Sea Eagles vs Roosters

Sea Eagles

Morgan Harper - Ngaruawahia Panthers/Waikato.

Kieran Foran - Ellerslie Eagles/Auckland.

Josh Aloiai - Glenora Bears/Auckland.

Martin Taupau - Auckland.

Toafofoa Sipley - City Newton Dragons/Auckland.

Roosters

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves - Rotorua.

Sitili Tupouniua - Marist Saints/Auckland.

Isaac Liu - Otahuhu Leopards/Auckland.

Naufahu Whyte - Waitemata Seagulls/Auckland.

Kiwi-NRL Breakdown

I'm hopeful of a Morgan Harper bounce back game here. In the review earlier this week outlined how the entire Sea Eagles right edge was picked apart by Storm wizardry and having checked over some of the plays, I'd go as far as noting that the Storm targeted the Daly Cherry-Evans/Haumole Olakau'atu tandem more than Harper specifically. Harper did make 3 errors though and I doubt that will happen again, while I'm also confident that Roosters won't be replicating last week's destruction.

Harper will line up against Adam Keighran at centre, with Drew Hutchison defending alongside Keighran. Roosters jacked up plenty of missed tackles vs Titans and they'll be eager to improve on that, although Keighran's 6 missed tackles and Hutchison's 5 do catch the eye. As does Angus Crichton missing 7 tackles on that same left edge and if Sea Eagles can improve on their 39 percent possession vs Storm; Harper will have an opportunity to settle back into his mahi.

Harper is just part of a Sea Eagles outfit that has to improve as a unit. Everyone's stats took a hefty dip due to that gulf in possession and the Kiwi-NRL perspective zones in on Kieran Foran being more active running the footy, as well providing a more active kicking option as he had just 3 kicks to Cherry-Evans' 11 kicks. Harper is out on the right edge with Cherry-Evans and Foran is on the left edge, so greater involvement from Harper and Foran will signal better balance in Sea Eagles attack. With slick attacking options throughout their team, a balanced Sea Eagles attack will be hard to stop.

As always, footy starts up the guts. Part of Storm's plan was to dominate the middle and as Storm controlled possession, Sea Eagles forwards did get less carries than usual. Not by a huge amount though and Storm won the physical contest as evident in Jake Trbojevic averaging just 4.6m/run (10 runs - 46m) or Dylan Walker being the most effective forward with 13 runs - 108m @ 8.30m/run. Storm literally dominated the middle and that's the best way to shut down any opponent, providing another bounce back route for Sea Eagles on Friday night.

Josh Aloiai and Martin Taupau are named to start. Taupau maintains a solid level of mahi every week and Aloiai is inconsistent, although that aligns with how Aloiai has been deployed as a starter and bench forward over the season. Three games off the bench were followed by four games starting, followed by four games off the bench and now two games starting. Aloiai has had mediocre outings this season, but not consecutively and this could be a hearty finals breakout game for the Glenora Bears junior.

Lots of Sea Eagles there and not much Roosters. Joseph Manu was taken out of finals footy prior to finals, now Siosiua Taukeiaho is ruled out for this game. Two high quality Kiwi-NRL players down and Roosters Kiwi-NRL funk now resides in three forwards who will need to counter the bounce back outlined above.

Sitili Tupouniua will be defending against Foran and Josh Schuster which will be a tricky assignment, while Jared Waerea-Hargreaves lines up against fellow Kiwi-NRL veteran Taupau in a battle that could decide the game. Remember that Isaac Liu has played every game this season and Waerea-Hargreaves has a couple 80-minute bangers as well; they could be tired or fizzing to lead this Roosters team once again.

Panthers vs Eels

Panthers

James Fisher-Harris - Whangarei Marist/Northland.

Eels

Haze Dunster - Rotorua.

Dylan Brown - Hikurangi Stags/Northland.

Marata Niukore - Mangere East Hawks/Auckland.

Isaiah Papali'i - Te Atatu Roosters/Auckland.

Makahesi Makatoa - Marist Dragons/New Plymouth.

Kiwi-NRL Breakdown

The only Kiwi-NRL change for either team is Makahesi Makatoa dropping to the extended bench, replaced by Ryan Matterson. I reckon this is due to Makatoa providing a physical, mobile, eager presence in the middle last week against a Knights forward pack that was isolated for destruction by the Eels forwards. Against Panthers, Matterson offers a bit more skill and subtlety in his footy ability.

I highlighted the James Fisher-Harris dip in the review and this is going to be super funky. Fisher-Harris has to lead this Panthers forward pack and get back to his high standards laid down across multiple seasons, however the Eels forward pack will be keen to repeat their performance from last week. There was the typical dose of hard-running Eels forwards led by Isaiah Papali'i taking the most runs for the most run-metres off any Eels forward ... coming off the bench.

The Eels also churned out their typical brutality in defence. This was headlined by Reagan Campbell-Gillard's string of big shots as Knights worked off their own try line. All of which sets up an extremely interesting battle of two forward packs, however my Kiwi-NRL goggles zone in on Fisher-Harris and how he counters what the Eels do best - winning the physical battle. Fisher-Harris comes into this game out of form and that could swing things either way, especially when Eels will put a target on him.

Papali'i was awesome as he has been all season, while Marata Niukore also showcased his talents in spending time at right centre as well as his edge forward role vs Knights. Niukore had 16 runs (135m) on the right edge and Shaun Lane had 8 runs in 10 fewer minutes, highlighting Niukore's activity. There will be plenty of chat about Junior Paulo, Nathan Brown and Campbell-Gillard although the Kiwi-NRL perspective has me celebrating how low key important Papali'i and Niukore are to this forward pack.

Then we have Dylan Brown - Backseat Brown.

In the review I highlighted how Brown's role is all about running, tackling and the odd kick. Don't expect plenty of try assists as the Eels attack is based around Mitchell Moses on the right and Clint Gutherson on the left, while Brown acts as glue in bringing it all together. As Moses had one of his best games of the season last week, Brown didn't need to do as much and was chilling in the backseat - even though his 26 tackles were the most of any Eels back.

Watching Brown will be about catching his involvements. Making 26 tackles with 1 missed last week and tackling at 96 percent this season will be useful against a willing Panthers attack. This provides some defensive intrigue along the same lines as Harper and his right edge for Sea Eagles, while in this Eels system Brown's role is to put Gutherson in good attacking areas. The more active Brown is running the footy, the more he engages defenders and opens space wider for Gutherson.

Ultimately, 57 running metres (99m) and 32 kicking metres (122km) were well below Brown's season averages. Whether by design or not, this worked against Knights and such a focus on Moses especially won't work against Panthers. Expect Brown to improve on his backseat role from last week, just don't expect Brown to provide flashy moments as he's all about running, kicking and tackling.

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