Josh Mercer previews the Friday night clash between the Brisbane Broncos and the Sydney Roosters.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Brisbane Broncos Vs Sydney Roosters
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Friday, April 8, 7:55 pm AEST
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesBroncos: 1. Tesi Niu 2. Corey Oates 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Selwyn Cobbo 6. Billy Walters 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Keenan Palasia 9. Jake Turpin 10. Payne Haas 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jordan Riki 13. Kobe Hetherington 14. Ryan James 15. Corey Jensen 16. TC Robati 17. Cory Paix 18. Tyson Gamble 19. Rhys Kennedy 20. Brenko Lee 21. Delouise Hoeter 22. Jordan Pereira 23. Ezra Mam 24. Logan Bayliss-Brow
Albert Kelly (foot) and Pat Carrigan (knee) will miss the game through injury, and Thomas Flegler will miss the game due to suspension. Billy Walters will play five-eighth, and Kurt Capewell returns to the back row. Keenan Palasia starts at prop and Kobe Hetherington at lock.
Embed from Getty ImagesRoosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Paul Momirovski 4. Joseph Manu 5. Kevin Naiqama 6. Sam Walker 7. Luke Keary 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Connor Watson 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Nat Butcher 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Victor Radley 14. Drew Hutchison 15. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 16. Angus Crichton 17. Lindsay Collins 18. Naufahu Whyte 19. Renouf Atoni 20. Lachlan Lam 21. Sam Verrills 22. Adam Keighran 23. Joseph Suaalii 24. Fletcher Baker
Trent Robinson has named the same side that won against the Cowboys. Again, Connor Watson may start from the bench like last week.
Referee: Grant Atkins
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
After a good start to the season, the Broncos have lost two on the trot. They have lost a few of their stars for this weekend with Kelly and Carrigan out with injury and Flegler out through suspension.
After missing the first game, Adam Reynolds will still need time to get things down and lead the team. Even though they lost to the Cowboys and the Warriors, The Broncos are still a top eight side with Reynolds at halfback. If he and Walters can strike up a good combination and beat the Roosters, then they should be the halves combination to lead them into September.
The Roosters have been all over the place in the first four rounds of the competition. They looked very ordinary against the Knights and Rabbitohs while against the Sea Eagles and Cowboys they looked like a million dollars.
In the games they have lost, Sam Walker and Luke Keary have been mostly quiet. Walker is a target in defence due to his frame and teams will try to make him do the extra work to limit his output. Seeing Keary quiet is unusual, fans know that he can carry the team by himself but it is not ideal for him to do it every game. Given the fact that he is coming back after a knee reconstruction, it will take a bit of time for him to be as consistent as he was.
The clash of Payne Haas and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will be a good one. On their day they are two of the best props going around. Haas can play insane minutes and is not willing to take a backwards step. He will be looking to lead from the front for his team to get back into the winner’s circle. After starting on the bench for a couple of weeks, Waerea-Hargreaves was moved back to the starting side. He is getting up there in age but he is a wiley veteran who can get the job done for the Roosters.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
The Broncos lead the head-to-head battle with the Roosters. The Broncos have 23 wins in 44 games against the Roosters.
Kurt Capwell is playing his 100th NRL game.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Roosters by 14.
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