NRL Preview Round 23: Roosters Vs Sea Eagles
Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 23 clash between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Sydney Roosters Vs Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground
Date: Thursday August 3, 7:50pm.
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Joseph Manu 5. Joseph Suaalii 6. Luke Keary 7. Sandon Smith 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Brandon Smith 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Siua Wong 12. Nat Butcher 13. Victor Radley 14. Drew Hutchison 15. Nathan Brown 16. Terrell May 17. Fletcher Baker 18. Corey Allan 19. Elie El Zakhem 20. Jake Turpin 21. Fetalaiga Pauga 22. Dylan Napa
Sea Eagles: 1. Reuben Garrick 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Tolutau Koula 5. Ray Tuaimalo-Vaega 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. Ben Trbojevic 15. Aaron Woods 16. Dean Matterson 17. Ethan Bullemor 18. Ben Condon 19. Jakob Arthur 20. Kaeo Weekes 21. Morgan Harper 22. Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
“Tupou! Oh, Daniel Tupou! Flying at thirty-nine thousand feet, and no turbulence to be found!”
As the great Ray Warren exclaimed those words, the Rugby League world watched on as a 22-year-old Daniel Tupou flew high above a helpless David Williams to score the Roosters’ first try of the 2013 Grand Final.
Ten years later, that high-flying winger has become the all-time top try scorer for the foundation club and continues to occupy that same left-wing spot he always has.
When the Roosters take on the Sea Eagles this Thursday night, they’ll be honoring and celebrating that 2013 premiership-winning side. Only Tupou and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves still actively play in the NRL, while Boyd Cordner, Jake Friend, and Mitchell Aubusson occupy coaching roles at the club.
But for a team looking extremely unlikely to finish in the top 8, the return of their champion players needs to spur the squad on and translate into a victory.
Last week I wrote that the game against the Broncos would be the biggest of the Roosters’ season. That was true – at the time – because the situation for the Roosters is such that every remaining game is the biggest of their season. They cannot afford to lose.
In keeping with the 2013 theme – the opposition will be led by the same halfback they were ten years ago. The man who won the Clive Churchill medal that night: Daly Cherry-Evans. DCE’s confidence coming into this will be through the roof after a dominant individual performance, which saw his Sea Eagles beat the Roosters 18-16 only a month ago.
Having beaten the Dragons in Wollongong last week in his 300th game, the one-club man will look to keep his side in touch with the finals with a win against the struggling Roosters. Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega comes onto the wing to replace the injured Christian Tuipolotu, and Ben Trbojevic comes onto the bench in place of Sean Keppie.
With matches against the Panthers and Warriors following this, another two competition points could prove vital for the Sea Eagles in their race to the finals.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Roosters 6, Sea Eagles 4.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Sea Eagles by 10 points.
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