Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 15 clash between the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and St George-Illawarra Dragons.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Vs St George-Illawarra Dragons
Venue: 4 Pines Park, Sydney
Date: Sunday 16th June, 2:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Sea Eagles: 1. Lehi Hopoate, 2. Jason Saab, 3. Tolutau Koula, 4. Reuben Garrick, 5. Tommy Talau, 6. Luke Brooks, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Taniela Paseka, 9. Karl Lawton, 10. Nathan Brown, 11. Haumole Olakau’atu, 12. Ben Trbojevic, 13. Jake Trbojevic, 14. Gordon Chan Kum Tong, 15. Corey Waddell, 16. Ethan Bullemor, 17. Toafofoa Sipley, 18. Raymond Tuiamalo Vaega, 19. Jaxson Paulo, 20. Jake Simpkin, 21. Aitasi James, 22. Aaron Schoupp
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan, 2. Zac Lomax, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Max Feagai, 5. Mathew Feagai, 6. Kyle Flanagan, 7. Ben Hunt, 8. Francis Molo, 9. Jacob Liddle, 10. Jack de Belin, 11. Luciano Leilua, 12. Jaydn Su’A, 13. Tom Eisenhuth, 14. Blake Lawrie, 15. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 16. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 17. Toby Couchman, 18. Fa’amanu Brown, 19. Michael Molo, 20. Christian Tuipulotu, 21. Ryan Couchman, 22. Sione Finau
Referee: Peter Gough
Bunker: Chris Butler
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The 11th-placed Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles will face the 9th-placed St George-Illawarra Dragons in the Beanies for Brain Cancer Round at 4 Pines Park on Sunday afternoon, in a battle to prove they are worthy of moving up to a top-eight position.
The Sea Eagles have won five of their last six games against the Dragons at 4 Pines Park, and they appear to be confident in their ability to win again this weekend.
In round 5, the Sea Eagles thrashed the reigning five-time premiership winning Panthers 32-18 at home, sending the Sea Eagles fanbase into a frenzy. However, last weekend, the tables were turned on the Sea Eagles, who lost to the Panthers 32-22.
The Sea Eagles did not back down, with captain Daly Cherry-Evans and Luke Brooks assisting Sea Eagles Tommy Talau, who scored three tries in eight minutes before adding a fourth in the second half.
Talau has now scored nine tries in his last six games after scoring the four scored against the Panthers last weekend. He is the first Sea Eagles player to accomplish this feat since Rueben Garrick in 2021.
The Sea Eagles also came out firing on their right edge with torpedo Jason Saab, known for his speed, athleticism, and aerial skills. He certainly didn’t disappoint, getting over the line and helping to further close the gap in the score against the Panthers.
They’ve had a series of close margins, but they hope to close the gap this weekend and win. The combination of these players, combined with their impressive abilities, could help make this happen, which causes concern for the Dragons.
The only changes to the Sea Eagles lineup will be the return of Haumole Olakau’atu, who suffered a calf injury last week against the Panthers, Nathan Brown starting at prop in place of suspended Josh Aloiai, and Ethan Bullemor on the bench.
The Dragons will enter this match with a high level of confidence in their abilities, having already achieved seven victories this season and defeating the Tigers by a significant margin of 56-14 last weekend.
Their recent success against the Sea Eagles, which includes eight victories in their last 11 games, serves as an additional catalyst for their confidence. They will endeavour to secure an additional victory this weekend.
The last time these two teams met back in round 4, the Dragons beat the Sea Eagles with a final score of 20-12.
The team is so confident in its abilities that there will be no changes to the 17-man lineup that crushed the Tigers last weekend. Although Luciano Leilua has been named to start in the second row, he may be dropped to the bench prior to kick-off, with Fa’amanu Brown likely to take his place.
Both Zac Lomax and Ben Hunt, fresh off Origin duty, demonstrated why they were chosen with a series of set plays by Hunt that enabled some brilliantly orchestrated tries by Lomax, with Hunt even crossing the line himself. Lomax set a club record with 32 points after scoring three tries and ten goals against the Tigers.
The combination of Francis Molo, Luciano Leilua and Jack De Belin in the Dragons forward pack could further assist the Dragons in securing a victory.
With De Belin’s impressive attacking stats of 17 tackle breaks and 555.9 post contact metres combined with 1,683 total average running metres.
Molo’s stats stand out as well, with his attacking stats standing at 484.1 post contact metres and a total of 1,179 total average running metres.
With both teams’ completion rates and tackle efficiency nearly identical, this could be a nail-biting match, so expect the unexpected as they forge their way to victory this weekend.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Sea Eagles by 6 points.
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I like you prediction, I want to saw previous game round 14