Friday nights NRL Round 3 match is between Wests Tigers and Parramatta Eels. The match is set to commence at 8:05pm local time with the match being played at Leichhardt Oval. Home team Wests Tigers are the current favourites for the match. View our game preview including teams.
If last week’s second round of the competition taught us anything, it’s that we have a long way to go before can truly distinguish the contenders from the pretenders in 2013.
Cue Exhibit A – Friday night’s clash between Wests Tigers and Parramatta.
A week ago the Tigers looked more rabble than rugby league outfit, having succumbed meekly in their season opener against Newcastle and with questions mounting over just what new coach Michael Potter could muster from a side that massively under-achieved in 2012.
But with key playmaking duo Robbie Farah and Benji Marshall taking control they looked a different side last week, powering to a 28-18 win over Penrith to put the demons of that Round 1 disaster to bed.
Just what to make of this latest incarnation of Wests Tigers remains a mystery – particularly given that we don’t yet know what to make of Penrith either – but last week’s win did remind us that they still boast the raw attacking threat to score plenty of points on their day.
The performance of Farah was particularly noteworthy. One of the few Tigers players able to hold his head high in the 42-10 loss to Newcastle, Farah proved the difference against Penrith as he set up a try for Marshall with some quick thinking and laid on two more tries with well-timed short balls for his big men.
No doubt he will have featured heavily in Parramatta’s video sessions this week as the Eels prepare to make the daunting trek to Leichhardt Oval.
In contrast to their opponents, Parramatta came out all guns blazing in Round 1 to score an emphatic 40-10 win over the Warriors but fell short last Thursday against a severely depleted Bulldogs outfit.
Execution proved costly for the Eels given the mountain of possession they enjoyed in the second half and the fact that they failed to score a single point after the break is of some concern.
However, given their massive failings of the past two seasons, it’s clear that Parramatta is already a much-improved outfit in 2013. Two spritely performances from halfback Chris Sandow to start the year is exactly what Eels fans have been wanting to see, while Jarryd Hayne took the rare step of openly criticising his own performance against the Bulldogs as he struggled to make an impact. He is seldom quiet two weeks in a row.
A western Sydney derby at Leichhardt is inevitably a passionate affair and this one promises much the same.
Keith Galloway’s pectoral injury sees Aaron Woods come into the Tigers’ starting side this week, with coach Potter adding Ava Seumanufagai, Masada Iosefa and Sauaso Sue to a six-man bench.
Meanwhile Ken Edwards comes into the Parramatta squad in the second row in place of injured co-captain Reni Maitua. Ben Roberts has been named in the starting side at five-eighth after coming off the bench last week.
Teams:
WESTS TIGERS:
Tim Moltzen, Joel Reddy, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Marika Koroibete, Benji Marshall, Jacob Miller, Jack Buchanan, Robbie Farah, Aaron Woods, Braith Anasta, Liam Fulton, Adam Blair
Interchange: Ben Murdoch-Masila, Ava Seumanufagai, Matt Bell, Eddy Pettybourne, Masada Iosefa, Sauaso Sue (two to be omitted)
PARRAMATTA EELS:
Jarryd Hayne, Vai Toutai, Ryan Morgan, Jacob Loko, Cheyse Blair, Ben Roberts, Chris Sandow, Mitchell Allgood, Matt Keating, Tim Mannah, Ken Edwards, Matthew Ryan, Ben Smith
Interchange: Joseph Paulo, Darcy Lussick, Fuifui Moimoi, Kelepi Tanginoa
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