My 200th Blog Post. Paully's Picks - Round 19, 2013.

Wests Tigers v New Zealand Warriors

The Tigers have copped plenty of criticism in their short history as a club. Who can forget the ambush of Robbie Farah on pay television, with ex footballers accusing his team of being "soft".. And Benji Marshall seems to be the target at one point, seemingly, every year. But this current round of attacks seems a little more personal, after a loss to the Sharks, which, interestingly, followed a win over Melbourne. How does he respond?

Well, for starters, Benji and his manger have decided to never play Rugby League again after 2013. Not a bad response, but one that may not help the Tigers this Friday night at Leichhardt Oval as they host the Warriors to kick off Round 19 of the season.  Blake Ayshford plays his 100^th first grade game and if the home ground advantage doesn’t help Wests here, nothing else can. The Warriors will be well rested and will finish stronger.

My tip: New Zealand 30-14

 

Canberra Raiders v Parramatta Eels

Oh, to be a fly on the wall inside the Eels dressing room. What on earth can Ricky Stuart possibly be saying to this band of mercenaries to motivate them for a Saturday night encounter in our nation’s capital? Dress warm? Go hard? Be professional? Well, whatever inspiration Parramatta have to rise above the filthy mess that is their season; one can only hope they find it before kick-off because this could get ugly.

The Eels are $7 outsiders and rightly so. Canberra are undefeated at home this season and have recently uncovered a couple of future superstars in Josh Papalii and Anthony Milford. Add to that a healthy pack of forwards, mostly, and the Raiders should have no trouble with this one. Terry Campese steers them around the park and is sure to target the many weaknesses in the Eels defensive line.

My tip: Canberra 42-12

 

Sydney Roosters v Cronulla Sharks

2 v 5 on the ladder and your match of the round this week. A beauty from Allianz Stadium on Saturday night as the Roosters host the Sharks. Whether Todd Carney wants to prove a point here, or not, he’s still the best playmaker on the field and the league leading Roosters defence will be all over him from kick off. This battle will be intense and Carney will need plenty of help from his forwards to find any space.

He may not get it. The chooks’ forward pack has been designed to destroy at both ends of the field.  They’ll be pointed in Carney’s direction and then, with field position, should be putting points on Cronulla at the back end of each half. Jeff Robson’s toughness in defence and direction in attack will be missed. Bryce Gibbs v Jared Warea-Hargreaves a highlight of niggling at its best. The Roosters win their 4^th straight.

My tip: Roosters 18-12

 

Penrith Panthers v Newcastle Knights

Sunday arvo from Centrebet. The Panthers are riding a 3 match winning streak coming into this match and if you remember the earlier fixture between these clubs in round 6, Penrith gave the Knights all they could handle and just fell short in what was supposed to be an easy win for the Knights. If you did see that game, you’ll also remember it as the worst game of the season up to that point and probably still.

So, fingers crossed the Panthers play to their much improved potential and give the Knights another good shake. Speaking of Newcastle, they’ve looked good since Danny Buderus returned from injury and will play a very patient brand of football in this match, waiting for the young Panthers to make mistakes, but they won’t. Penrith continue their remarkable turnaround and ruin the homecoming of a Panthers legend in Craig Gower. 

My tip: Penrith 18-16

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles v Gold Coast Titans

Manly have piled up the points over the last fortnight, nailing the Eels with 50 and then going up to Townsville and putting 34 on an undermanned Cowboys team. This week at Brookvale against the Titans, with their halfback and five-eighth together again, it could be the same story. The Titans have some good halves of their own, but Aidan Sezer and Albert Kelly have hit a wall that all young 1^st graders hit. The grind of the NRL has got them.

If they can’t turn things around for this match, things could look worse than they have for the visitors in recent times, if that’s possible. They’ve given up 86 points in their last two matches and have a 2 and 5 record on the road this year. John Cartwright will do his best to get the Gold Coast defence sorted but he simply does not have the cattle. Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai could have a field day against the Titans’ inexperienced outside backs.

My tip: Manly 30-10

 

South Sydney Rabbitohs v St George Illawarra Dragons

Looking at the numbers in this match makes you cringe. Sure, footy fans know the cycle of success is exactly that, a cycle, but none of them would have predicted the kind of downfall experienced by the famous red V in the last two years. So, back to the numbers. Souths have the NRL’s best attack with 26 per game whilst the Dragons are hovering around 13. There is just no way they’ll get any more than this on Monday night as round 19 comes to a close from ANZ Stadium.

St George Illawarra are huge outsiders here and even with the return of Matt Cooper, the motivation of Jason Nightingales 150^th 1^st grade game and a new number 6 in Adam Quinlan, an upset would require South Sydney to fall in a hole. Possibly into the very same the hole in the ANZ stadium turf my soul collapsed on Wednesday night– or possibly from the collective tears of 80,000 New South Welshman drained into the grass – or a streakers divot.

My tip: Souths 30-6