The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles will host South Sydney Rabbitohs for their second game of the 2017 season at Lottoland this Saturday afternoon.
The Manly Sea Eagles have two suspended players Martin Taupau and Addin Fonua- Blake with Lloyd Perrett suffering from injury. Nate Myles will start at prop and Shaun Lane and Jarrad Kennedy join the bench.
South Sydney Rabbitohs have lost their fullback Greg Inglis to an ACL injury and Alex Johnston has been named to start at fullback. Adam Reynolds who has a small chance of making a return has also been named.
Last Time Out
The last time these two teams went head to was at Allianz Stadium for round 20 where Manly defeated South Sydney 20-12.
Manly will be without retired captain Jamie Lyon who scored the opening try in the game at Allianz. Tom Trbojevic also starred in Manly’s win last year and will be hoping to do the same again in front of a home crowd.
To jog your memory, it was a controversial game last year when these two teams played each other. Rabbitoh’s player Joe Burgess looked to score a try but it was turned down by the video referee which many disagreed with so hopefully this game has less controversy and the winners are praised for their effort on the field.
Both teams will be looking to win their first game of the season.
Key Battle
The key battle in this match will be between the two fullbacks.
Tom Trbojevic will be fired up in front of his home crowd and will want to impress with his speed and agility in the number one jersey. Tom ran a total of 139 metres last week against the Parramatta Eels which is a huge effort and was the most run in the Manly side.
Alex Johnston has big shoes to fill, replacing injured Greg Inglis as South’s fullback on the weekend. The 22-year-old will be looking to make an impact especially due to the key role he needs to play in the number one jersey. In only his third season in the NRL he will be hoping to assist his side get their first victory of the season.
Prediction
With the Rabbitoh’s losing experience in Greg Inglis I think they will struggle.
Manly will be out to prove their determination in front of a home ground and will be hungry for victory. It will be a close contest but Manly by 6.
Squads
Sea Eagles: 1 Tom Trbojevic, 2 Jorge Taufua, 3 Dylan Walker, 4 Brian Kelly, 5 Akuila Uate, 6 Blake Green, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans, 8 Brenton Lawrence, 9 Api Koroisau, 10 Nate Myles, 11 Frank Winterstein, 12 Curtis Sironen, 13 Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14 Cameron Cullen, 15 Lewis Brown, 16 Jarrad Kennedy, 17 Shaun Lane 18 Jonathan Wright, 19 Jackson Hastings, 20 Matthew Wright, 21 Billy Bainbridge
Rabbitohs: 1. Alex Johnston 2. Braidon Burns 3. Hymel Hunt 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Bryson Goodwin 6. Cody Walker 7. Luke Kelly 8. Zane Musgrove 9. Robbie Farah 10. David Tyrrell 11. John Sutton 12. Kyle Turner 13. Sam Burgess 14. Damien Cook 15. Jason Clark 16. Angus Crichton 17. Robbie Rochow 18. Robert Jennings 19. Anthony Cherrington 20. George Burgess 21. Adam Reynolds
