Round 16 kicks off from Brookvale Oval on Friday night as
the Roosters head north for a Grand Final replay. This is your match of the round.
The chooks have lost only 1 game in their last 9 weeks and Manly are rolling along
just as nicely, on top of the table and looking as dangerous as ever. They’ll
miss Anthony Watmough, but have enough experience and agro to cover him and
they will need to. The Roosters pack is a sight to behold.
With no rain forecast this week, the fortress surface
should look better than we last saw and these two teams may actually score some
points. But don’t bet on too many. Last time they met, in Round 4, the Roosters
were in a dry spell and lost 8-0. This time round, they are firing and fresh
and will re-visit their domination of the Eagles. The halves battle, the forwards
battle, the strength and speed of the outside backs… this is how you build premiership
calibre teams.
My tip: Roosters 18-16
So, the Broncos mid-season tryst around the world has
ended and their return to Suncorp Stadium for Friday night footy came just in
time. Your free-to-air broadcaster may have had to show Manly v Roosters on prime-time
Brisbane TV, heaven forbid. That, or replays of Hey Hey its Saturday’s greatest
hits. Speaking of which, the Broncos will be happy to get the band back
together this week as they face the last placed Sharks.
Brisbane may not be at their best without Andrew
McCullough controlling the middle, but if given any space against the
struggling Cronulla outside backs, they will run riot. Ben Barba is edging closer
each week and we may even see his best here. Similarly, Justin Hodges and Jack
Reed should have little problems handling Jono Wright and company. The poor
Sharks forwards simply can’t do everything, but they may score their first try
in almost 5 hours of footy. Fingers crossed.
My tip: Brisbane 30-12
Wests Tigers v Canberra Raiders
Good signs for the Tigers here. They come into this game
after a week off and will be running onto the hallowed turf of Campbelltown
Stadium with a spring in their step, their spine intact and almost at full strength.
If they put the throttle down early and not wait for the Raiders to shoot themselves
in the foot, this could be another disaster for Ricky Stuart and his
downtrodden troops. The Raiders have won 1 from their past 6 matches and are
hanging by a thread.
So, Saturday night from Sydney’s west may only be a 2
hour drive for the visitors, but it will feel a lot longer on the way home.
Robbie Farah’s hangover should be completely gone so he, Aaron Woods and Keith
Galloway will set the tone early. Luke Brooks and James Tedesco will continue
where they left off earlier in the season and carve up the Raiders’ league worst
defence. Tigers by plenty as Canberra are simply too slow to keep up.
My tip: West 32-12
North Queensland Cowboys v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Back to Townsville for Jonathan Thurston and the Cowboys
and they’ll all breathe a sigh of relief. Since round 4 this season, North
Queensland have won all their home games and lost all away. It’s consistently
inconsistent and if they are to continue this consistent incontinency then they’ll
be winners this Saturday night at 1300Smiles Stadium against the visiting Bunnies.
No doubt Souths will have something to say about this.
The Rabbitohs are rolling. They’ve lost only twice in the
past 11 weeks and are owners of the NRL’s best defence and second best attack, statistically
speaking. This is amazing. Especially considering how many jokes this ‘column’
has made about their reliance upon Greg Inglis to be the only creative force
with ball in hand. Lucky nobody is reading this, then I’d really be embarrassed.
If anyone is reading this – I tipped
6 from 6 last week so there.
My tip: South Sydney 21-14
New Zealand Warriors v Penrith Panthers
If footy fans are salivating at the thought of a grand final
replay from Brookvale on Friday night, then they’ll almost be frothing at the
bit in anticipation of this one. Ivan Cleary heads back to where it all began
for his coaching career and he brings a few ex-warriors with him. Elijah
Taylor, Lewis Brown and Jeremy Latimore will enjoy the trip back to Auckland
and will relish the opportunity to face their former teammates.
So will the Warriors. They’ve only lost 2 games in the past
8 weeks and will be primed to face the league leaders here. Sunday afternoon
footy does not get much better than this and with a big crowd expected and the
home side surprising favourites, it will be a beauty. The Panthers are coming
off a nice break here and will be perfectly prepared to add to their current 5
match winning streak. They’ll start strong and finish stronger.
My tip: Penrith 22-18
Parramatta Eels v Newcastle Knights
Sunday afternoon from Pirtek Stadium where the mighty
Eels are undefeated this year. A huge ask for the visiting Knights as they
bring a 3 and 11 record with them to Sydney and are locked in as very heavy
outsiders. They’ll be focussing all their energy on stopping Jarryd Hayne, in
the hopes of keeping this one close but it will be the Eels forwards they
really have to worry about. New rake Isaac De Gois will be more familiar with
his crew and they will thrive.
Parra wins the ruck and dominates field position – and then
there’ll be plenty of opportunities for Chris Sandow to have some fun. As long
as he doesn’t accuse any one of match fixing, he’ll have a ball. The Eels
should start fast, as they do at home, and then hold on for another win out
west. But look for an improved performance from the Knights after a confidence
boosting win last week with Kurt Gidley in his preferred position at halfback. Won’t
be enough though.
My tip: Parramatta 30-20
St George Illawarra Dragons v Melbourne Storm
Monday night footy has the Storm visiting the Dragons
from a very cold and windy Wollongong. How do we know it’s gonna be cold and
windy at WIN Stadium, 5 days out from game day? We just know. We also know that
Benji Marshall is now 5 games into his return to the greatest game of all and if
we are to believe the experts, who said it would take Benji ‘6 or 7 weeks’ to
find his rhythm, then we are in for a treat here.
Melbourne’s defence has not been great in 2014 and even
with a vastly improved showing from their halves in recent times, they may
struggle on both sides of the ball here. Benji could be set for a good one but
Gareth Widdop will no doubt deliver. He gets Saints off on the right foot and even
with Trent Merrin out injured, the Dragons forwards continue their fight for
respect. Dan Hunt slated to return and Saints get revenge for that round 6
farce.
My tip: Dragons 20-18
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