NRL Round 21 Preview
Roosters vs Bulldogs
Match Up - Roger Tuivasa-Sheck vs Brett Morris. Both these fullbacks love to hover around the ball, but Tuivasa-Sheck poses a far greater threat that Morris does. It's a big challenge for Morris.
Key Man - James Maloney, despite his size is one of the best hole-runners in the game and that along with his crafty passing game could make life difficult for the big Bulldogs forwards.
Keep An Eye On - Moses Mbye and Trent Hodkinson get another chance to play together - if they combine well will we see Mbye keep Josh Reynolds' coming off the bench?
Verdict - Roosters <12. They are hot and the Bulldogs are still a tough team to gauge.
Tigers vs Storm
Match Up - James Tedesco vs Cameron Munster. Fullbacks again, but it's hard to ignore this battle as Tedesco continues to show what a fine young player he is and Munster is slowly emerging as a fine deputy Billy Slater.
Key Man - Robbie Farah returns to the Tigers and if they are to win against the Storm then Farah needs to play a major role. Much of Farah's work flies under the radar, but we'll get a good idea of how his leadership and work out of dummy half helps this young Tigers team after this game.
Keep An Eye On - Sauaso Sue has been a consistent trooper for the Tigers all season and I like what I see
Verdict - Storm <12. People are still sleeping on the Storm, the extremely clinical and efficient Storm.
Warriors vs Sharks
Match Up - Siliva Havili vs Ben Barba. They will each come off the bench and look to spark their team on attack, but they each face uncertainty around their minutes. Both Andrew McFadden and Shane Flanagan have use Havili and Barba in spits and spurts so it will be interesting to see them compared directly against each other.
Key Man - Ben Matulino has been named to start in the back row, which is extremely exciting. He should like up against Wade Graham who will test Matulino thanks to his smaller, more agile frame but if Matulino can get that offload going and make some metres with a bit more space out on the edge, the Warriors will have another string to their bow.
Keep An Eye On - Are the Sharks for real? They've beaten a few good teams but I'm not convinced. Are the Warriors for real? A hallmark of the Warriors this season has been their lack of aggression/mongrel and they have their big backs, back so I'm intrigued to see how they go against a Sharks side who are kings of the grind.
Verdict - Warriors >12. You see no Shaun Johnson, I see big backs, back who will get easy metres up the guts.
Cowboys vs Raiders
Match Up - Mathew Scott/James Tamou vs Paul Vaughan/David Shillington. The Cowboys starting props are both rep props while Vaughan and Shillington aren't, but are equally as fun to watch carting the ball forward.
Key Man - Shaun Fensom will need to make a whole bunch of tough tackles as Jason Taumalolo will be his dynamic self around the ruck area.
Keep An Eye On - Low key battle at hooker.Jake Granville and Josh Hodgson have both emerged as two of the best hookers in the NRL this season, which has been built on their running games.
Verdict - Cowboys <12. Hard to go past the Cowboys at home.
Sea Eagles vs Broncos
Match Up - Kieran Foran/Daly Cherry-Evans vs Anthony Milford/Ben Hunt. This is actually making me froth at the mouth and it's a big opportunity for Milford and Hunt to make a statement.
Key Man - Sam Thaiday will be without his comrade Adam Blair and against a Manly forward pack who aren't the biggest, Thaiday could be a man on a mission which will help his team out a great deal.
Keep An Eye On - Michael Chee Kam gets a chance off the bench, he's a rangy back rower with skills who could play through the middle.
Verdict - Sea Eagles <12. At Brooky so yeah, but damn, this is a game folks, this is a game.
Dragons vs Knights
Match Up - Peter Mata'utia vs Sione Mata'utia. Brothers ... and Peter currently holds the title of 'The Best Mata'utia Brother'
Key Man - Tyson Frizzell looked a shadow of the player he was earlier this season - he's got to get back to running good lines off Benji Marshall, which obviously means that Benji needs to be on point as well. There's not much oomph in this Dragons forward pack, so Frizzell's gotta offer some of that out wider.
Keep An Eye On - Marshall and Gareth Widdop have struggled through this slump to combine their powers and if the Dragons are to make anything of their 2015 season, these two need to improve a whole lot.
Verdict - Dragons <12. Fortunately for the Dragons they meet the Knights, who do have a new coach but there's more at stake for the Dragons.
Rabbitohs vs Panthers
Match Up - Issac Luke vs James Segeyaro. Two of the best.
Key Man - Dylan Walker is crucial for the Rabbitohs and with both Panthers centres (Issah Yeo and Waqa Blake) being big, rangy lads, Walker's zip could pose problems on both sides of the field as the Bunnies have a bunch of plays designed just for Walker.
Keep An Eye On - Kyle Turner returns from that neck injury for the Rabbitohs and Apisai Koroisau will come off the bench for the Panthers. Whether Koroisau gives Segeyaro a spell or is used differently will be interesting.
Verdict - Rabbitohs <12. For lack of a better term, the Panthers are fucked but they showed last year that they can produce in the face of adversity. Rabbits though.
Titans vs Eels
Match Up - Ryan James vs Manu Ma'u/Tepai Moeroa. The Eels like to get Ma'u on both edges which along with his ability to play big minutes is slept on, which will give us a few big and super aggressive back rowers going at each other all game.
Key Man - Will Hopoate has been the centre of unwanted attention recently as rumours swirl that he's not worth his salary and that the Eels could try move him on. With their season all but over, Hopoate needs to show signs of his/some class. It's far from the end of the world for Hopoate though as the arrivals of Kieran Foran and Beau Scott will be great for him.
Keep An Eye On - Battle of stinkers. You'd be forgiven for not watching this game, but it's always fun to see how teams respond when their season is pretty much over. Blokes are playing for contracts and coaches like to see how players respond in these situations.
Verdict - Titans <12. It's all about the halves here.