ROOSTERS v MANLY
Finals Week 2 - 7:50pm, Saturday 21st September
Allianz Stadium, Sydney
The 'Battle of the Beaches'. Knockout footy.
At last, the return of JWH. And damn, don't we need him. He is only one man, but Jazz is the catalyst for our forwards. Look for a VERY different performance from our pigs this week. He will set the standard, and the others will follow. I just hope & pray we get to keep him on the field this week, and the next if that should come to pass. Nothing I type can make a difference, but please Jazz ... nothing silly or dangerous ("careless" or especially "reckless"). You know you will be scrutinised to the Nth degree - don't give the bastards an excuse.
Teddy's 250th NRL game this week. He deserves to celebrate this with a win. He's really wound back the clock and has been enormous for us all year. One more big game this week thanks Ted.
Manly are not an easy side to predict. Turbo is playing busted, but his presence alone boosts them. He'll still be a big danger with ball in hand. They have plenty of size and pace, and DCE possesses a devilish kicking game. Brooks is a danger when running the ball, and he has a deft passing game when he is on. BUT, they are prone to defensive lapses ... especially Brooks who has missed a whopping 93 tackles. We must give him a working over. And DCE - making the opposition halves tackle all day is a proven effective strategy. If we can do the basics right, run hard & tackle hard, complete our sets and make them work out of their end, I believe we will be too strong. A fast start is paramount. No playing catch up this week. We need to play this game from the front. Good line speed, but maintain our discipline. Sounds easy when you say it, I've yet to see us play like that for 80 minutes in the last 5 years. This week, please!!
Apart from Jazz's return, Whyte starts at lock. Butcher and May join Wong on the bench and ZDC drops out. Rads has been named on the extended bench. Fingers crossed he's cleared to play.
Unavailable: Sammy, Cheese, Rads & Egan.
I'm not sure why I bother, but, the count is now: 125
Roosters by 8.
GO EASTS !!
ROOSTERS:
1. Teddy
2. Tupou
3. Sua'ali'i
4. Manu
5. Young
6. Keary
7. Smith, Sandon
8. JWH
9. Watson
10. Collins
11. Crichton
12. Tupouniua
13. Whyte
INTERCHANGE:
14. Wong
15. Leniu
16. Butcher
17. May
RESERVES:
18. ZDC
19. Pauga
20. Steep
21. Jennings
22. Radley
Match Officials:
Finals Week 2 - 7:50pm, Saturday 21st September
Allianz Stadium, Sydney
The 'Battle of the Beaches'. Knockout footy.
At last, the return of JWH. And damn, don't we need him. He is only one man, but Jazz is the catalyst for our forwards. Look for a VERY different performance from our pigs this week. He will set the standard, and the others will follow. I just hope & pray we get to keep him on the field this week, and the next if that should come to pass. Nothing I type can make a difference, but please Jazz ... nothing silly or dangerous ("careless" or especially "reckless"). You know you will be scrutinised to the Nth degree - don't give the bastards an excuse.
Teddy's 250th NRL game this week. He deserves to celebrate this with a win. He's really wound back the clock and has been enormous for us all year. One more big game this week thanks Ted.
Manly are not an easy side to predict. Turbo is playing busted, but his presence alone boosts them. He'll still be a big danger with ball in hand. They have plenty of size and pace, and DCE possesses a devilish kicking game. Brooks is a danger when running the ball, and he has a deft passing game when he is on. BUT, they are prone to defensive lapses ... especially Brooks who has missed a whopping 93 tackles. We must give him a working over. And DCE - making the opposition halves tackle all day is a proven effective strategy. If we can do the basics right, run hard & tackle hard, complete our sets and make them work out of their end, I believe we will be too strong. A fast start is paramount. No playing catch up this week. We need to play this game from the front. Good line speed, but maintain our discipline. Sounds easy when you say it, I've yet to see us play like that for 80 minutes in the last 5 years. This week, please!!
Apart from Jazz's return, Whyte starts at lock. Butcher and May join Wong on the bench and ZDC drops out. Rads has been named on the extended bench. Fingers crossed he's cleared to play.
Unavailable: Sammy, Cheese, Rads & Egan.
I'm not sure why I bother, but, the count is now: 125
Roosters by 8.
GO EASTS !!
ROOSTERS:
1. Teddy
2. Tupou
3. Sua'ali'i
4. Manu
5. Young
6. Keary
7. Smith, Sandon
8. JWH
9. Watson
10. Collins
11. Crichton
12. Tupouniua
13. Whyte
INTERCHANGE:
14. Wong
15. Leniu
16. Butcher
17. May
RESERVES:
18. ZDC
19. Pauga
20. Steep
21. Jennings
22. Radley
Match Officials:
- Referee: Grant Atkins
- Touch Judge: Phil Henderson
- Touch Judge: Matt Noyen
- Senior Review Official: Chris Butler
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