, 5. Chris Walker, 6. Brad Fittler (capt.), 7. Brett Finch, 8. Peter Cusack, 9. Michael Crocker, 10. Ned Catic, 11. Adrian Morley, 12. Chris Flannery, 13. Luke Ricketson. Interchange: Chad Robinson, Anthony Tupou, Jason Cayless, George Rose, Heath L'estrange (one to be omitted).
Referee: Steve Clark
Tip: Dragons by 2
Wests Tigers v Manly Sea Eagles 3.05pm at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday afternoon
Head to head: Played 2, Tigers 1, Sea Eagles 1.
Last clash: Manly 38 bt Wests Tigers 30
(Leichhardt Oval, Rd 13, 2003)
TAB: Tigers $1.52, Sea Eagles $2.40.
Manly is improving, inching ever closer to its second victory, but the Sea Eagles simply cannot keep giving away starts.
They must
also cut down on the number of mistakes - handling errors
heavily
contributed to last weekend's defeat by Parramatta.
The Wests
Tigers are a team that relies on momentum, so the fact they are
coming off the bye does not inspire confidence.
Coach
Tim
Sheens has reshuffled the side that was flogged by St George
Illawarra two
weeks ago.
The biggest change involves swapping Scott Prince and Ben Reynolds in the halves. Prince has been searching for form this year and the switch to five-eighth may do him good.
Key: Defence. Neither team has a great defensive record, so whichever team muscles up in that area is likely to get the two points.
Tigers: 1. Brett Hodgson, 2. Jason Moodie, 3. John Wilson, 4. Shane Elford, 5. Daniel Fitzhenry, 6. Scott Prince, 7. Ben Reynolds, 8. Bryce Gibbs, 9. Robbie Mears, 10. John Skandalis, 11. Nick Graham, 12. Mark O'Neill, 13. Scott Sattler (capt.). Interchange: Robbie Farah, Chris Paterson, Ben Galea, Anthony Laffranchi, Dene Halatau, Jeff Lima (two to be omitted)
Sea Eagles: 1. Andrew Walker, 2. Scott Donald, 3. Albert Torrens, 4. Luke Williamson, 5. Chris Hicks, 6. Jye Mullane, 7. Michael Monoghan, 8. Daniel Heckenberg, 9. Chad Randall, 10. Kylie Leuluai, 11. Sam Harris, 12. Anthony Watmough, 13. Steve Menzies (capt.). Interchange: Solomon Haumono, Kane Cleal, Nathan Tutt, Shayne Dunley, Glenn Stewart, Ian Donnelly, Brett Stewart (three to be omitted).
Referee: Tim Mander
Tip: Tigers by 4
South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canterbury Bulldogs 3.05pm at
Aussie Stadium on Monday afternoon
Head to head: Played 129, Bulldogs 66, Rabbitohs
60, Drawn 3.
Last clash: Bulldogs 62 bt Souths 12 at Aussie
Stadium (Aussie Stadium, Rd 21, 2003)
TAB: Rabbitohs $7.50, Bulldogs $1.07.
Two weeks is a long time in rugby league - just ask South Sydney.
The Rabbitohs were in a share of the competition lead after round four, but successive losses have dropped them down the ladder.
The loss of star-recruit Adam MacDougall is a massive blow to the bunnies, the former test winger would have pushed for an international re-call had he not snapped his achillies tendon last weekend.
The Bulldogs have settled into some good football and the likes of Willie Mason and Braith Anasta would like to remind the test selectors that they were once rated good enough for international football.
Key: Can the Rabbitohs' defence stiffen up again?
Rabbitohs: 1. Brad Watts, 2. Luke MacDougall, 3. Lee Hookey, 4. Shane Marteene, 5. Damon Alley-Tovio, 6. Jamie Russo, 7. Willie Peters, 8. Luke Stuart, 9. Jason Death, 10. David Fa'alogo, 11. Mark Minichiello, 12. Shane Rigon, 13. Ashley Harrison (capt.). Interchange: Justin Smith, Brett Kearney, Glenn Hall, Willie Manu, Steve Skinnon, Mark Leafa (two to be omitted).
Bulldogs: 1. Luke Patten, 2. Hazem El Masri, 3. Jamaal Lolesi, 4. Willie Tonga, 5. Matt Utai, 6. Braith Anasta, 7. Brent Sherwin, 8. Mark O'Meley, 9. Adam Perry, 10. Steve Price (capt.), 11. Willie Mason, 12. Andrew Ryan, 13. Tony Grimaldi. Interchange: Reni Maitua, Roy Asotasi, Sonny-Bill Williams, Jamie Feeney.
Referee: Shayne Hayne
Tip: Bulldogs by 14
