Round 6 Discussion

[Big Pete]

Brisbane Broncos vs St George Illawarra Dragons
Suncorp Stadium, Thursday 7 April 2016
Kick Off 7:50pm

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

1. Josh Dugan 2. Peter Mata'utia 3. Euan Aitken 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Jason Nightingale 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Benji Marshall 8. Leeson Ah Mau 9. Mitch Rein 10. Russell Packer 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Joel Thompson 13. Jack de Belin
Interchange: 14. Michael Cooper 15. Will Matthews 16. Siliva Havili 17. Jake Marketo

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South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Sydney Roosters
ANZ Stadium, Friday 8 April 2016
Kick Off 7:50pm

1. Greg Inglis 2. Bryson Goodwin 3. Kirisome Auva'a 4. Hymel Hunt 5. Aaron Gray 6. Cody Walker 7. Luke Keary 8. George Burgess 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Sam Burgess 11. Chris Grevsmuhl 12. Kyle Turner 13. Nathan Brown
Interchange: 14. Damien Cook 15. Jason Clark 16. David Tyrrell 17. Thomas Burgess 18. Paul Carter 19. Michael Oldfield

1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Brendan Elliott 4. Blake Ferguson 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6. Jayden Nikorima 7. Jackson Hastings 8. Sam Moa 9. Jake Friend 10. Dylan Napa 11. Mitchell Aubusson 12. Aidan Guerra 13. Sio Siua Taukeiaho
Interchange: 14. Isaac Liu 15. Kane Evans 16. Mitchell Frei 17. Eloni Vunakece 24. Abraham Papalii

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Parramatta Eels vs Canberra Raiders
Pirtek Stadium, Saturday 9 April 2016
Kick Off 3:00pm

1. Michael Gordon 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Clinton Gutherson 6. Corey Norman 7. Kieran Foran 8. Junior Paulo 9. Nathan Peats 10. Daniel Alvaro 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Beau Scott 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Isaac De Gois 15. Peni Terepo 16. Danny Wicks 17. Ken Edwards

1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Joseph Leilua 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Shannon Boyd 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Frank Paul Nuuausala 11. Josh Papalii 12. Elliot Whitehead 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste 15. Luke Bateman 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Joseph Tapine

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Warriors vs Manly Sea Eagles
Mt Smart Stadium, Saturday 9 April 2016
Kick Off 5:30pm

1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2. Tuimoala Lolohea 3. Blake Ayshford 4. Solomone Kata 5. Jonathan Wright 6. Shaun Johnson 7. Jeff Robson 8. Jacob Lillyman 9. Issac Luke 10. Ben Matulino 11. Simon Mannering 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Sam Lisone
Interchange: 14. Jazz Tevaga 15. Albert Vete 16. Charlie Gubb 17. Konrad Hurrell 18. Thomas Leuluai

1. Brett Stewart 2. Jorge Taufua 3. Jamie Lyon 4. Steve Matai 5. Tom Trbojevic 6. Dylan Walker 7. Apisai Koroisau 8. Josh Starling 9. Matt Parcell 10. Nate Myles 11. Tom Symonds 12. Martin Taupau 13. Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14. Lewis Brown 15. Brenton Lawrence 16. Darcy Lussick 17. Siosaia Vave 18. Blake Leary 21. Luke Burgess

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Penrith Panthers vs North Queensland Cowboys
Pepper Stadium, Saturday 9 April 2016
Kick Off 7:30pm

1. Matt Moylan 2. Josh Mansour 3. Waqa Blake 4. Peta Hiku 5. Dallin Watene Zelezniak 6. Te Maire Martin 7. Jamie Soward 8. Sam McKendry 9. Peter Wallace 10. Regan Campbell-Gillard 11. Bryce Cartwright 12. Isaah Yeo 13. Trent Merrin
Interchange: 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Leilani Latu 16. Suaia Matagi 17. James Fisher-Harris 20. Elijah Taylor 21. Jeremy Latimore

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

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Cronulla Sharks vs Gold Coast Titans
Southern Cross Stadium, Sunday 10 April 2016
Kick Off 2:00pm

1. Ben Barba 2. Sosaia Feki 3. Jack Bird 4. Ricky Leutele 5. Valentine Holmes 6. James Maloney 7. Chad Townsend 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Michael Ennis 10. Sam Tagataese 11. Luke Lewis 12. Wade Graham 13. Paul Gallen
Interchange: 14. Jayson Bukuya 15. Chris Heighington 16. Matt Prior 17. Joseph Paulo 18. Gerard Beale

1. David Mead 2. Anthony Don 3. Josh Hoffman 4. John Olive 5. Nene Macdonald 6. Cameron Cullen 7. Ashley Taylor 8. David Shillington 9. Nathan Friend 10. Ryan James 11. Zeb Taia 12. Chris McQueen 13. Greg Bird
Interchange: 14. Luke Douglas 15. Leivaha Pulu 16. Agnatius Paasi 17. Daniel Mortimer 18. Eddy Pettybourne 19. William Zillman

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Newcastle Knights vs Wests Tigers
Hunter Stadium, Sunday 10 April 2016
Kick Off 4:00pm

1. Dane Gagai 2. Nathan Ross 3. Sione Mata'utia 4. Pat Mata'utia 5. Akuila Uate 6. Jarrod Mullen 7. Trent Hodkinson 8. Sam Mataora 9. Danny Levi 10. Korbin Sims 11. Tariq Sims 12. Robbie Rochow 13. Jeremy Smith
Interchange: 14. Tyler Randell 15. Jack Stockwell 16. Jacob Saifiti 17. Pauli Pauli 18. Daniel Saifiti 19. Mickey Paea

1. James Tedesco 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Tim Simona 4. Kevin Naiqama 5. Jordan Rankin 6. Mitchell Moses 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 9. Robbie Farah 10. Tim Grant 11. Dene Halatau 12. Chris Lawrence 13. Sauaso Sue
Interchange: 14. Curtis Sironen 15. Ava Seumanufagai 16. Josh Aloiai 17. Kyle Lovett

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Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
AAMI Park, Monday 11 April 2016
Kick Off 7:00pm

1. Cameron Munster 2. Young Tonumaipea 3. Will Chambers 4. Tohu Harris 5. Marika Koroibete 6. Blake Green 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane
Interchange: 14. Christian Welch 15. Tim Glasby 16. Felise Kaufusi 17. Ben Hampton 18. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 19. Richard Kennar

1. William Hopoate 2. Curtis Rona 3. Josh Morris 4. Kerrod Holland 5. Sam Perrett 6. Josh Reynolds 7. Moses Mbye 8. Aiden Tolman 9. Michael Lichaa 10. James Graham 11. Josh Jackson 12. Tony Williams 13. Greg Eastwood
Interchange: 14. Sam Kasiano 15. Tim Browne 16. David Klemmer 17. Adam Elliot 19. Lloyd Perrett

 

[GCBRONCO]

THURSDAY, APRIL 7
Broncos v Dragons
Suncorp Stadium, 7:50pm
Broncos: 1 Darius Boyd 2 Corey Oates 3 Jack Reed 4 James Roberts 5 Jordan Kahu 6 Anthony Milford 7 Ben Hunt 8 Josh McGuire 9 Andrew McCullough 10 Adam Blair 11 Alex Glenn 12 Matt Gillett 13 Corey Parker (c)
Interchange 14 Jarrod Wallace 15 Sam Thaiday 16 Joe Ofahengaue 17 Kodi Nikorima
Dragons: 1 Josh Dugan 2 Peter Mata’utia 3 Euan Aitken 4 Tim Lafai 5 Jason Nightingale 6 Gareth Widdop (c) 7 Benji Marshall 8 Leeson Ah Mau 9 Mitch Rein 10 Russell Packer 11 Tyson Frizell 12 Joel Thompson 13 Jack De Belin
Interchange 14 Mike Cooper 15 Will Matthews 16 Siliva Havili 17 Jake Marketo

FRIDAY, APRIL 8
Rabbitohs v Roosters
ANZ Stadium, 7:50pm
Rabbitohs: 1 Greg Inglis (c) 2 Bryson Goodwin 3 Kirisome Auva’a 4 Hymel Hunt 5 Aaron Gray 6 Cody Walker 7 Luke Keary 8 George Burgess 9 Cameron McInnes 10 Sam Burgess 11 Chris Grevsmuhl 12 Kyle Turner 13 Nathan Brown
Interchange 14 Damien Cook 15 Jason Clark 16 David Tyrrell 17 Thomas Burgess 18 Paul Carter 19 Michael Oldfield
Roosters: 1 Latrell Mitchell 2 Daniel Tupou 3 Brendan Elliot 4 Blake Ferguson 5 Shaun Kenny-Dowall 6 Jayden Nikorima 7 Jackson Hastings 8 Sam Moa 9 Jake Friend (c) 10 Dylan Napa 11 Mitchell Aubusson 12 Aidan Guerra 13 Sio Siua Taukeiaho
Interchange 14 Isaac Liu 15 Kane Evans 16 Mitchell Frei 17 Eloni Vunakece 24 Abraham Papalii

SATURDAY, APRIL 9
Eels v Raiders
Pirtek Stadium, 3:00pm
Eels: 1 Michael Gordon 2 Semi Radradra 3 Michael Jennings 4 Brad Takairangi 5 Clint Gutherson 6 Corey Norman 7 Kieran Foran (c) 8 Junior Paulo 9 Nathan Peats 10 Daniel Alvaro 11 Manu Ma’u 12 Beau Scott 13 Tepai Moeroa
Interchange 14 Isaac De Gois 15 Peni Terepo 16 Danny Wicks 17 Ken Edwards
Raiders: 1 Jack Wighton 2 Edrick Lee 3 Jarrod Croker (c) 4 Joseph Leilua 5 Jordan Rapana 6 Blake Austin 7 Aidan Sezer 8 Shannon Boyd 9 Josh Hodgson 10 Frank-Paul Nuuausala 11 Josh Papalii 12 Elliott Whitehead 13 Shaun Fensom
Interchange 14 Kurt Baptiste 15 Luke Bateman 16 Paul Vaughan 17 Joseph Tapine

Warriors v Sea Eagles
Mt Smart Stadium, 5:30pm
Warriors: 1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 2 Tuimoala Lolohea 3 Blake Ayshford 4 Solomone Kata 5 Jonathan Wright 6 Shaun Johnson 7 Jeff Robson 8 Jacob Lillyman 9 Issac Luke 10 Ben Matulino 11 Simon Mannering 12 Ryan Hoffman 13 Sam Lisone
Interchange: 14 Jazz Tevaga 15 Albert Vete 16 Charlie Gubb 17 Konrad Hurrell 18 Thomas Leuluai
Sea Eagles: 1 Brett Stewart 2 Jorge Taufua 3 Jamie Lyon (c) 4 Steve Matai 5 Tom Trbojevic 6 Dylan Walker 7 Apisai Koroisau 8 Josh Starling 9 Matt Parcell 10 Nate Myles 11 Tom Symonds 12 Martin Taupau 13 Jake Trbojevic
Interchange 14 Lewis Brown 15 Brenton Lawrence 16 Darcy Lussick 17 Siosaia Vave 18 Blake Leary 21 Luke Burgess


Panthers v Cowboys
Pepper Stadium, 7:30pm
Panthers: 1 Matt Moylan (c) 2 Josh Mansour 3 Waqa Blake 4 Peta Hiku 5 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 6 Te Maire Martin 7 Jamie Soward 8 Sam McKendry 9 Peter Wallace 10 Reagan Campbell-Gillard 11 Bryce Cartwright 12 Isaah Yeo 13 Trent Merrin
Interchange 14 Tyrone Peachey 15 Leilani Latu 16 Suaia Matagi 17 James Fisher-Harris 20 Elijah Taylor 21 Jeremy Latimore
Cowboys: 1 Lachlan Coote 2 Kyle Feldt 3 Justin O’Neill 4 Javid Bowen 5 Antonio Winterstein 6 Michael Morgan 7 Johnathan Thurston (c) 8 Matthew Scott (c) 9 Jake Granville 10 James Tamou 11 Gavin Cooper 12 Ethan Lowe 13 Jason Taumalolo
Interchange 14 Rory Kostjasyn 15 John Asiata 16 Scott Bolton 17 Ben Hannant

SUNDAY, APRIL 10

Sharks v Titans
Southern Cross Group Stadium, 2:00pm
Sharks: 1 Ben Barba 2 Sosaia Feki 3 Jack Bird 4 Ricky Leutele 5 Valentine Holmes 6 James Maloney 7 Chad Townsend 8 Andrew Fifita 9 Michael Ennis 10 Sam Tagataese 11 Luke Lewis 12 Wade Graham 13 Paul Gallen (c)
Interchange 14 Jayson Bukuya 15 Chris Heighington 16 Matt Prior 17 Joseph Paulo 18 Gerard Beale
Titans: 1 David Mead 2 Anthony Don 3 Josh Hoffman 4 John Olive 5 Nene Macdonald 6 Cameron Cullen 7 Ashley Taylor 8 David Shillington 9 Nathan Friend (c) 10 Ryan James 11 Zeb Taia 12 Chris McQueen 13 Greg Bird
Interchange 14 Luke Douglas 15 Leivaha Pulu 16 Agnatius Paasi 17 Daniel Mortimer 18 Eddy Pettybourne 19 Will Zillman

Knights v Tigers
Hunter Stadium, 4:00pm
Knights: 1 Dane Gagai 2 Nathan Ross 3 Sione Mata’utia 4 Pat Mata’utia 5 Akuila Uate 6 Jarrod Mullen 7 Trent Hodkinson (c) 8 Sam Mataora 9 Danny Levi 10 Korbin Sims 11 Tariq Sims (c) 12 Robbie Rochow 13 Jeremy Smith (c)
Interchange 14 Tyler Randell 15 Jack Stockwell 16 Jacob Saifiti 17 Pauli Pauli 18 Daniel Saifiti 19 Mickey Paea
Tigers: 1 James Tedesco 2 David Nofoaluma 3 Tim Simona 4 Kevin Naiqama 5 Jordan Rankin 6 Mitchell Moses 7 Luke Brooks 8 Aaron Woods (c) 9 Robbie Farah 10 Tim Grant 11 Dene Halatau 12 Chris Lawrence 13 Sauaso Sue
Interchange 14 Curtis Sironen 15 Ava Seumanufagai 16 Joshua Aloiai 17 Kyle Lovett

MONDAY, APRIL 11

Storm v Bulldogs
AAMI Park, 7:00pm
Storm: 1 Cameron Munster 2 Young Tonumaipea 3 Will Chambers 4 Tohu Harris 5 Marika Koroibete 6 Blake Green 7 Cooper Cronk 8 Jesse Bromwich 9 Cameron Smith (c) 10 Jordan McLean 11 Kevin Proctor 12 Kenny Bromwich 13 Dale Finucane
Interchange 14 Christian Welch 15 Tim Glasby 16 Felise Kaufusi 17 Ben Hampton 18 Nelson Asofa-Solomona 19 Richie Kennar
Bulldogs: 1 Will Hopoate 2 Curtis Rona 3 Josh Morris 4 Kerrod Holland 5 Sam Perrett 6 Josh Reynolds 7 Moses Mbye 8 Aiden Tolman 9 Michael Lichaa 10 James Graham (c) 11 Josh Jackson 12 Tony Williams 13 Greg Eastwood
Interchange 14 Sam Kasiano 15 Tim Browne 16 David Klemmer 17 Adam Elliott 19 Lloyd Perrett

 

[BroncosAlways]

Lol Benji skipping 360 tonight, coach must of told him to pull his head in.

 

[Alec]

Fingers crossed for Roosters losing yet another one.

 

[Alec]

Is this going to be Cameron Cullen's first game in FG?

 

[Fozz]

Is this going to be Cameron Cullen's first game in FG?

Yes.

 

[mitch222]

Lol Benji skipping 360 tonight, coach must of told him to pull his head in.

Don't blame the coach one bit. Some of the dragons players really need to look in the mirror at their performances and he is most definitely one of them.

 

[Waynesaurus]

Lol Benji skipping 360 tonight, coach must of told him to pull his head in.

Don't blame the coach one bit. Some of the dragons players really need to look in the mirror at their performances and he is most definitely one of them.

Benji looks lost to me, like he doesn't really fit in the team or has no clear idea how McGregor expects him to play in the side. His confidence looks rock bottom and his execution has been really poor because of it.

 

[Big Pete]

The problem is the halves combination. Both Widdop and Marshall are second receivers through and through who relish the role of taking the ball to the line and testing the opposition fringe defence. Under McGregor's scheme neither is really granted that opportunity and since the Dragons rely heavily on winning the ruck they rarely get to showcase their skills.

It's in Benji's best interests to leave St George. The only problem is, there wouldn't be that many clubs in the NRL chasing his signature. Manly need somebody better than Dylan Walker to partner Cherry-Evans in the halves. The only problem there is that they would be strapped for cash and if they wanted to sign a five-eighth they would be more interested in a long term option.

The only other clubs that would have any serious interest in Benji is Penrith and Souths. Otherwise, Benji would have to rely on other transfers and a reasonable asking price to land a gig.

The only formal offer I've heard reported is from the Salford City Reds. Tim Sheens is the football manager over there and is reportedly interested in signing Chris Lawrence, Chris Heighington and Benji. The move is highly unlikely but it would be interested to see if they could help rebuild that club.

 

[Unbreakable]

Knights are specials this weekend.

Sunday afternoon at Hunter, due for a win, playing decent footy - Tariq Sims back from suspension, Tim Simona out for the Tigers.

 

[Morkel]

The problem is the halves combination. Both Widdop and Marshall are second receivers through and through who relish the role of taking the ball to the line and testing the opposition fringe defence. Under McGregor's scheme neither is really granted that opportunity and since the Dragons rely heavily on winning the ruck they rarely get to showcase their skills.

It's in Benji's best interests to leave St George. The only problem is, there wouldn't be that many clubs in the NRL chasing his signature. Manly need somebody better than Dylan Walker to partner Cherry-Evans in the halves. The only problem there is that they would be strapped for cash and if they wanted to sign a five-eighth they would be more interested in a long term option.

The only other clubs that would have any serious interest in Benji is Penrith and Souths. Otherwise, Benji would have to rely on other transfers and a reasonable asking price to land a gig.

The only formal offer I've heard reported is from the Salford City Reds. Tim Sheens is the football manager over there and is reportedly interested in signing Chris Lawrence, Chris Heighington and Benji. The move is highly unlikely but it would be interested to see if they could help rebuild that club.

They relied on Merrin more than they realised. He was their James Graham in a playmaking sense.

 

[jarro65]

Lol Benji skipping 360 tonight, coach must of told him to pull his head in.

They are still in camp up here in QLD, so i doubt any coach would let his 'star playmaker' head down south to do a bit of TV the night before their game.

 

[Big Pete]

They relied on Merrin more than they realised. He was their James Graham in a playmaking sense.

For mine, his loss is the straw that broke the camel's back.

Merrin doesn't have the ball-playing ability of Graham, but he brought an extra dynamic to the Dragons that they've yet to replace. Whether it be his ability to create second-phase or get a quick play-the-ball, Merrin gave the Dragons forward pack an edge that was difficult to contain. When the Dragons went on their early season run, he was the difference. They finally went away from the tactical bench rotation, gave him the added responsibility of starting and he stepped up to the plate. With Cooper, Ah Mau, Frizell going with him and having their best seasons in the process, it was just enough to carry the Dragons over the line.

Nobody has stepped up in his void, the Dragons are still sparse for a bench forward that suits their gameplan and they find themselves 2-3 with only six tries to their name.

Still, if the Dragons want to be a successful footy side they have to be better than 2015. Even with Merrin in the side, the Dragons struggled for points and I find it concerning that Widdop had his best games when Marshall wasn't around. Even this season, the best Widdop performance I've seen was the Round 3 clash against Souths (I missed the Round 4 v Penrith).

To his credit, Mary has built a solid foundation and I really like the appointment of Demetriou. He's only been there since January, but if he can work with these players and build a stable roster (he coaches the NSW ISC side) they could solve the other half of the problem.

In short, the Dragons have some hurdles they need to overcome but with the right amount of patience and some smart recruitment there's no reason why they can't be competitive in 2017.

 

[Sproj]

They still need some speed though the Dragons. Any breaks they make are shut down pretty quickly because they have no Milford/Roberts/Oates type runners.

 

[Alec]

The only thing I really rate is their edge back row. Frizzell and Thompson are quality.

 

[Big Pete]

I didn't want to bog down the Broncos board with more Dugan discussion, so I'll post it here.

I thought last night typified Josh Dugan.

He was in everything for his team and you really can't question his commitment.

24 Runs 312m

Impressive numbers.

However, when the game gave him opportunities to step up he couldn't rise to the occasion.

In the 42nd minute, Alex Glenn is run off his chase by Dugan allowing Josh to bump off Reed and race 45m before he's comfortably rounded up by Milford.

More concerning in the 62nd minute, Jarrod Wallace loses the ball straight to Dugan who is presented a massive gap and plenty of space to work in. A faster player goes the length and inspires his troops - Dugan is taken 25m out from the Broncos line giving Brisbane an opportunity to regroup.

Dugan is presented these moments to star in a game and he can't truly capitilise on them.

In fact if anything he usually lets his team down in the key moments. If the Dragons were ever going to compete with the Broncos, it was important that they got off to a good start. In Dugan's second touch of the night, he sheepishly hits the ball up, Gillett monsters him and he loses the ball in the tackle. Moments later, Milford floats a pass to Oates and the Dragons are already chasing points.

Moments later, Mata'utia and Nightingale combine to send Aitken down the corner. Dragons shift it the other side and have the Broncos on the back-foot, they give the ball to their weapon in Dugan who fumbles it and the moment is lost for the Dragons.

First touch of the second half, Brisbane bomb it to Dugan who loses it. Dugan was incredibly lucky that Mata'utia was able to beat Reed to the ball, otherwise the Broncos go right back on the attack.

Then with 10 to play, down by 14, St George Illawarra have one last crack inside the Broncos half only for Dugan to throw the ball backwards to nobody. Brisbane end up scoring later on in that set.

Between all that and the ineffective second man plays where he fails to draw the outside defender over and over again I find it difficult to see why he's still considered an automatic pick for the NSW fullback position.

I'm not going to keep flogging a dead horse, but since I saw a bunch of other posters bring his performance up in the post-game thread I thought I'd weigh in.

 

[broncoboy]

rabbitohs vs roosters whats everyone thoughts on the game, i believe Sam burgess will come back a lot better this week through more confidence, ive picked roosters to upset them and i believe latrell mitchell will have a breakout game

 

[tommy]

I reckon Souths will be too good. Roosters down on confidence and down on form. Unless it's raining, then it might be closer. Even St George managed to beat them when it was raining.