Check out the match preview and prediction for the Magic Round clash between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the Brisbane Broncos.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Vs Brisbane Broncos
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Friday 17 May, 8:05pm AEST
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Sea Eagles: 1. Tolutau Koula 2. Raymond Tuiamalo Vaega 3. Tommy Talau 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Karl Lawton 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Matthew Lodge 18. Aaron Woods 19. Jakob Arthur 20. Dean Matterson 21. Brandon Wakeham 22. Toafofoa Sipley
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Selwyn Cobbo 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ezra Mam 7. Jock Madden 8. Corey Jensen 9. Tyson Smoothy 10. Payne Haas 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan 14. Blake Mozer 15. Xavier Willison 16. Kobe Hetherington 17. Jack Gosiewski 18. Josh Rogers 19. Martin Taupau 20. Jaiyden Hunt 21. Josiah Karapani 22. Cory Paix
Referee: Todd Smith
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Opening night of Magic Round (a double-header with Canberra vs Canterbury-Bankstown up first) sees the Sea Eagles take on the Broncos in what’s sure to be a packed Suncorp Stadium. As they have done in recent years, the Sea Eagles will technically be the home side, but it’s clear the Broncos will have home crowd advantage.
For the Sea Eagles, Tolu Koula moves to fullback to replace the injured Tom Trbojevic (hamstring), with Tommy Talau shifting to centre and Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega named on the wing. Haumole Olakau’atu returns from his two-game suspension in the back row, which moves Corey Waddell back to the bench and Toafofoa Sipley drops out of the side.
It’s a bittersweet team list for the Sea Eagles. The loss of Tom Trbojevic is a devastating blow for the club’s finals aspirations. However, they are no stranger to playing without Tom, as they’ve had to survive stretches with him missing over the past few years. They will need to adapt quickly if they are to upset the Broncos at Suncorp. In more positive news, they get Haumole Olakau’atu back on the right edge, who will cause headaches for the Broncos’ defence and create plenty of attacking opportunities.
For the Broncos, Jock Madden returns at halfback in place of Josh Rogers, who drops out of the side. Billy Walters is out with a wrist injury, which sees Tyson Smoothy start at hooker and Blake Mozer named on the bench for just his second game.
The Broncos return home to Suncorp as the away team for Magic Round, but they won’t mind. In the absence of Adam Reynolds last week, Ezra Mam took up lead playmaker duties and played arguably his best game of the season, along with standout efforts from Reece Walsh and Selwyn Cobbo. With Madden back, this should only allow Mam to continue his purple patch of form. We can expect a high-scoring contest, and more attacking flair from the Broncos, as they look to entertain a big Friday night Magic Round crowd.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Magic Round Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions for Magic Round here.
Broncos by 18 points.
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