Josh Mercer previews the round 21 clash between the Rabbitohs and the Roosters.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
South Sydney Rabbitohs Vs New Zealand Warriors
Venue: Sunshine Coast Stadium
Date: Saturday, August 6, 3:00 pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesRabbitohs: Rabbitohs: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Taane Milne 4. Isaiah Tass 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Tevita Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jai Arrow 13. Cameron Murray 14. Blake Taffe 15. Davvy Moale 16. Silivia Havili 17. Mark Nicholls 18. Izaac Thompson 19. Dean Hawkins 20. Richard Kennar 21. Shaquai Mitchell 22. Josh Mansour
Taane Milne (finger) returns and takes Jed Cartwright’s place (hamstring) in the centres. Tom Burgess (suspension) has been replaced with Mark Nicholls on the bench. Blake Taffe also comes onto the bench for Kodi Nikorima.
Embed from Getty ImagesWarriors: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Marcelo Montoya 4. Euan Aitken 5. Edward Kosi 6. Wayde Egan 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Freddy Lussick 10. Tohu Harris 11. Bayley Sironen 12. Jack Murchie 13. Aaron Pene 14. Taniela Otukolo 15. Bunty Afoa 16. Eliesa Katoa 17. Josh Curran 18. Jackson Frei 20. Dunamis Lui 21. Daejarn Asi 22. Adam Pompey 23. Viliami Vailea
Euan Aitken moves from the back row to the centres, with Adam Pompey dropping back to the reserves. Chanel Harris-Tavita (knee) is out. Wade Egan moves from hooker to five-eighth. Jack Murchie (parental leave), Aaron Penne (illness), and Bayley Sironen (eye socket) all return. Josh Curran moves to the bench; Jazz Tevaga (Shoulder) is out. Taniela Otukolo is also the new face on the bench.
Referee: Grant Atkins
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Rabbitohs were unlucky not to get the chocolates against the Sharks last week. Latrell Mitchell, ordinarily calm in clutch situations, missed three attempts to seal the game. In the end, Nicho Hynes won it for the Sharks.
There is no doubt that the Rabbitohs are a better side with Mitchell in it: his combination with Cody Walker is magic. This may be a kind of a ‘training run’, you could say, for the Rabbitohs. As they march towards the finals, two points will be much needed here for the Redfern side. As good as the Mitchell/Walker combination is, they will still need to be on song.
The Warriors are languishing at the bottom of the ladder. They are playing for pride at this stage. Injuries and player movement have not helped their cause this season. They kept with the Storm in the first half, only two points behind at half-time. The Storm blew them away at the start of the second half, and the Warriors couldn’t mount a comeback.
The experienced players will need to lead the charge for the Warriors if they are to win. Josh Curran will need to make an impact from the bench. It’s easy being related, but he needs to show coach Stacey Jones why he should be a starter.
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INTERESTING FACT
Despite their low position on the ladder, the Warriors have a better completion rate (77%) than the Rabbitohs (74%).
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Rabbitohs by 20.
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