Chris Rooney previews the Sea Eagles vs Rabbitohs match at Brookvale. Both teams are coming off round one losses and will be looking to bounce back ….. This is what we have to look forward to.
Embed from Getty ImagesTEAM NEWS
Venue: Lottoland, Date: 20/3, Time: 5:30pm (local)
Sea Eagles Team
- Dylan Walker
- Jason Saab
- Brad Parker
- Moses Suli
- Reuben Garrick
- Kieran Foran
- Daly Cherry-Evans
- Josh Aloiai
- Lachlan Croker
- Martin Taupau
- Andrew Davey
- Curtis Sironen
- Jake Trbojevic
- Cade Cust
- Jack Gosiewski
- Sean Keppie
- Taniela Paseka
- Josh Schuster
- Tevita Funa
- Toafofoa Sipley
- Morgan Harper
Team Changes
IN: Cade Cust, John Schuster, Morgan Harper, Sean Keppie, Toafofoa Sipley
OUT: Morgan Boyle
Rabbitohs Team
- Latrell Mitchell
- Alex Johnston
- Dane Gagai
- Campbell Graham
- Jaxson Paulo
- Cody Walker
- Adam Reynolds
- Thomas Burgess
- Damien Cook
- Tevita Tatola
- Keaon Koloamatangi
- Jaydn Su’A
- Cameron Murray
- Benji Marshall
- Mark Nicholls
- Patrick Mago
- Jai Arrow
- Liam Knight
- Tautau Moga
- Josh Mansour
- Jacob Host
Team Changes
IN: Jaxson Paulo, Liam Knights, Patrick Mago, Tautau Moga
OUT: n/a
Referee: Gerard Sutton
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Sea Eagles
Embed from Getty ImagesWhere do we begin with Manly? Their round one performance last week against the Roosters was pathetic in every regard. You generally expect every team to be up for round one, but they just carried on where they left off last year, leaking points and losing big. They lost the battle in the middle last week and their edge players had no idea how to stop the Roosters’ backline. They are lucky that James Tedesco isn’t good at everything, as he missed a few goals: otherwise they’d have had close to 50 scored against them. Des Hasler has extended his contract with Manly for another two years and will need to make some big changes in the next coming weeks if they continue to leak as many points as they have been.
Rabbitohs
Embed from Getty ImagesEven in defeat last week, South Sydney looked good when they held onto the ball. The amount of drop balls they gifted Melbourne was a huge reason why they lost. It’s quite simple for Souths: hold onto the ball, let the middles run forward, give the ball to Cody Walker and then to Latrell Mitchell. Simple, right? Souths have the ability to score points at will but will need to play smarter and control their handling a lot better this week. Jai Arrow deserves a mention from the massive impact he had for Souths last week, coming off the bench and running for nearly 200 metres.
PREVIEW
The weather forecast for tomorrow looks like we are in for a potentially low-scoring match, but Souths may have a field day against Manly. Ball control will be crucial for both sides to come up with points and in reality Souths have too much class for Manly to handle tomorrow. Mitchell looked fantastic last week at fullback and will need to play at the same level to ensure Souths dominate the field. Manly should be up for this but how much can we trust Cherry-Evans and Foran right now?
KEY STAT
In the NRL era, both sides have played against each other 39 times with Manly just in front with 21 wins. The previous two matches are in Souths’ favour: winning 56-16 and 34-26. Manly have also lost nine of their past 10 games.
Embed from Getty ImagesPREDICTION
Rain, hail or shine, expect Souths to win and win big. They have a better spine, a better backline, a better forward pack and – why not mention it – a better bench. Manly are in for a long year by all accounts and I have no faith in this current squad running out this Saturday.
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