The Newsroom previews round 19 of the National Rugby League.
Manly Sea Eagles v New Zealand Warriors
The Sea Eagles and the Warriors will play at NIB Stadium in Perth on Saturday night. The Warriors are in seventh position and will look to increase their chances of staying in the top eight. Manu Vatuvei and captain Ryan Hoffman have been named to make their returns for the Warriors. Between them they boast 495 NRL games. Vatuvei has been out for a month with a hamstring injury while Hoffman has overcome a virus. The Sea Eagles are without Dylan Walker after he injured his hand punching a door and ruled himself out for a month. He has also been fined $10,000 by the NRL and issued with a breach notice. For Manly, Lewis Brown will replace Walker in the centres and speedster from the NSW Cup, Bradley Parker, will make his debut on the wing. Players to watch are Manly’s Tom Trbojevic and Warrior David Fusitua. Both fullbacks are dynamic and can score a try. Trbojevic is coming off an experience in the development squad for the NSW Blues.
South Sydney Rabbitohs v Brisbane Broncos
The Rabbitohs and the Broncos will play in a must-win encounter at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night. Both teams have named their Origin stars to back up and the match is expected to be a blockbuster. Souths in 12th desperately need to win this match. If they don’t they can rule out a berth in the finals. The Broncos sit in sixth position and if they lose they could see themselves bowing out of the top eight. The Broncos have lost six of their past eight games and Souths are coming off a 20-0 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys. Souths will welcome back George Burgess, and Adam Reynolds has been named in the side, while the Broncos welcome Jordan Kahu back into the team. Player to watch is James Roberts whose speed can change the momentum of a game. Souths will feel the loss of Greg Inglis, suspended for three matches over a shoulder charge in Origin 3.
Newcastle Knights v Melbourne Storm
The Knights will take on the Storm at Hunter Stadium in Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. The last-placed Knights will welcome back their star five-eighth Jarrod Mullen after he was out for three months with a hamstring injury. Mullen said he felt sorry for his team mates.
“If the team was winning I could sit back with a big cigar and be smoking on the sideline, not doing too much, but when the team is going poor you just feel helpless and you just feel for the boys because they’re training harder than anyone out there,” he said.
Queensland Origin winger Dane Gagai will back up for the Knights while Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk will back up for the Storm. Players to watch are Mullen and Cooper Cronk. Both players have excellent kicking games and are leaders in their positions. – Jesse Mullens
Other matches:
St George Illawarra Dragons v Gold Coast Titans – Kogarah Oval, Friday 7:50pm
Penrith Panthers v Parramatta Eels – Pepper Stadium, Sunday 4pm
Sydney Roosters v Cronulla Sharks – Allianz Stadium, Monday 7pm
Photo of Daly Cherry-Evans scoring a try in 2012 against the Warriors from the Manly Sea Eagles Facebook page.
About the author
I am the sports editor for the Macleay Newsroom. I enjoy cooking and watching sport intently.
