NRL Round 6 Preview
Jorgie Pie
Broncos vs Dragons
Match Up: Alex Glenn/Matt Gillett vs Tyson Frizell/Joel Thompson. The Broncos' duo are consistently solid which helps Wayne Bennett's game plan out immensely while it's nearing Origin time and Frizell/Thompson will want to start showing what they can do.
Key Man: Josh McGuire leads the Broncos forward pack, always making the most metres and doing the most work. The Dragons' forwards haven't been overly good of late and if McGuire is up to his usual antics he could continue the Dragons' woes up the guts.
Keep An Eye On: *Origin watch* Frizell needs a big game, Jack de Belin could be in the mix as well. There's also Anthony Milford, who could simply demand selection if he continues his current form.
Verdict: Broncos <12. Suncorp, too many weapons, defensively superior.
Rabbitohs vs Roosters
Match Up: Greg Inglis vs Latrell Mitchell. G.I. and the young bloke who is the closest to replicating Inglis, both are crucial to their respective team's attack. They're both big, strong ball-runners however how they use their hands will be interesting in this game, how they set up blokes inside and outside them.
Key Man: Cody Walker is a gun runner of the footy, perfectly suited to a Rabbitohs side with the Burgess bros steaming through the middle. With Walker running the ball, breaking tackles and so on, it's hard to see the Roosters being able to defend the Bunnies.
Keep An Eye On: Daniel Tupou has struggled to make much of an impact this season and the Roosters have new recruit Joe Burgess running around in reserve grade, Tupou needs to step up.
Verdict: Rabbitohs <12. The Rabbits look like the slicker team, more comfortable with their plans and style.
Eels vs Raiders
Match Up: Nathan Peats vs Josh Hodgson. Peats returns for the Eels and that couldn't come soon enough as Hodgson is the best hooker in the game right now, arguably the best player. Watch out how they both impact the game, outside of their stock standard hooker duties.
Key Men: Edrick Lee and Jordan Rapana will do a lot of work hitting the footy up and given how dangerous they have been this season that could likely lead to tackle busts, line breaks and chances.
Keep An Eye On: Daniel Alvaro stars at prop, he's a young prop who is still working into his NRL career. Alvaro and Junior Paulo will be fun to watch.
Verdict: Raiders <12. There's weapons a-plenty in this Raiders side, most importantly they have forwards who can at least gain equal footing through the middle.
Warriors vs Sea Eagles
Match Up: Jeff Robson vs Apisai Koroisau. Robson is yet to play at his best this season (doing his job) while Koroisau was a dangerous attacking weapon for Manly last week. Whoever can execute the simple aspects of being a halfback the best and control the game though will help their team out the most.
Key Man: Jake Trbojevic's tackling is worthy of note and how Trbojevic controls the middle of the field with his defence will be crucial. Not just in terms of chopping blokes down, also stopping offloads and slowing the Warriors down.
Keep An Eye On: *Origin watch* Jorge Taufua's name never really makes it into Origin discussions, which sucks because Taufua is a beast. Unfortunately for Taufua, Tom Trbojevic is a gun, both are worthy of a Blues wing spot.
Verdict: Sea Eagles <12. This is a rather settled Manly side who still have class in many key positions.
Panthers vs Cowboys
Match Up: Te Maire Martin vs Michael Morgan. Martin has shown that he's a slick runner of the footy, quite different though to Morgan who combines size and speed to be a running threat. Both will look to run the footy though with their halfbacks taking care of controlling the game.
Key Man: Trent Merrin will be in for a tough night without the footy as the Cowboys' middle forwards are the best in the business. Merrin will also look to use his footwork and skill at the line, giving the Panthers second-phase footy to run those Cowboys forwards around.
Keep An Eye On: *Origin watch* Matt Moylan has fallen behind James Tedesco and probably won't feature in Origin this year, unless he goes nuts in the next few games which he kinda did last week with some silky touches. Also, Michael Morgan's Queensland spot isn't assured, not with the likes of Milford in great form.
Verdict: Cowboys <12. The halves, all about the halves here.
Sharks vs Titans
Match Up: Andrew Fifita vs Ryan James. Two very large, very mobile and very angry props who are equally as capable of ruffling feathers as they are offering some footwork or running a great line.
Key Man: Wade Graham has been pretty quiet this season compared to his lofty standards and the Sharks need to add his skill into their attack. They have Ben Barba in great form so look for Graham to combine with Barba more often, giving the Sharks a different look on attack.
Keep An Eye On: Cameron Cullen starts in the halves with Ash Taylor for Gold Coast, a young pair and we'll see the benefits of this in seasons to come.
*Origin watch* Also keep an eye on that Fifita vs James battle as both could add some funk to NSW's forward pack.
Verdict: Sharks >12. This should be an easy win and the result will tell us more about the Sharks, especially if they lose.
Knights vs Tigers
Match Up: Tariq Sims/Robbie Rochow vs Dene Halatau/Chris Lawrence. A young, big and powerful Knights edge duo up against two veterans who have been doing a great job for their team. You'd expect Sims/Rochow to dominate their opponents, don't sleep on Halatau/Lawrence though.
Key Man: I still think Luke Brooks is the main guy for Wests Tigers, it's Brooks who gets the ball at first-receiver and decides where to go from there. Look for Brooks to have a dig running the footy as well, setting up chances out wider that will come later in the game.
Keep An Eye On: *Origin watch* Dane Gagai could be in the mix for a Maroons outside back spot, only if he's the Knights' best player each week though. Brooks/Mitchell Moses can't be slept on either and if they out-play Trent Hodkinson then that NSW halves combo could come down to Brooks/Moses vs Sezer/Austin.
Verdict: Tigers >12. Easy call.
Storm vs Bulldogs
Match Up: Blake Green vs Josh Reynolds. Two halves who couldn't be more different as Green simply does his job and Reynolds leads the Dogs' energy and enthusiasm levels. They are both crucial to their team's attack as well and how they go about their work will be interesting to watch.
Key Man: Michael Lichaa returned last week and the Bulldogs looked pretty average in attack, how Lichaa influences the Bulldogs' attack out of dummy half will be crucial this week. He'll need to run the footy to keep defenders around the ruck interested, but Lichaa must also offer some funk of his own with kicks, offloads and crisp passing.
Keep An Eye On: *Origin watch* Where will Will Hopoate feature for the Blues? Hoppa has been very impressive this season, perhaps the Doggies' best player but there's a few fullbacks ahead of him. The same can be said about Tony Williams and part of the Bulldogs woes are evident in how heavily they rely on Hopoate and Williams on attack, Williams could find himself in the mix if he continues to be almost impossible to tackle one on one.
Verdict: Storm <12. They have the forward pack to match the Doggies' pack and offer much more variety and impact in attack.