Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 8 clash between the Dragons and the Roosters.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
St George Illawarra Dragons Vs Sydney Roosters
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney.
Date: Thursday April 25, 4:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Christian Tuipulotu 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Hame Sele 11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Tom Eisenhuth 14. Fa’amanu Brown 15. Blake Lawrie 16. Jack de Belin 17. Ben Murdoch-Masila 18. Michael Molo 19. Jack Bird 20. Toby Couchman 21. Viliami Fifita 22. Jesse Marschke
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 4. Joseph Manu 5. Dominic Young 6. Luke Keary 7. Sam Walker 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Brandon Smith 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Nat Butcher 13. Victor Radley 14. Connor Watson 15. Naufahu Whyte 16. Egan Butcher 17. Terrell May 18. Michael Jennings 19. Siua Wong 20. Zach Dockar-Clay 21. Xavier Va’a 22. Fetalaiga Pauga
Referee: Adam Gee
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
It’s often easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the world revolves around rugby league. I know I do. I could be talking to a friend about news or politics, but really my mind will have already wandered off to a controversial Bunker decision from the weekend, or the latest signing that’s shocked the NRL world.
But every now and then, rugby league snaps us out of that trance. It reminds us that – believe it or not – some things are bigger than our sport.
ANZAC Day is the pinnacle of that phenomenon. For over two decades, the Dragons and the Roosters have taken to field on this famous day. They’ve stood arm in arm while the emotionally-charged ‘Last Post’ is played. Then they’ve gone to a battle in remembrance of the young men who lost their lives in battles of their own.
But as the great Dragon James Graham is known for saying, ‘Rugby league is a made up sport with made up rules.’ For a sport centred around conflict, competition and battle, ANZAC Day gives us the perspective of just how real those themes can be.
I could give you some substantive analysis of their form coming into this game. I could write about the dazzling feats of the high-flying Zac Lomax, or the return of the freakish Dom Young. But there’d be no point – because this is a day where form guides go out the window. Your performance is dictated not by your skill or ability, but how you respond to the occasion.
So as you sit down on Thursday to watch our boys do battle over two made-up points in a made-up competition of a made-up sport, take a moment to honour the boys who made the most real sacrifice of all.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 8 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Roosters by 6 points.
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