Saturday’s NRL 2018 Finals Week 2 match is between South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:40 local time with the game to be played at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. The home team South Sydney Rabbitohs are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between South Sydney Rabbitohs and St George Illawarra Dragons.
When: 19:40 | Saturday 15/09/2018
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
Remarkably, these two teams haven’t faced off in a semi-finals match in 34 years.
Two big arch rivals should draw a very healthy crowd on Saturday day night.
This game will be won or lost in the middle third in the battle of the forwards.
St. George-Illawarra were outstanding last week in dominating Brisbane and quite frankly bashing them out of the game.
The performances of the Dragons’ backrowers were first class.
The Dragons were terrific over 80 minutes and will need to be as good, if not better if they are to challenge the Rabbitohs.
Souths let one slip last week and will be chomping at the bit to rectify that.
They could win this one well if they execute to their standard.
The Dragons unfortunately picked up a few injuries to key players last week.
Losing Gareth Widdop is a massive loss and I think the task will be too hard for them without him.
Will Jack de Belin play? That’s yet to be confirmed.
The Bunnies, on the other hand, will be full strength and firing.
They are my pick to win the comp, so I feel they will obviously get past the Dragons.
Odds:
Tip: South Sydney Rabbitohs at $1.25
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Alex Johnston at $11.00
More Info:
Teams:
South Sydney Rabbitohs:
1. Alex Johnston 2. Campbell Graham 3. Greg Inglis 4. Dane Gagai 5. Robert Jennings 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Damien Cook 10. George Burgess 11. John Sutton 12. Angus Crichton 13. Sam Burgess 14. Hymel Hunt 15. Cameron Murray 16. Jason Clark 17. Dean Britt 18. Braidon Burns 19. Mark Nicholls 20. Junior Tatola 21. Connor Tracey
TEAM NEWS – No changes
St George Illawarra Dragons: 
1. Matthew Dufty 2. Nene Macdonald 3. Zac Lomax 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Jordan Pereira 6. Kurt Mann 7. Ben Hunt 8. James Graham 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Leeson Ah Mau 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Tariq Sims 13. Jack de Belin 14. Jeremy Latimore 15. Hame Sele 16. Blake Lawrie 17. Luciano Leilua 18. Jason Nightingale 19. Jai Field 20. Euan Aitken 21. Jacob Host
TEAM NEWS – Gareth Widdop (shoulder) is gone, replaced by Mann in the halves. Sele joins the bench.
NRL News:
Sam Burgess dropped the ball last week.
But the South Sydney star has vowed to pick up the pieces from his disappointing finals showing against Melbourne and get his team back on track for another NRL premiership.
Burgess was guilty of a game-high four errors in their qualifying final defeat, one of which came from a Felise Kaufusi bell-ringer from a kick-off.
“He had a good hit on the ball and it came loose. I thought he played extremely well for them. He aimed up and he’s a good competitor,” Burgess told AAP on Monday.
While the Rabbitohs played well enough to get within one point of the defending premiers, and a preliminary final, the forward was unhappy with his individual effort.
The four turnovers is the second-highest he’s made this year, however, he doesn’t believe rivals are out to nullify him any more than they normally would during the regular season.
“Everyone’s talking about me being a target but what are they targeting? Are they trying to stop what our shape is?” Burgess said.
“We ended up scoring 28 points against the best defensive team in the competition.
“I had a couple of errors on the ball, which personally I’m disappointed in, but I’ll fix it up. I’ll get back to basics at training and go from there.”
The Rabbitohs’ title push now goes on the line when they face the Dragons for a spot in the final four, having split their two games this season.
The English international will resume hostilities with countryman James Graham, in what will be their first finals encounter since the pair famously clashed heads in the 2014 grand final.
The collision broke Burgess’ eye socket and cheekbone, however, he played on to lead the Rabbitohs to an emotional triumph against Canterbury.
Burgess though, was reluctant to talk up Saturday’s reunion.
“Let’s talk about it after the game. Everyone likes to talk about it but I’ve got my job to do for the team, he’s got his own job to do for his team,” Burgess said.
“Between the lines, between the 80 minutes, I’m sure you’ll have something to write about.”
Rabbitohs pair Greg Inglis (ribs) and Adam Reynolds (shoulder) are all but certain to play, despite picking up minor injuries in the loss to the Storm.
Reynolds needed the aid of a painkilling injection to finish the match but hasn’t undergone scans and is likely to train throughout the week.
