Check out the match preview and prediction for the Round 22 clash between the Dragons and Sea Eagles.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
St George-Illawarra Dragons Vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Venue: WIN Stadium
Date: Saturday, July 29, 5:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Billy Burns 12. Dan Russell 13. Jack de Belin 14. Connor Muhleisen 15. Michael Molo 16. Toby Couchman 17. Jack Bird 18. Zane Musgrove 19. Sione Finau 20. Ryan Couchman 21. Max Feagai 22. Jaiyden Hunt
Sea Eagles: 1. Reuben Garrick 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Tolutau Koula 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Josh Schuster 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Toafofoa Sipley 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Matthew Lodge 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Kelma Tuilagi 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Dean Matterson 15. Aaron Woods 16. Sean Keppie 17. Ethan Bullemor 18. Kaeo Weekes 19. Ben Condon 20. Jakob Arthur 21. Ray Tuaimalo-Vaega 22. Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Referee: Chris Butler
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The excitement will be building in the city of Wollongong as the 15th placed St George-Illawarra Dragons take on the 11th placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium on Saturday night.
The last time these two sides met in round 19 back in 2022 when the Sea Eagles lost their way to a tough Dragons side, going down 20-6 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Sydney.
After a string of lengthy defeats throughout the season, the Dragons have tried to pick themselves up and work as a cohesive team repeatedly, playing without fear.
They will need to go into the game with a tough, gritty, and never say die attitude after narrowly beating the West Tigers, 18-14 in round 20.
The Dragons lineup will remain the same team that got them over the line against the Tigers. Connor Muhleisen, who will make his debut off the bench, replacing Moses Mbye, will be the only change.
Backline players Tyrell Sloan, Zac Lomax teaming up with Ben Hunt and Mikaele Ravalawa, who has scored eight tries in his past six games at WIN Stadium, could prove troublesome for the Sea Eagles.
The Jack de Belin and Blake Lawrie combination in the forwards, with their extraordinary set of stats, should be enough to intimidate the most confident of sides.
de Belin, who has made 18 tackle breaks, 397.5 post-contact metres, 615 defensive tackles made with a tackle efficiency of 96.2 percent, and averaging 115 running metres just this season.
Lawrie, who has made 32 tackle breaks just this season, 587.2 post-contact meters, 486 defensive tackles with 94.6 percent accuracy, and 123 average running meters.
It is looking promising for the Dragons, having won seven of their last 10 matches against the Sea Eagles.
The Sea Eagles will be feeling eager and poised for a win against the Dragons after their gutsy performance against the Sharks last weekend.
With their extremely solid defensive line, they managed to hold the Sharks to 0-30 at the break, eventually securing a win with the final score being 26-30.
The Sea Eagles will need to get a win to be able to maintain their position on the ladder or even climb closer to achieving a top 8 position.
They will line up with minor changes, missing key players in their forward pack such as Taniela Paseka out with a knee injury and Josh Aloiai with a shoulder injury.
This may pose a concern for the aggressive Sea Eagles side that showed such force in their previous match against the Sharks.
Notable players such as Daly Cherry-Evans, who will play his 300th game, could see him setting up plays, leading from the front.
He may just guide his team to victory, combining with Jason Saab and Reuben Garrick in the back lines.
To further bolster the backs and provide the yardage they need, the Sea Eagles may look to Tolutau Koula, who boasts 38 tackle breaks and 139 average running meters just this season.
The Sea Eagles will field a full-strength forward pack with Jake Trbojevic, Lachlan Croker, who will play his 100th game, and Haumole Olakau’atu deemed by Cherry-Evans as “the scariest man in rugby league”. The giant backrower is known to terrorize his opponents on the right edge.
This could prove to intimidate and rattle the Dragon’s confidence, but will it be enough to assist the Sea Eagles in taking home a win?
In what will be a role of the dice type of match, it will come down to the survival of the fittest in the race to victory.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Dragons 7, Sea Eagles 3
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Sea Eagles by 6 points.
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