Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs Preview

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Berkeley_Eagle

Current Status: 24/7 Manly Fan
Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs Preview
Big League

http://nrl.com/News/Latest/tabid/10244/default.aspx?id=50360



Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs
Brookvale Oval
Sunday 3.00pm

BEFORE Manly’s demolition of the Warriors on Monday night, both sides were looking as if they were in for a long season. But as the Sea Eagles showed – this year’s competition is so close that on any given day it can all fall into place and the points can rain down from anywhere on the park.
Souths played their best game of the season at CUA Stadium where they narrowly lost to the Panthers in a brave performance after losing their best forward (Roy Asotasi) and their most creative player (Issac Luke).
Manly coach Des Hasler has entered a relatively unchanged line-up, moving utility Luke Williamson to five-eighth while veteran Steve Menzies returns to his position at lock.
But this appears to be a simple matter of foxing from the Sea Eagles mentor, with Menzies expected to return to the halves where he was so effective against the Warriors. Prop Josh Perry should also find his way to the starting line-up, as he has in every game this season, with Brent Kite moving into the second row and Williamson finding his way to the bench.
The Rabbitohs have seen yet more changes to their line-up, with Jason Taylor opting for his fourth halves pairing in just four rounds of NRL. Ben Rogers has been dumped and this week Jeremy Smith is in the firing line wearing the no. 7 jersey. Taylor has also drafted rookie Beau Falloon onto the bench.
Watch out Sea Eagles!: Beware the wounded warrior! Souths have suffered a terrible start to the season, losing their first three matches and their two most creative players (Craig Wing and Issac Luke), but there is still enough of the firepower that carried them to the finals last year – and desperate situations can often bring out the best in players.
John Sutton has regained some of the form which endeared him to the Rabbitohs’ faithful when he hit the scene in 2004. Sutton played well against the Panthers, laying on a try assist, but it wasn’t enough to get Souths home. Rookie prop Michael Greenfield has been a handful all year and is very dangerous when he gets his right hand free (7 offloads, 8th in the NRL).
Watch out Rabbitohs!: The Sea Eagles struggled for attacking consistency for two weeks running – but that drought broke when they breached the Warriors’ tryline 10 times.
Ivan Cleary’s men played a number of Manly players into form, with Anthony Watmough (124 metres, 18 tackles, 2 tries, 5 offloads), Brett Stewart (1 try assist, 195 metres, 3 tries), Lyon (2 try assists, 112 metres) and Orford (4 try assists, 1 try) all kick-starting their representative ambitions for 2008.
Where it will be won: Expect both coaches to play a forwards-dominated gameplan. The Sea Eagles bulked up in the off-season and have started every game of 2008 with three props and a sizeable bench.
Manly are ranked third in the NRL for completions, a statistic that bodes well for the peninsula club.
The Rabbitohs made the finals last year on the back of some enterprising work from a determined forward pack, and with some attacking spark sitting in the casualty ward Taylor may need to revert back to the simple style which was so successful last year.
Minimise the offloads, hold onto the ball, complete your sets. If the Rabbitohs are any chance of winning this game Roy Asotasi, David Kidwell and Greenfield all need to stand up and silence Manly’s pack to give the likes of Sutton and fullback Nathan Merritt the space to work their magic.
The History: Played 119, Sea Eagles 65, Rabbitohs 54. Manly have defeated Souths in their last 4 matches at Brookvale Oval.
Conclusion: It is hard to predict anything other than a Manly victory on this occasion. The Sea Eagles thrive on the atmosphere that emerges on a Sunday afternoon at Brookvale Oval.
The last occasion Souths visited Brookie on a Sunday they went home 38-16 losers, and Des Hasler will be making sure his squad won’t become complacent after their strong return to form against the Warriors.
Match Officials: Referee – Shayne Hayne; Sideline Officials – Mohamad Fajajo & Jeff Younis; Video Ref – Steve Clark.
Televised: Channel Nine – Delayed 4.00pm; FoxSports 2 – Delayed 7.30pm.
• Statistics NRL Stats
 
They are predicting a thrashing so it seems. Even the Tab odds are strongly in our favour. I think it will be closer than what those odds suggest but we should still win.
 
Team P W L PD Pts
3 3 0 48 6
4 3 1 28 6
3 2 1 10 6
4 2 2 39 4
3 2 1 28 4
3 2 1 15 4
3 2 1 14 4
2 1 1 13 4
2 1 1 6 4
3 2 1 -3 4
3 1 2 0 2
3 1 2 -5 2
3 1 2 -15 2
3 1 2 -22 2
3 1 2 -36 2
2 0 2 -56 2
3 0 3 -64 0
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