NRL Round 23 Preview
Cowboys vs Rabbitohs
Match Up - Jake Granville vs Issac Luke. If we're look specifically at 2015, you could argue that Granville is the better hooker than Luke, which sets up an almighty clash between the two. Both the Cowboys and Rabbitohs love to roll through the middle with these two ball-runners crucial to that, but I'm sure Luke will be eager to show what he can do against Granville as well.
Key Man - John Sutton has a lot on his shoulders when he's playing on the Rabbitohs' left edge. He's got to make strong carries and also provide a few classy halves plays to ease the pressure on his little men, who will be put under the pump by the Cowboys.
Keep An Eye On - Kirisome Auva'a could make his return after paying his dues, which is great but I'm more interested to see how he fits in to this team. The most likely situation is that he's a straight swap for Bryson Goodwin, which is great considering they'll have Dylan Walker on one side and Auva'a on the other.
Verdict - Cowboys <12. Understandably, I think the Cowboys have eased off the gas but a big game at home should fire them back up.
Broncos vs Dragons
Match Up - Jack Reed vs Peter Mata'utia. If you want a low key performer who has done a great job for his team this year you can look no further than the eldest Mata'utia brother and he comes up against the ever-solid Reed this week.
Key Man - Anthony Milford's razzle dazzle ability is matched by Ben Hunt, but Milford will need to show flashes of brilliance to help breakdown this Dragons defence.
Keep An Eye On - Trent Merrin coming off the bench? It's a great little boost for the Dragons who get an injection of footwork and metres through the middle when Merrin steps on the field.
Verdict - Broncos >12. I'm not sold on the Dragons and like the Cowboys, the Broncs have to get back to their best.
Tigers vs Knights
Match Up - Aaron Woods vs Korbin Sims. Every time I watch Korbin play for this mediocre Knights team, I get excited because he's a beast and he's up against another young beastly prop in Woods this week.
Key Man - Tyrone Roberts is possibly on the move, yup he's playing for a contract which is always a nice boost.
Keep An Eye On - Jake Mamo at fullback. I can't wait to see him get consistent game time here which should come next year, but for now we can enjoy these little glimpses.
Veridct - Knights <12. Meh, who cares.
Panthers vs Warriors
Match Up - Tupou Sopoaga vs Konrad Hurrell will both rock the 14 jersey and this isn't a stylistic match up, I'm just eager to see how they both go. Sopoaga, looks to be a good first grade prospect but has only got an opportunity thanks to another injury crisis with the Panthers, while Hurrell ... well hopefully he is just told to run hard.
Key Man - Chad Townsend was crap last week and he could be phoning it in with one foot already in Cronulla, but the Warriors desperately need some control in the halves. Just like a decent 6-7/10 performance will do, can you do that Chad?
Keep An Eye On - Leilani Latu has looked like a good young forward since debuting a few weeks ago and the Panthers will need him to provide plenty of oomph off the bench as the Warriors have a great bench of young forwards.
Verdict - Panthers <12. The Warriors need to be desperate, but so do the Panthers.
Roosters vs Eels
Match Up - Forward packs. The Roosters clearly have the better forward pack on paper but the only way the Eels are going to come close to winning is if their pack matches the Roosters'. Junior Paulo, Tim Mannah, Manu Ma'u, Tepai Moeroa and Davod Gower aren't bad players and they could upset the Roosters ... they could.
Key Man - Corey Norman is easily the Eels' best player, hence it rests on his shoulders.
Keep An Eye On - Brendan Elliot will probably play out the rest of the season as it's hard to see Shaun Kenny-Dowall coming back and Elliot hasn't really done much wrong since coming into the NRL.
Verdict - Roosters >12. Um, yeah.
Raiders vs Sea Eagles
Match Up - Blake Austin vs Kieran Foran. Two ball-runners, exciting times.
Key Man - Josh Hodgson has quickly emerged as one of the Raiders best players and as it looks like Manly have got their defence back, Hodgson's running game will be crucial through the middle.
Keep An Eye On - Blake Leary has been doing a nice job in the 13 jersey for Manly over the past few weeks.
Verdict - Manly <12. She's in Canberra but I'm banking on Manly rolling out another slick offensive performance.
Bulldogs vs Titans
Match Up - Greg Eastwood vs Greg Bird. They're both named Greg, that's nice huh?
Key Man - James Graham is the perfect player the exploit the Titans' weak defence through the middle that they have shown recently. Graham's passing game will have big blokes running all sorts of angles and will be dangerous.
Keep An Eye On - Kalifa Faifai Loa is a bit of a forgotten man after getting himself caught up in the CoCo saga and then falling out of favour. He's starting on the wing for the Titans.
Verdict - Bulldogs >12. Too easy.
Sharks vs Storm
Match Up - Jeff Robson vs Cooper Cronk. One's a battler and the other is one of the best, but if Robson does his job and steers the Sharks around, they'll be in the game as the get to working grinding the Storm down.
Key Man - Jesse Bromwich hasn't quite stayed at the lofty heights he found himself in earlier this season, but the Storm need him to make those big metres against a rugged Sharks as well as serving up plenty of off-loads.
Keep An Eye On - Chris Heighington has been awesome stepping in for Andrew Fifita and he obviously doesn't have Fifita's x-factor but the Sharks haven't suffered a great deal without Fifita. That's thanks to Heighington.
Verdict - Storm <12. Toss up, which fell the Storm's way.