City v Country
Can't wait to see who stands out when the games biggest stars come together in this annual fixture. Combinations are the key in City v Country and both sets of halves have played together in the past and will communicate well. Equally as important are the combinations with each rake and we can see Mick Ennis deferring nicely to his halves. If so, he is a big chance to hold on to his NSW jumper. By the same token, Robbie Farah will give a good account of himself, but may not have such a good relationship with his very young city halves. Our prediction is that he over calls them at least 70% of the time in this game.
Speaking of predictions, obviously the result of this match is the second most important part. The most important aspect is the fight for Skye blue jerseys so keep an eye on Greg Bird as the standout, ready to return to the representative arena. Look forward to seeing Jamal Idris and Timana Tahu in the centres for Country. Absolutely Lethal. Country to win with a more experienced 6 and 7, and an absolutely magnificent bench. Let's hope they put on a great show for the lovely people of Port Macquarie.
Man of the Match Prediction: Greg Bird
Tip: Country 24-20
Result: Country 36-18
Man of the Match: Josh Dugan
Australia v New Zealand
Always great to see the best of the best come together to represent their country. In this case, the Australian backline will be a site to behold and will no doubt impress the people of Victoria in Friday's test match against the Kiwis. NZ pride will keep this match close for a while, but the Australians will have too many weapons to overcome the current World Cup Champions whose forward pack looks a little skinny compared to teams of the past.
Isaac Luke has been a standout for his NRL club this year so it will be interesting to see just how far he has come in a battle with the best, Cameron Smith. Also keep an eye on Manly teammates Steve Matai and Jamie Lyon running into each other a few times; let's hope Matai treats his club captain with the same disdain as all of his opposite numbers. The Kangaroo's backline is one of the quickest and most dangerous we've ever seen and they could do some serious damage to the Kiwi's if given enough space.
Man of the Match Prediction: Billy Slater
Tip: Australia 30 -16
Result: Australia 12-8
Man of the Match: Sam Thaiday
Manly v St George Illawarra
This will be a great game of footy. Let's all pretend that 12 players in this game are NOT backing from playing a rep game 24 hours before kick-off at Brookvale Oval. Let's pretend there's been an intense build-up all week and that both teams have been talking this game up through the media. Let's pretend Wayne Bennett and Des Hasler have been preparing their troops very well for the opening exchanges in this heated affair and not simply running training sessions with a skeleton crew.
Barring injury, it may still turn out this way and if so I can't wait. So many great matchups across the park and collectively, these teams will butt heads for 80 minutes with the winner showing better discipline/ball control. Saints will have to fight harder than they did last week to secure a win and with a more experienced side and a fresh set of halves, they do. A very close encounter dominated by defence but Saints keep their momentum going and leave the insular peninsular with two points.
Man of the Match Prediction: Dean Young
Tip: Dragons 21-14
Result: Manly 24-6
Man of the Match: Jason King
Newcastle v Gold Coast
With so many talented footballers on the park in this game, we can't see anything but a high scoring affair on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Newcastle. The Titans are not simply a strong team at home anymore; they have displayed a new resolve and play their best footy at the most important part of matches - the final 20 minutes. This discipline and consistency has been lacking with the Knights so far this year and combined with their struggles in defence, they are difficult to tip.
But I'm going to anyway. Kurt Gidley's last 3 weeks have been impressive and the Knights are slowly developing a resolve of their own that will peak against the Titans this week. Newcastle get their first back-to-back victory of the season and finally play to their potential against quality opponents. Field position is key and the home side get an edge in this department through a powerful forward pack led by Ben Cross and Steve Simpson. Newcastle explodes out of the gates and hold on to win.
Man of the Match Prediction: Kurt Gidley
Tip: Newcastle 28-26
Result: Titans 38-36
Man of the Match: Greg Bird
Melbourne v Brisbane
Bottom of the table clash! As Melbourne languishes in the wooden spoon position, the Broncos are in similar strife as they have been ravaged by injuries so far this year and are struggling to stop teams from scoring. Who will win the battle of the also-rans? ... All jokes aside, Brisbane could be in a spot of bother here. They face a Storm side that have been given a license to play open attacking football and will be christening their new stadium in front of a raucous home crowd.
The Storm might have a few points in them against a visiting Broncos team who give up an average of just under 30 points per match. A few Storm players backing up from rep footy but it won't make a difference as they run up a big lead over their arch-rivals and then the big question will be whether they take the foot off the pedal. Inglis v Folau will be a site to behold and could be the last time these two superstars are on the same field together. Storm by plenty.
Man of the Match Prediction: Cooper Cronk
Tip: Melbourne 42-10
Result: Brisbane - 36-14
Man of the Match: Darren Lockyer
Eastern Suburbs v Nth Queensland
The Roosters were very impressive in their win against the Tigers at Campbelltown last week. To restrict the Tigers to 8 points is a magnificent effort in defence (admittedly they were sloppy with the ball). This type of toughness has been missing from Bondi for some time and will put them in good stead for the remainder of the season - starting with the struggling Cowboys. With the curse of injury striking the boys from Townsville, they are huge underdogs in this match.
Aaron Payne has been named to make his return which is a bright spot for the visitors, but this won't be enough to out-score the Roosters who have shown they can be inventive as well as patient with the football. Coach Brian Smith has his charges all moving in the same direction and that will point towards 2 points on Monday night. Interesting to see the crowd response to Willie Mason's return to Sydney as well as the debut of 19 year old halfback Michael Morgan for the Cowboys. He will no doubt have some big Roosters forwards running at him all night long.
Man of the Match Prediction: Todd Carney
Tip: Roosters 34-14
Result: Cowboys 32-14
Man of the Match: Scott Bolton
See our "Minute by Minute Monday Night" blog - delivered in 'retro' form every Tuesday. For live updates go to http://www.leagueunlimited.com/
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