Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 18 clash between the Roosters and the Dragons.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Sydney Roosters Vs St George-Illawarra Dragons
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Date: Sunday July 7, 2:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Sitili Tupouniua, 5. Dominic Young, 6. Luke Keary, 7. Sam Walker, 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9. Brandon Smith, 10. Lindsay Collins, 11. Angus Crichton, 12. Victor Radley, 13. Connor Watson, 14. Naufahu Whyte, 15. Terrell May, 16. Nat Butcher, 17. Spencer Leniu, 18. Ethan King, 19. Siua Wong, 20. Sandon Smith, 21. Blake Steep, 22. Salesi Foketi
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan, 2. Zac Lomax, 3. Moses Suli, 4. Max Feagai, 5. Christian Tuipulotu, 6. Kyle Flanagan, 7. Ben Hunt, 8. Francis Molo, 9. Jacob Liddle, 10. Jack de Belin, 11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 12. Jaydn Su’A, 13. Tom Eisenhuth, 14. Blake Lawrie, 15. Ben Murdoch-Masila, 16. Toby Couchman, 17. Luciano Leilua, 18. Michael Molo, 19. Fa’amanu Brown, 20. Ryan Couchman, 21. Savelio Tamale, 22. Jack Bird
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
To me, the marker of a brilliant player is how much he’s disliked by opposition supporters.
For example, when I was a kid I disliked Cameron Smith. Not because of anything to do with his personality or the way he played, but I was a New South Welshman who didn’t really like the Storm, and he was synonymous with Queensland and Melbourne. He was the fact of those two teams.
That must be how people who dislike the Roosters feel about Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
This Sunday the 35-year-old enforcer plays his 307th game for the Tricolours, eclipsing Mitchell Aubusson’s record to become the most capped Rooster in their 117-year history. It’s a remarkable feat for a man who not only plays the toughest position on the field, but arguably plays it tougher than anyone else in this era.
His beloved Roosters have propelled themselves into the top four in recent weeks off the back of three consecutive wins – and will be very keen to consolidate that position with the bye coming next week. Pending the typical late season surge they tend to have, the Chooks could be very well placed for an assault on the top two coming into the last part of the season.
Meanwhile, the Dragons are coming off an extremely impressive home win against the high-flying Dolphins last week. Nestled just inside the top eight, the Dragons have surpassed everyone’s expectations of them this year. The importance of getting every two points they possibly can won’t be lost on this side as the race for the finals heats up.
More specifically though, the last time these two sides met was the 60-18 demolition earlier this year on ANZAC Day, a game that broke the record for the biggest ANZAC win ever. The Dragons were well and truly slain that day on the big stage, and spoiling the special day of one of the Roosters’ favourite sons would be the exact revenge they’re after.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Roosters by 18 points.
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