Saturday’s NRL 2018 Round 25 match is between Parramatta Eels and Sydney Roosters. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:45 local time with the game to be played at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. The away team Sydney Roosters are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Parramatta Eels and Sydney Roosters.
When: 19:45 | Saturday 01/09/2018
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
This game will be a warm-up for future weeks ahead for the Roosters.
Parramatta have been the worst team in the comp by far and it won’t end any differently.
The Roosters will be wanting a response after last week’s defeat.
Losing Dylan Napa is a loss, however they do get back JWH this week.
KEY BATTLE: Mitchell Moses v Cooper Cronk
The matchup between the halves will be a little interesting, however it will be one sided this one.
The Verdict
I can’t get at all excited over the Eels.
A very underwhelming year to say the least.
Roosters by plenty.
The Roosters lead the Eels 7-3 since 2010.
Unibet Odds:
Parramatta Eels at $3.95
Sydney Roosters at $1.26
Odds:
Tip: Sydney Roosters at $1.22
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Blake Ferguson at $10.00
More Info:
Teams:
Parramatta Eels:
1. Jarryd Hayne 2. Bevan French 3. Michael Jennings 4. Clint Gutherson (c) 5. George Jennings 6. Corey Norman 7. Mitch Moses 8. Siosaia Vave 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Tim Mannah 11. Marata Niukore 12. Brad Takairangi 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Jaeman Salmon 15. Kave Evans 16. David Gower 17. Oregon Kaufusi
Reserves: 19. Cameron King 20. Josh Hoffman
Players cut: 18. Ray Stone 21. Greg Leleisiuao
Sydney Roosters: 
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Latrell Mitchell 4. Joseph Manu 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Luke Keary 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Friend 10. Sio Siua Taukeiaho 11. Boyd Cordner 12. Isaac Liu 13. Victor Radley
Interchange: 14. Nat Butcher 15. Zane Tetevano 16. Mitchell Aubusson 17. Ryan Matterson Reserves: 18. Lindsay Collins 19. Sean O’Sullivan
Players cut: 20. Paul Momirovski 21. Kurt Baptiste
NRL News:
The Sydney Roosters’ title shot may have copped a whack with Dylan Napa’s suspension.
But Roosters players believe front-rower Zane Tetevano is the perfect man to replace Napa’s renowned aggression and keep hope of Napa’s finals return alive.
“He can pull off a shot too, just like Naps can,” Roosters captain Boyd Cordner told AAP.
“He doesn’t mind the rough stuff. He’ll be good for us heading into the finals.”
Napa was this week banned for three matches after taking the early guilty plea for a sickening head-first tackle that knocked out Brisbane hooker Andrew McCullough this week.
Depending on how the Roosters fare in the finals – which start next week – the earliest the Queensland State of Origin star can return is for a preliminary final.
His absence is a major blow to the Roosters’ forwards rotation, leaving Jared Waerea-Hargreaves as their main big man for their next three games.
However, Cordner insists Tetevano has what it takes to assume Napa’s role as chief enforcer, having suffered the same pain his teammate is currently facing.
Tetevano was looking at a season-ending five-game ban for a similarly ugly shot that resulted in Gold Coast forward Ben Nakubuwai getting stretchered off last year.
Instead the Roosters hitman was banned for just one match after successfully downgrading the charge at the judiciary, before vowing to change his tackling technique.
“Foremost, I want to apologise to Ben and I knew that I had a minor error in my tackle technique,” Tetevano said at the time.
Roosters veteran Mitchell Aubusson said Tetevano had grown from the incident, and has gone on to establish himself as a key member of their forward pack this year.
“He’ll have an opportunity this week to step up in Naps’ absence, and I can’t think of anybody better to be there for that,” Aubusson said.
“He’s a guy we all trust and will go after it. Naps is obviously going to be a big loss for us for a few weeks, but we have the next-man up mentality.
“It’ll be a tough few weeks for Naps but Zane knows how it feels. Hopefully we can keep winning for Naps and we’ll get him playing at the end of the year.”
