Round 18 of the season opens on Friday night from
Suncorp. The Sharks travel north without their captain but face a Broncos team
without their captain and a few other superstars. In the corresponding fixture
last year, the Sharks marched into Queensland and beat the stuffing out of the
baby Broncos with Wade Graham the standout. This time, the home side won’t be
ambushed but they’ll still be struggling.
Brisbane have lost two in a row and were held scoreless
against the Storm last start. Their attack has completely stalled and their
defense, while willing, simply cannot cope with the pressure of protecting no
points. If the Cronulla outside backs can hold on to the ball and finish what
Todd Carney starts, the visitors will be too good. Somehow, Carney has made it
to his 150th 1st grade game. A miracle, really, and one
that he should be congratulated for.
My tip: Sharks 20-14
Parramatta Eels v Penrith Panthers
Looking at the Parramatta team list for Saturday night’s
match against the Panthers, you can’t help but wonder how any of them can be
ready to perform at their best for this match. Many of them have no future with
the club, let alone rugby league, and many others are getting 1001 chances
after being dropped 1000 times. I’m not sure if my maths is correct here but if
anyone has a Ben Roberts relegation counter, send it my way.
Poor Parra – they’ll get a first-hand, close up view of
what resurgence looks like. They’ll take a big whiff of what rebuilding smells
like and they won’t like it one bit. The Panthers are, now, all that the Eels
could have been. They’ve trusted youngsters, dropped superstars and rewarded
effort off the paddock. The visitors sit in 7th position on the
ladder, have won their past two matches and the Eels have a miserable future
ahead of them. Good lord.
My tip: Penrith 24-12
A grand final replay, buried in the black hole of all
fixtures - the Sunday before Origin 3. Honestly, what are we thinking here? We
are not even trying at this point, are we?! I’m no marketing genius but
couldn’t this match, between the two best teams in the competition in 2012,
possibly have been turned into a blockbuster if it was played at ANY OTHER
TIME, aside from during the rep season? Don’t answer that; in fact let’s just
get on with it.
The big news here is that the great Ben Hampton re-joins
Brett Finch in the halves to take on the grizzly old veteran pair of Trent
Hodkinson and Joel Romelo. Both the ‘Dogs 7 and 7 are great defenders but must
do more. They must demand consistency from their teammates. Canterbury were a
mess with the ball in hand last week and if they hold on to it this week, they
deserve to be $1.25 favourites. Melbourne won’t have the points to keep up.
My tip: Canterbury 24-12
North Queensland Cowboys v Manly Sea Eagles
Monday night footy comes from Townsville on a wet and balmy
night in the tropical north. Plenty of players missing through rep duty but do
your best to enjoy this – if anything it should keep your mind occupied to help
get through the origin 3 countdown. The nerves would have already started by
this stage so let’s keep a lid on things by enjoying the Ray Thompson / Robert
Lui combination for the Cowboys, up against the Peter Hiku experiment at
halfback for the Eagles.
Manly should be too good for a home side that will
struggle for points, struggle for go-forward and unable to get the usual boost
they get from playing at home. It may not be as easy as the Cowboys’ previous
match against Parra last week, but the Eagles will work hard enough to put away
an enthusiastic but outmatched home side. Jamie Lyon and Glenn Stewart the
standouts as Manly beat North Queensland for the 5th consecutive
time.
My tip: Manly 30-12
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