Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 20 clash between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Wests Tigers.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
South Sydney Rabbitohs Vs Wests Tigers
Venue: Industree Group Stadium, Gosford
Date: Saturday 20 July, 3:00pm AEST
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Rabbitohs: 1. Jye Gray, 2. Alex Johnston, 3. Taane Milne, 4. Richard Kennar, 5. Jacob Gagai, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Cody Walker, 8. Davvy Moale, 9. Damien Cook, 10. Sean Keppie, 11. Cameron Murray, 12. Michael Chee Kam, 13. Keaon Koloamatangi, 14. Peter Mamouzelos, 15. Tallis Duncan, 16. Thomas Burgess, 17. Siliva Havili, 18. Dion Teaupa, 19. Fletcher Myers, 20. Liam Le Blanc, 21. Thomas Fletcher, 22. Jacob Host
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula, 2. Luke Laulilii, 3. Adam Doueihi, 4. Solomona Faataape, 5. Charlie Staines, 6. Lachlan Galvin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Stefano Utoikamanu, 9. Tallyn Da Silva, 10. David Klemmer, 11. John Bateman, 12. Samuela Fainu, 13. Fonua Pole, 14. Latu Fainu, 15. Alex Twal, 16. Sione Fainu, 17. Jordan Miller, 18. Justin Matamua, 19. Heath Mason, 20. Reuben Porter, 21. Solomon Alaimalo, 22. Apisai Koroisau
Referee: Wyatt Raymond
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The second game of Round 20 kicks off on Saturday afternoon when the Rabbitohs take on the Tigers in Gosford. Both teams will be desperate to get back in the winner’s circle after tough defeats to the Dolphins and Sharks respectively last week.
For the Rabbitohs, Jai Arrow is now out for the season after having surgery on a shoulder injury he has carried most of the year. Replacing him in the back-row is captain Cameron Murray, who has been named to back-up from his Origin appearance for NSW. Siliva Havili also returns to the 17, replacing Liam Le Blanc on the bench.
The Rabbitohs came close to upsetting the Dolphins at home last week. They scored 28 points, so their attack was humming, but on the flipside their defence leaked 36 points. That’ll be something interim coach Ben Hornby will want to fix. The changes he’s made with moving Cody Walker to halfback, Jack Wighton to five-eighth and Keaon Koloamatangi to lock have been key factors in the turnaround in attacking form, which should continue against a Tigers team who have leaked plenty of points lately.
For the Tigers, captain Api Koroisau is named in the reserves but is unlikely to play with a calf injury. He’s been replaced in the starting hooker role by Tallyn De Silva. Luke Laulilii returns on the wing in place of Alex Lobb who picked up an ankle injury last week. Latu Fainu and Alex Twal both return from injury on the bench, replacing Heath Mason and Reuben Porter.
The loss of Koroisau is a huge blow for the Tigers’ chances heading into this game. Despite the fact they’ve only won a handful of games this year, Koroisau has consistently been one of the Tigers best. He offers plenty of creativity around the ruck – without that it’s going to be tougher for the Tigers to create attacking opportunities. They’ll be hoping the exuberance of youth can make up for that, but it’s a tall order against the Rabbitohs who’ve found form recently. They’ve lost the past three games they’ve played against the Rabbitohs by an average of 20 points.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Rabbitohs by 22 points.
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