Friday’s first NRL Round 16 match is between Manly Sea Eagles and Sydney Roosters with the opening kick to commence at 19:50 local time. The game is to be played at Brookvale Oval which see’s home team Manly Sea Eagles hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Manly Sea Eagles and Sydney Roosters.
Where and when: 19:50 | Friday 27/06/2014 @ Brookvale Oval
Preview:
The Sea Eagles registered back-to-back wins for the first time in five weeks with a comprehensive 26 – nil win over the struggling Sharks at Remondis Stadium last week and earned themselves top spot on the competition ladder in the process.
The Sea Eagles opened the scoring early with Justin Horo crossing in just the fourth minute, the first time in a month that Manly have been first on the board.
Steve Matai registered his eleventh try of the season in the nineteenth minute, four more than any other Sea Eagle this season and when Jamie Lyon ran in the third four-pointer ten minutes later, the Sea Eagles took a 16 – 0 lead into the break.
Two more tries in the second half – both scored by replacement forward Tom Symonds, rounded out a strong performance by the Sea Eagles.
The only changes to last week’s squad is Dunamis Lui at lock and Jamie Buhrer starting in the second row.
Manly has only lost two matches since round 6, both away games when facing the Broncos and Storm interstate, and return to Brookvale for this clash where their only loss in six games this season came in the opening round of the year when defeated a point by the Storm.
ROOSTERS
Prior to the bye last week, the Roosters had won seven of their past eight matches with all bar one of those victories being by a margin of 13+.
Do have to keep in mind though, that during this sequence the Roosters have met and defeated both Canterbury and Melbourne – with both teams missing a number of their Origin stars, whilst their other wins have been over teams outside of the eight – Cronulla, Newcastle, Canberra, St. George etc – and this match will be a real test to see just how well they are travelling.
One aspect of the Roosters game that would be pleasing Coach Trent Robinson is the Roosters defence with no more than 12 points being scored against them in the past month.
With the benefit of last week’s bye the Roosters head into this clash with a near full strength side.
Origin reps Daniel Tupou and Aidan Guerrera return to the line-up and Boyd Cordner is named on the bench for his return to football.
HEAD TO HEAD
When the sides last met in round 4 this year at Allianz Stadium, Manly succeeded for the first time in five matches however, one thing that didn’t change was the physicality and closeness of the match.
Manly won 8 – 0 which made it two of the last three matches that failed to produce more than ten points. In fact only one of the last five has produced more than 30 total match points.
The Roosters will be up for this one and want to confirm their form is legitimate, so expect another close one.
The tri bet might be the way to go here with Steve Matai or Brett Stewart to score first or at any stage during the match, for some added value
Teams:
MANLY: Brett Stewart, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Lyon, Steve Matai, Peta Hiku, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Josh Starling, Matt Ballin, Brenton Lawrence, Jamie Buhrer, Justin Horo, Dunamis Lui. Interchange: Jesse Sene-Lefao, James Hasson, Tom Symonds, Jason King.
ROOSTERS: Anthony Minichiello (c), Daniel Tupou, Mitchell Aubusson, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, James Maloney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (vc), Jake Friend, Sam Moa, Aidan Guerra, Sonny Bill Williams, Frank-Paul Nuuausala. Interchange: Dylan Napa, Isaac Liu, Boyd Cordner, Remi Casty, Heath L’Estrange.
News:
Benji Marshall believes Paul McGregor has all the attributes to be one of the top coaches in the NRL and urged St George Illawarra powerbrokers to give him the job on a permanent basis.
McGregor was handed the reins at the Dragons last month until the end of the season after Steve Price was axed on the back of six defeats in seven matches.
Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens and Nathan Brown have all been linked with the job, but having spent more than a month working with McGregor Marshall believes the joint-venture club have the best man for the job right under their noses.
“I really rate him. He is very honest, tells the truth and gives you confidence when you need it too,” Marshall told AAP.
“From what I’ve seen of his coaching I really do think he has the ability to be one of the great coaches in the game.
“He has a great feel for his players and is an outstanding man-manager – something that is often overlooked when people talk about coaching.”
The Dragons have won two of three of McGregor’s games in charge, including a nailbiting 19-18 win over the Gold Coast on Sunday and Marshall said the team is benefiting from his no-nonsense, straight-talking approach.
“He has coached a lot of the young players in the side in the lower grades and sometimes he will give it to them straight and often that is what you need,” he said.
“He was also a brilliant player in his own right and straight away there is a respect for him.”
In addition to his work on the training field, Marshall believes McGregor’s greatest asset is knowing when a player requires an arm around the shoulder, something he admits he’s needed since his return from rugby.
“I still feel I’m trying to build my confidence, I do something good and I’m alright … but then I do something bad and I get a bit down and remember the tough times again,” he said.
“I made four errors last week, three the week before and I think 10 over five games.
“For a half that is far too many and ‘Mary’ could see I was down.
“He came and spoke to me and told me I was the best halfback he had and that wasn’t going to change. It really was what I needed to hear.
“I am really enjoying it here. Every day I wake up and I can’t wait to get to training.
“I feel like I am learning new things off him every day, he challenges me to be the best I can be.
“As a player that’s what you want.”
