NRL Round 9 Preview
Semi Radradra? Yeah Fiji will be alright...
Rabbitohs vs Wests Tigers
Match Up: Adam Reynolds vs Luke Brooks. Both teams are struggling, albeit to slightly different degrees and they require dominant hands played by their halfbacks. Reynolds could be a bit gun-shy after getting another whack to his jaw, so don't be surprised to see him sit in the pocket and do what he does best while Brooks, well Brooks simply needs to step up and take over.
Key Man: Cameron McInnes will come off the bench for the Bunnies at hooker and his running game through the middle of the field could tear the Tigers to shreds. Damien Cook is quick/nippy but McInnes is much stronger and if he's in the mood to test the Tigers' middle defence, expect him to score.
Keep An Eye On: The Rabbitohs have a settled line up, perhaps their best line up of the year thanks to injuries and what not.
Verdict: Tigers <12. Toss up, I've got the Tigers turning on the razzle dazzle.
Eels vs Bulldogs
Match Up: Manu Ma'u vs Tony Williams. Two Tongans out on the edge, both have great footwork and obvious size so this is going a very physical battle. It'll also be fun to watch though as there's some low key skills in both Ma'u and Williams, they are crucial to their team's attack down either edge.
Key Man: Michael Lichaa hasn't quite lived up to the hype surrounding his signing, especially not this year as he's been able to have much on an impact on the Doggies' attack. Lichaa can offer all-round class around the ruck area, running the footy and serving up slick touches, which the Doggies desperately need to spark their attack.
Keep An Eye On: Raymond Faitala-Mariner is named on an extended bench for the Bulldogs in the same round as Shaun Lane being named on the Warriors' bench.
Verdict: Eels <12. Expect the Eels to bombard the Bulldogs' edges with Norman/Foran running rampant.
Panthers vs Raiders
Match Up: Bryce Cartwright vs Elliott Whitehead. Two edge forwards who have the size of a forward and the skills of a half, both have actually played in the halves and they'll provide plenty of funk out on the edge.
Key Man: Shannon Boyd is the sort of prop who can swing things in favour of his team with a barnstorming display and he'll be up against a young Panthers pack who will bring the ruckus. Boyd will start and look to establish himself as the dominant force through the middle, which will then let Josh Hodgson do his thing.
Keep An Eye On: It looks as though Dean Whare has actually done his knee at training which sucks, keep an eye on his replacement.
Verdict: Raiders <12. This one will be close, borderline toss up but the Raiders have Hodgson and he's the man.
Roosters vs Knights
Match Up: Blake Ferguson vs Sione Mata'utia. Ferguson has been snapped up by Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, albeit on the wing and he will line up against a former Kangaroos winger in the youngest Mata'utia. Two Kangaroos wingers, lining up at centre against each other.
Key Man: Boyd Cordner came back last week and showed what a gun he is, blatantly better than a lot of the forwards on the park from the Roosters or Dragons. Cordner will be keen to re-establish his State Of Origin chances and this Knights forward pack is ripe for the picking, expect Cordner to play a dominant role here.
Keep An Eye On: Jared Waerea-Hargreaves will come off the bench, Mitchell Pearce is back in the halves and Cordner's in his second game, this is the Roosters team that we've come to know very well in recent years. In theory, we should see these lads boost the Roosters to a new level, we could however see that perhaps the Roosters' problems run a bit deeper than the surface ... deeper than just having a few rep players out?
Verdict: Roosters >12. I don't think there's any 'deeper' problems with the Chooks and back at near-full strength, they'll be too good.
Sea Eagles vs Cowboys
Match Up: Nate Myles vs Matt Scott. We all know that Myles is a rep-prop, but it's hard to pinpoint exactly what makes him better than a lot of props, especially this season. Myles will face off against his Queensland propping partner in Scott, who has been in great form and it's going to be interesting to see if there's any difference between the two in this game.
Key Man: Martin Taupau will need to help out his middle forwards to stop the rampaging Cowboys up the guts, however Taupau will be a key weapon when the Sea Eagles have the footy and look to go a bit wider to test the Cowboys on the edges.
Keep An Eye On: Patrick Kaufusi appears to have overtaken John Asiata on the Cowboys' bench. Asiata has been named 18th man and could slide on to the gameday bench but Kaufusi looks to be a very good young forward ... that the Cowboys have Kaufusi and Asiata is kinda scary.
Verdict: Cowboys <12. It's at Brooky and Manly are building nicely, the Cowboys are irresistable though.
Warriors vs Dragons
Match Up: Issac Luke vs Mitch Rein. Luke hasn't been in the best form while Rein is simmering, not on fire but not out of form either. Both are runners first and foremost, so it will be interesting to see who has a bigger impact running the footy, who is eager to run the footy more?
Key Man: Jack de Belin is an enforcer, he doesn't do much else through the middle besides whacking blokes and carting it hard in the paint. If de Belin can establish himself in that role early on and prove to be a physical threat through the middle, the Dragons could enjoy the benefits later on.
Keep An Eye On: Siliva Havili returns to Auckland and I wouldn't be surprised if Paul McGregor gave him a few extra minutes to stamp his mark on this game. We'll also get our first look at Shaun Lane for the Warriors.
Verdict: Dragons <12. One team is on the up, one team has brought out the skeletons from their closet.
Titans vs Storm
Match Up: Cameron Cullen vs Cooper Cronk. Cullen is a young halfback at the start of his NRL journey and he's shown that he could feature in the Titans' halves for a while if the stars align for him, he's coming up against the benchmark and that's gonna be fun.
Key Man: Cameron Munster has been a bit quiet of late, quiet by his standards and the Storm need Munster to add his funk to their structured plays. They kinda fixed their attack against the Warriors and the next step is integrating Munster into their attack more; games against the Warriors and Titans should help them sort their attack out.
Keep An Eye On: Suliasi Vunivalu has played two NRL games and it's clear that he's a beast. He's athletic which not only enables him to be a threat with the ball in hand as he carts the ball up and scores tries in the corner, his speed and size helps him put pressure in defence as well. In his debut he smoked James Tedesco and last week he gassed up off the line and almost murdered Tui Lolohea and Thomas Leuluai, how he goes about his work defensively this week will be interesting as the Titans would have noted this.
Verdict: Storm <12. They're getting better, that's not good for the rest of the NRL.
Sharks vs Broncos
Match Up: Chad Townsend vs Ben Hunt. Another halfback battle here, one that I couldn't ignore. Townsend has been alright and people have been talking him up a fair bit, he'll come up against Hunt who is a certified gun so I'll be interested in how Townsend responds to the challenge.
Key Man: Kodi Nikorima moves into start at dummy half, replacing Andrew McCullough and Nikorima will give the Broncos a different edge on attack with his running game and dynamic nature around the ruck. Nikorima lines up against one of the best in Michael Ennis as well so he'll need to be at his sharpest.
Keep An Eye On: Travis Waddell will give Nikorima a spell and Alex Glenn returns from injury for the Broncs.
Verdict: Broncos <12. Both teams are gritty and won't give an inch, the Broncos have more attacking weapons though.