Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 10 clash between the Eels and Broncos.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Parramatta Eels Vs Brisbane Broncos
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Parramatta
Date: Friday May 10, 8:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Eels: 1. Blaize Talagi, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Will Penisini, 4. Sean Russell, 5. Bailey Simonsson, 6. Ethan Sanders, 7. Dylan Brown, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Joey Lussick, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Ryan Matterson, 13. J’maine Hopgood, 14. Bryce Cartright, 15. Makahesi Makatoa, 16. Joe Ofahengaue, 17. Kelma Tuilagi, 18. Luca Moretti, 19. Morgan Harper, 20. Daejarn Asi, 21. Wiremu Greig, 22. Brendan Hands
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh, 2. Corey Oates, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Selwyn Cobbo, 5. Deine Mariner, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Josh Rogers, 8. Corey Jensen, 9. Billy Walters, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Brendan Piakura, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan, 14. Tyson Smoothy, 15. Xavier Willison, 16. Kobe Hetherington, 17. Jack Gosiewski, 18. Tristan Sailor, 19. Fletcher Baker, 20. Benjamin Te Kura, 21. Jordan Pereira, 22. Blake Mozer
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Eels return from a week off to host the Broncos on what will be a cold, wet night in Sydney.
Before the last round’s bye, the Eels lost to the Sea Eagles after leading for large portions of the game. As has been the theme of their year, the Eels led at the break, only to concede 26 points in the second half and lose. If the NRL was only played for 40 minutes, the Eels would be running second, leading in all but two of their games this year before the break. One would think a focus has been on ensuring they play for 80 minutes, which naturally gives them every chance of coming out on top.
There are some significant changes for the Eels, primarily in the fullback role. With Clint Gutherson recovering from surgery, Blaize Talagi gets to play his preferred role, in what will be a taste of the future for the Eels team. Furthermore, Sean Russell returns to the side at centre for Morgan Harper, while Bryce Cartwright also returns from injury and will start from the bench.
Meanwhile, the Broncos suffered a huge defeat to the Roosters at home in Suncorp Stadium. Currently, they are seventh, with a loss this week possibly pushing them out of the eight altogether. It’s been patchy at best from last year’s runner’s up, who also have the second-worst ‘against’ in the top eight (largely thanks to last week’s performance). Kevin Walters will be desperate for his team to pick up a win this week to steady the ship.
The big news for the Broncos is this: Adam Reynolds is out, possibly for the season. Josh Rogers comes in for his second-ever NRL game. Beyond this, Corey Oates returns for Jesse Arthars (jaw) while Cowboy Jack Gosiewski makes his Broncos debut from the bench.
This presents an interesting contest. Both teams have lost significant personnel. The weather isn’t favourable to attacking footy. It has the potential to be a low-scoring, error-riddled affair. The Eels will want to focus on pressuring the Broncos’ young halfback. This could in turn see Reece Walsh overplay his hand, as was the case last week, and in such weather that can lead to any number of errors. The Broncos only need to get into a rhythm. If they can do that and play disciplined football, they have too much speed out wide for the Eels to match.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 10 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions for round 10 here.
Broncos by 10 points.
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