Sea Eagles vs Broncos

Sea Eagles

Danny Levi, Martin Taupau, Taniela Paseka.

Broncos

Jamayne Isaako.

Doc's Word

When thinking about how Danny Levi fits into this Manly Sea Eagles outfit, the only visions I have are Levi running the footy. Last week's narrow loss to Parramatta Eels saw the Sea Eagles cough up possession and slip below their usual 'rolling up the guts' standards, perhaps offering reason as to how Levi had just 1 dummy half run for 12m. Levi also missed 5 tackles (27 tackles @ 75 percent) to compound matters and I suspect as Manly bounce back, we'll see Levi's running more; especially against a young Broncos forward pack.

Warriors vs Cowboys

Warriors

All but Blake Green, Wayde Egan, Lachlan Burr, Karl Lawton, Jack Murchie.

Cowboys

Esan Marsters, Peter Hola, Jason Taumalolo.

Doc's Word

I'm loving the move north for Esan Marsters and he's firmly establishing himself as the best centre available for Aotearoa alongside Joseph Manu. Last week against the Sharks though, Marsters was slightly below par in running the footy and conceded 3 errors as the Cowboys had a total of 17 errors to just 9 from the Sharks. Marsters is likely to line up against Hayze Perham and that could present Marsters with ample opportunity to rack up tackle busts, post-contact-metres and offloads.

Eels vs Panthers

Eels

Dylan Brown, Marata Niukore, Peni Terepo, Brad Takairangi.

Panthers

Caleb Aekins, Dean Whare, James Fisher-Harris, Zane Tetevano, Moses Leota.

Doc's Word

There is plenty of young #KiwiNRl funk in this contest, even more funk if you're from Northland as Whangarei's Dylan Brown faces off against Caleb Aekins (Whangarei) and James Fisher-Harris (Hokianga). Brown has been sublime for Parramatta and is tied for 7th in linebreaks as well as tied for 14th for tackle breaks for the entire NRL; Dylan Walker is the only half with more tackle breaks and no other NRL half has more linebreaks than Brown. Brown will come up against two slick halves in Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary, which along with Mitchell Moses provides a four-way battle to see who has the most impact on this game. Obviously fans of either team will want their respective halves to be excellent together, I'm more interested in whether Brown can rise above the other three (who are all pretty damn good) and continue to shine.

Similar scenario for James Fisher-Harris, who has been excessively dynamic for Panthers; 9th in PCM, 3rd in total runs, 6th in run metres, 19th in total tackles and 11th in offloads. The Eels may have the hottest forward pack in the NRL at the moment and while Fisher-Harris will have plenty of help, his role is to lead the aggression and energy for Penrith which will provide a hefty battle against Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Junior Paulo, Nathan Brown etc.

Rabbitohs vs Titans

Rabbitohs

Tom Amone, Bryson Goodwin.

Titans

Moeaki Fotuaika, Erin Clark, Sam Lisone, Kevin Proctor.

Doc's Word

After grabbing their first win in yonks, Erin Clark stays at dummy half for Gold Coast Titans and we get another chance to see the #KiwiNRL duo of Moeaiki Fotuaika and Sam Lisone in action. There's limited #KiwiNRL juice in the Rabbitohs, so kiwis should rally behind the Titans and keep tabs on Lisone's basic role, Clark's all-round skill at dummy half and how often Fotuaika pokes through the defensive line.

Knights vs Storm

Knights

Herman Ese'ese.

Storm

Jesse Bromwich, Kenny Bromwich, Brandon Smith, Nelson Asofa-Solomona.

Doc's Word

Jahrome Hughes is out injured and as much as I appreciate Hughes, this may be a low key boost for the Storm. Through four games, Hughes averaged 5.25 runs per game and that's not really enough for a half like Hughes and combine that with almost 2 missed tackles per game, as well as an error per game. Nelson Asofa-Solomona is back for the Storm and this not only gives the Storm a duo of Asofa-Solomona and Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, things get even more emphatic when adding Brandon Smith into the equation. Last week Smith started and played 42 minutes, as a middle forward for 10 runs, 116m @ 11.6m/run, 46pcm @ 4.6pcm/run and 3 tackle breaks. Chuck Smith among those big bodies off the Storm's bench and there is immense variety in Storm's forward pack.

Tigers vs Raiders

Tigers

Josh Aloiai, Zane Musgrove, Russell Packer, Michael Chee-Kam, Benji Marshall.

Raiders

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Bailey Simonsson, Joseph Tapine, Siliva Havili, Iosia Soliola.

Doc's Word

Lots of changes for Wests Tigers as Benji Marshall drops out and while that's a bummer, Zane Musgrove, Russell Packer and Michael Chee-Kam all come into the team. Packer is set to play his first game of 2020, with Musgrove and Chee-Kam returning after playing the first two games of the season and then missing the two restart games. All three are essentially playing for further opportunities and this wil hopefully see some big performances, even more so considering they are coming up against a Raiders forward pack who will be eager to dominate after their loss last week.

Bulldogs vs Roosters

Bulldogs

Reimis Smith, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Kieran Foran, Jeremy Marshall-King, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Renouf To'omaga, Ofahiki Ogden, Morgan Harper.

Roosters

Joseph Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Siosiua Taukeiaho, Isaac Liu, Sitili Tupouniua.

Doc's Word

Dylan Brown is the best #KiwiNRL half in the league right now and Kieran Foran has a chance to settle into a footy groove over the coming weeks - which could establish him as a likely Kiwis halves option. This will be a far greater challenge for Foran as he is likely to be dealing with Boyd Cordner down Foran's right edge and Foran got a nice tune up vs Dragon to ease his way into this game; 22 tackles @ 88 percent.

Big #KiwiNRL numbers in this game as we get the full Roosters crew with Sitili Tupouniua on the extended bench and I'll be intrigued to see how Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Siosiua Taukeiaho and Isaac Liu go against a Bulldogs forward pack that should offer far more resistance than the Broncos. The Bulldogs are again stacked with #KiwiNRL lads and their depth is on display as Ofahiki Ogden and Morgan Harper are on the extended bench.

Dragons vs Sharks

Dragons

Jordan Pereira, Issac Luke.

Sharks

Mawene Hiroti, Shaun Johnson, Briton Nikoria, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Jackson Ferris.

Doc's Word

Taranaki's Mawene Hiroti made a sneaky move from Rabbitohs to Sharks over the summer and grabs a start on the wing, plus Jackson Ferris (Manawatu) gets a spot on the extended bench as the Sharks flex their #KiwiNRL muscle.

There's been chat around Shaun Johnson's performances and with Chad Townsend back in the halves, Johnson won't have to do as much as he has in recent weeks; Johnson had 64 touches and 12 kicks last week, while Matt Moylan had 45 touches and 1 kick. Ideally, that allows Johnson more chances to run. Johnson has 15 total runs this season and given what a lethal runner Johnson is, the issue is how that number stacks up to Cameron Munster's 45 runs, Dylan Brown's 36 runs or Dylan Walker's 34 runs. Johnson can only boost those running numbers when he's got a general like Townsend to work with and if the Sharks want to further the Dragons misery, Johnson will be running.

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