Round 24 Discussion

[Big Pete]

St. George Illawarra Dragons v Penrith Panthers
WIN Stadium, Thursday 20 August 2015
Kickoff 7:45pm

1. Josh Dugan 2. Dylan Farrell 3. Euan Aitken 4. Peter Mata'utia 5. Justin Hunt 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Benji Marshall 8. Leeson Ah Mau 9. Mitch Rein 10. Mike Cooper 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Joel Thompson 13. Trent Merrin
Interchange: 14. Craig Garvey 15. Ben Creagh 16. Jake Marketo 17. Jack de Belin 20. Mark Ioane

1. William Smith 2. Josh Mansour 3. Lewis Brown 4. Isaah Yeo 5. David Simmons 6. Isaac John 7. Jamie Soward 8. Sam McKendry 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Regan Campbell-Gillard 11. Bryce Cartwright 12. Tyrone Peachey 13. Elijah Taylor
Interchange: 14. James Segeyaro 15. Jeremy Latimore 16. Leilani Latu 17. Tupou Sopoaga 18. Waqa Blake 19. Sika Manu
Match Hashtag: #NRLDragonsPanthers

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South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
ANZ Stadium, Friday 21 August 2015
Kickoff 7:45pm

1. Greg Inglis 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dylan Walker 4. Kirisome Auva'a 5. Bryson Goodwin 6. John Sutton 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Paul Carter 10. David Tyrrell 11. Kyle Turner 12. Jason Clark 13. Chris McQueen
Interchange: 14. Chris Grevsmuhl 15. Glenn Stewart 16. Tim Grant 17. Thomas Burgess 18. Nathan Brown 19. Joel Reddy 20. Cody Walker

1. Brett Morris 2. Curtis Rona 3. Josh Morris 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Sam Perrett 6. Moses Mbye 7. Trent Hodkinson 8. Sam Kasiano 9. Damien Cook 10. James Graham 11. Josh Jackson 12. Frank Pritchard 13. Greg Eastwood
Interchange: 14. Lloyd Perrett 15. Shaun Lane 16. David Klemmer 17. Tim Browne 19. Danny Fualalo
Match Hashtag: #NRLSouthsBulldogs

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Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks v Wests Tigers
Remondis Stadium, Saturday 22 August 2015
Kickoff 3:00pm

1. Michael Gordon 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Gerard Beale 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Jack Bird 7. Jeff Robson 8. Chris Heighington 9. Michael Ennis 10. Sam Tagataese 11. Luke Lewis 12. Wade Graham 13. Paul Gallen
Interchange: 14. Matt Prior 15. Anthony Tupou 16. Tinirau Arona 17. Jayson Bukuya

1. James Tedesco 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Kevin Naiqama 4. Tim Simona 5. Pat Richards 6. Mitchell Moses 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 9. Robbie Farah 10. Sauaso Sue 11. Curtis Sironen 12. Dene Halatau 13. Martin Taupau
Interchange: 14. Kyle Lovett 15. Keith Galloway 16. Ava Seumanufagai 17. Chris Lawrence 18. Manaia Cherrington 19. Jack Buchanan

Match Hashtag: #NRLSharksTigers

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New Zealand Warriors v North Queensland Cowboys
Mt Smart Stadium, Saturday 22 August 2015
Kickoff 5:30pm

1. Sam Tomkins 2. Ken Maumalo 3. Dominique Peyroux 4. Solomone Kata 5. Jonathan Wright 6. Chad Townsend 7. Tuimoala Lolohea 8. Jacob Lillyman 9. Nathan Friend 10. Albert Vete 11. Sione Lousi 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Simon Mannering
Interchange: 14. Konrad Hurrell 15. Bodene Thompson 16. Sam Lisone 17. Charlie Gubb 18. Matthew Allwood

1. Lachlan Coote 2. Matthew Wright 3. Justin O'Neill 4. Kane Linnett 5. Antonio Winterstein 6. Michael Morgan 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Matthew Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. James Tamou 11. John Asiata 12. Ethan Lowe 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange: 14. Rory Kostjasyn 15. Coen Hess 16. Scott Bolton 17. Ben Hannant

Match Hashtag: #NRLWarriorsCowboys

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Sydney Roosters v Brisbane Broncos
Allianz Stadium, Saturday 22 August 2015
Kickoff 7:30pm

1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Michael Jennings 4. Blake Ferguson 5. Brendan Elliott 6. James Maloney 7. Mitchell Pearce 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 10. Dylan Napa 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Aidan Guerra 13. Siosiua Taukeiaho
Interchange: 14. Jackson Hastings 15. Isaac Liu 16. Kane Evans 17. Mitchell Aubusson 18. Suaia Matagi 19. Latrell Mitchell

1. Darius Boyd 2. Lachlan Maranta 3. Jack Reed 4. Justin Hodges 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Sam Thaiday 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Corey Parker
Interchange: 14. Jarrod Wallace 15. Mitchell Dodds 16. Jo Ofanhengaue 17. Kodi Nikorima

Match Hashtag: #NRLRoostersBroncos

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Gold Coast Titans v Canberra Raiders
Cbus Super Stadium, Sunday 23 August 2015
Kickoff 2:00pm

1. David Mead 2. Leva Li 3. James Roberts 4. Nene Macdonald 5. Kalifa Faifai Loa 6. Josh Hoffman 7. Daniel Mortimer 8. Luke Douglas 9. Beau Falloon 10. Nate Myles 11. Ryan James 12. Agnatius Paasi 13. Greg Bird
Interchange: 14. Dave Taylor 15. Eddy Pettybourne 16. Matt White 17. Kierran Moseley 18. David Hala 19. Nathaniel Peteru

1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Joseph Leilua 5. Sisa Waqa 6. Blake Austin 7. Sam Williams 8. Frank Paul Nuuausala 9. Josh Hodgson 10. David Shillington 11. Josh Papalii 12. Jarrad Kennedy 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste 15. Luke Bateman 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Shannon Boyd

Match Hashtag: #NRLTitansRaiders

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Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Parramatta Eels
Brookvale Oval, Sunday 23 August 2015
Kickoff 4:00pm

1. Brett Stewart 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Jamie Lyon 4. Steve Matai 5. Peta Hiku 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Jake Trbojevic 9. Matt Ballin 10. Josh Starling 11. Feleti Mateo 12. Justin Horo 13. Blake Leary
Interchange: 14. Jesse Sene-Lefao 15. Michael Chee-Kam 16. James Hasson 17. Ligi Sao 18. Brenton Lawrence

1. Reece Robinson 2. Semi Radradra 3. William Hopoate 4. Ryan Morgan 5. Bureta Faraimo 6. Corey Norman 7. Luke Kelly 8. Junior Paulo 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Tim Mannah 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. David Gower
Interchange: 14. Pauli Pauli 15. Darcy Lussick 16. Peni Terepo 17. Daniel Alvaro

Match Hashtag: #NRLManlyEels

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Melbourne Storm v Newcastle Knights
AAMI Park, Monday 24 August 2015
Kickoff 7:00pm

1. Cameron Munster 2. Marika Koroibete 3. Will Chambers 4. Kurt Mann 5. Matt Duffie 6. Blake Green 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Tim Glasby 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane
Interchange: 14. Ryan Hinchcliffe 15. Kenneath Bromwich 16. Felise Kaufusi 17. Christian Welch

1. Jake Mamo 2. Nathan Ross 3. Sione Mata'utia 4. Dane Gagai 5. Akuila Uate 6. Kurt Gidley 7. Tyrone Roberts 8. Kade Snowden 9. Adam Clydsdale 10. Korbin Sims 11. Beau Scott 12. Tariq Sims 13. Jeremy Smith
Interchange: 14. Tyler Randell 15. Joseph Tapine 16. Chris Houston 17. Clint Newton 18. Sam Mataora
Match Hashtag: #NRLStormKnights

 

[Big Pete]

Looking forward to it.

Of course the highlight of the weekend will be Saturday Night's Main Event between the Broncos and the Roosters. That clash should determine the minor premiership and while that's nothing but a bag of sea shells, I'm looking forward to seeing whether or not the Broncos really have their bearings after that loss to Manly.

Speaking of the Sea Eagles, one of the biggest attractions of the weekend will be seeing the finals shoot-out between them and St George Illawarra. On paper, the Dragons have the tougher challenge but both teams SHOULD get through this weekend. It will be interesting to see how they go. While I think McGregor has done a great job given the god awful scenario he was confronted with, if I was putting together the form Top 8 in September, at this stage, I'd have to side with Manly who have done an incredible job to rebuild their season.

Also looking forward to the Good Friday/Grand Final replay between Souths/Bulldogs. The last time these two teams met, it was by far the most talked about game of football in 2015. Not even any of the Origin could compete with the scenes we saw that afternoon it was incredible. Going in, the mood seems rather subdued but I hope both clubs remember that game and go out there to replicate it. For Canterbury, I'd say this game is really do or die for them. If they go in and let the loss of Lichaa affect them, they'll exit the season on a whimper. If they stand up, you just never know what they're capable of. For that reason, I'm looking forward to it.

 

[Fozz]

Mata'utia just strolled through there. Terrible defence.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

Mata'utia just strolled through there. Terrible defence.

Yeah, that was a great example of how easy it should be to defend those plays if you trust each other but also, how fatal it is to hesitate even briefly.

 

[Big Pete]

Finally the skills session pay off.

Great pass from Brown, but I haven't seen a team all season shoot themselves in the foot more than Penrith.

Why is Hunt being selected over Nabuli?

 

[Big Pete]

St George don't want to win this game.

They made 60 easy metres right up the middle, only for de Belin to decide he's Cameron Smith on the last tackle and force Benji & Widdop into running the ball.

It's still 10 all, but on this form, they don't deserve to be in the 8.

 

[Big Pete]

Well, that was a better pass from de Belin.

Great play earns St George a penalty.

Guess what they decide to do?

 

[Big Pete]

Field goal from Marshall.

He has no faith in his side's attack.

 

[Big Pete]

Dragons 19
Panthers 12

St George can consider themselves lucky. Penrith had plenty of opportunities but simply didn't have the combinations to capitilise. To their credit, I thought a couple of players really came to the fore in the second half. Namely Widdop, de Belin and Aitken.

 

[Unbreakable]

Dragons lineup is going to be pretty top notch next year, their major problem will be consistent go forward.

1. Dugan
2. Mata'utia
3. Aitken
4. Mann
5. Nightingale
6. Widdop
7. Marshall
8. Ah Mau
9. Rein
10. Cooper
11. Thompson
12. Frizell
13. Creagh (c)

14. Havili
15. De Belin
16. Matthews
17. Masoe

 

[Big Pete]

What do you like about it Unbreakable?

 

[Fozz]

Terrible game, so many dumb errors.

 

[Fozz]

Finally the skills session pay off.

Great pass from Brown, but I haven't seen a team all season shoot themselves in the foot more than Penrith.

Why is Hunt being selected over Nabuli?

Wonder if Nabuli is on the second tier cap? Otherwise I'd imagine that McGregor just wants to see if Hunt will be able to handle the job for next year with Nabuli off to yawnoin.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Dragons 19
Panthers 12

St George can consider themselves lucky. Penrith had plenty of opportunities but simply didn't have the combinations to capitilise. To their credit, I thought a couple of players really came to the fore in the second half. Namely Widdop, de Belin and Aitken.

Dragons will be cannon fodder if they make the finals, they may get away with that against the panthers but any side of quality won't let them.

 

[GCBRONCO]

Souths in real trouble going into halftime

 

[Alec]

Bulldogs all over Souffs in the 1st half. The hooker they've brought in to replace Lichaa is looking good out there. Good service and full of enthusiasm.

 

[Morkel]

What is it about Burgii and their dodgy hands? Cook looks like he's going with the pirate look with his facial hair. And lastly, in L Perrett, we have a rival for Anna K in the "what's that smell?" face.

 

[Alec]

Tom has been going well other than that knock-on (at least I think it's Tom). Still, it's obvious that Sam was far and away the best Burger, and Souffs are really missing him.