|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:47:06 GMT 10
SATURDAY 17th May: Parramatta Eels v St George Illawarra Dragons at Pirtek Stadium, 3.00pm
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:47:26 GMT 10
NRL.com
Eels v Dragons - Sat 17 May, 3.00pm (local), Pirtek Stadium
Eels
1 Jarryd Hayne (c)
2 Semi Radradra
3 Will Hopoate
4 Willie Tonga
5 Ken Sio
6 Corey Norman
7 Chris Sandow
8 Tim Mannah (c)
9 Nathan Peats
10 Darcy Lussick
11 David Gower
12 Manu Ma’u
13 Joseph Paulo
Interchange
14 Pauli Pauli
15 Peni Terepo
16 Junior Paulo
17 Mitch Allgood
Coach: Brad Arthur
Dragons
1 Josh Dugan
2 Brett Morris
3 Joel Thompson
4 Gerard Beale
5 Jason Nightingale
6 Gareth Widdop
7 Sam Williams
8 Tyson Frizell
9 Mitch Rein
10 Leeson Ah Mau
11 Bronson Harrison
12 Ben Creagh (c)
13 Trent Merrin
Interchange
14 Jack Stockwell
15 Dan Hunt
16 Jack De Belin
17 Will Matthews
Coach: Steve Price
Joe Paulo starts for Peni Terepo in the only change from the side that ran out on Monday. Fuifui Moimoi again plays NSW Cup.
Nightingale replaces Green on the wing, Matthews replaces Mike Cooper on the bench, Ah Mau starts for Dan Hunt. No sign of Benji Marshall yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:47:46 GMT 10
NRL.com
Eels v Dragons
Pirtek Stadium
Saturday, 3pm (AEST)
Forget the 3pm kick-off for a moment. All eyes, ears, iPads, smart phones and computer screens are on the Twittersphere, where the final team line-ups will be found an hour before kick-off, all to find out whether Benji Marshall makes his highly publicised return to the NRL.
We should know by then whether Dragons CEO Peter Doust has agreed to hand over some moolah to the Wests Tigers, but all the financial hullaballoo at that point is moot. The real money question centres on whether 'Mr Flick Pass' really has arrived with a second wind - and whether he can transform that second wind into a full-blown gale.
Either way, there will still be a game to be played out Parramatta way on Saturday afternoon and if the form guide is anything to go by, prepare the stomach linings for a massacre because both sides had their respective games last week decided by halftime.
Thanks to a couple of standout performances from attacking linchpins Jarryd Hayne and Chris Sandow, the Eels were in control for the majority of their 42-24 mauling of the Sharks last Monday night. And if they had adhered to coach Brad Arthur's year-long plea and decided to play a lick of defence in the second half, the scoreline wouldn't have been nearly as flattering for Cronulla.
In the Dragons' case, defence was clearly optional from the kick-off as they stared down the barrel of a 38-6 embarrassment that coach Steve Price had every right to label 'soft' in the post-match press conference.
It was as though the early season pacesetters were still dancing the streets of Wollongong and celebrating the signing of Marshall two days prior, because the famous Red V quickly became infamously red-faced as the Bulldogs poured on seven tries to one.
Eels talent Junior Paulo retains his spot in Arthur's side, meaning veteran Fuifui Moimoi gets another week in the reggies, while Jason Nightingale and Will Matthews come in for Nathan Green and Mike Cooper respectively.
That's how the teams look for now... but all that can change at 2pm on Saturday afternoon.
Watch Out Eels: Trent Merrin is the Dragons player tackled most inside the opposition red zone and with 14 offloads to his name, it's not hard to see why. His deceptive footwork and ability to create second-phase footy makes him as dangerous as his new teammate Marshall. And now with two instinctive halves – the other being five-eighth Gareth Widdop – who are leaders in slicing through jagged defensive lines, having Merrin out there is like having a third half.
Watch Out Dragons: Hayne and Sandow got all the plaudits post-game, and deservedly so. But it was unsung hero Darcy Lussick who began like a house on fire, setting the tone with an early shot that forced an error and set up their first try. In the end the former Sea Eagle tallied just 79 metres and 18 tackles but we assure you – every single one of them was quality. Lussick may not be your high-profile workhorse who churns out accountant-like numbers every game, but he's the bloke who's never afraid to upend the bloke who does.
Plays To Watch: It's not so much a play as it is strategy, but by now it's no secret that Price is employing wingers Brett Morris and Jason Nightingale as his third and fourth props on the field. The Dragons lead the league in dummy-half runs, with Morris (44) and Nightingale (31) making plenty of darts out of dummy-half when Mitch Rein (65) doesn't.
The Eels are a little bit more unpredictable, and a lot of that has to do with Chris Sandow's instinctive and brash play. However, there is a recurring theme to their left-side shifts, and it primarily involves Hayne keeping the opposition right winger honest with a long ball to in-form winger Semi Radradra early on.
Where It Will Be Won: Parramatta have been forced to make the least amount of tackles, and take the least amount of line drop-outs of any NRL team so far this year. We all know how dangerous they are with plenty of possession, but if the Dragons can mount even a little on Saturday, we'll find out how much ticker this new-look Eels team really has.
The History: Played 29; Eels 12, Dragons 14, drawn 3. It's not pretty reading for the Eels, whose breakthrough 26-22 victory in Round 25 last year was the first win in their past eight games against the Dragons. The 8,910 crowd at Parramatta Stadium was also the lowest between the two teams since St George and Illawarra merged in 1999.
Match Officials: Referees – Jared Maxwell & Chris James; Sideline Officials – Luke Potter & Dave Ryan; Video Referees – Bernard Sutton & Matt Rodwell.
Televised: FoxSports 1 – Live 3pm (AEST).
The Way We See It: The Eels are undefeated at Pirtek Stadium, and after the Dragons' no-show last week, common sense tells us to go with them by 14 points. But there's nothing common about Benji Marshall, and to be honest, he looks like the kind of bloke who likes a dramatic entrance. So if he's on the team sheet at 2pm, we expect a tighter affair.
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:48:05 GMT 10
NRL.com
It's official - this is a vastly better Eels team than the one that recorded consecutive wooden spoons.
On the back of a 36-0 towelling-up of a disappointing Dragons outfit including returned superstar Benji Marshall, the Eels have broken through for the sixth win of their 2014 campaign - surpassing the five wins they recorded for the entire last season.
With a second-half blitzkrieg that included two tries in three minutes upon the resumption, the Eels made short work of an obliging Dragons side, who completed just 19 of their 37 sets to repeatedly gift Parramatta prime attacking real estate and make the long-awaited comeback of Marshall a decidedly unhappy one.
Too good to be left idle on the nightstand, and far too talented to be left on a Super Rugby reserves bench, Marshall was guilty of trying too hard in an effort to spark the Dragons attack, evidenced by four errors in the opening 40 minutes, and compounded by a mocking "Benji" chant from a merciless capacity crowd of 18,631.
The former Tigers and Kiwi skipper did exhibit a few class touches, though that will prove little consolation for Dragons as they conceded over 30 points for the third consecutive outing and slumped to their sixth loss in seven starts.
Giving little indication of the slaughter imminent, Parramatta squandered a number of early attacking chances through poor passes throughout the opening exchanges, though the Dragons proved just as obliging, giving away four piggy-backing penalties in the Eels' own half in the first 15 minutes.
The Parramatta faithful were kept on tenterhooks for an entertaining but undoubtedly sloppy first quarter of the match, with the Dragons looking most dangerous when Marshall and Gareth Widdop combined on the right side of the ruck.
Yet it was the home side who troubled the scoreboard attendants first in the 20th minute, when a right-side raid saw hooker Nathan Peats slot into first receiver and deliver a sublime cut-out ball, leaving Kangaroos winger Brett Morris as lost as a penguin in the desert and sent Ken Sio in for his eighth try of the season to give the Eels a 6-0 advantage.
Half an hour in Marshall sprung to life, displaying the audacity for which he was renowned before leaving the code, belting the ball downfield from a 20-metre tap in an effort to find touch. The Eels managed to clean up the play despite a spirited chase from the Dragons recruit, though soon gifted the visitors another opportunity through an error, and from the ensuing set of six Marshall engineered his first try assist of 2014.
Unfortunately for Red V fans the benefactor was opposing playmaker Corey Norman, who swooped on a Marshall knock-on from a poor pass to sprint 70 metres for his first try in the blue and gold and send the Eels into half-time up by two converted tries.
Junior Paulo came out of the sheds as though shot from a cannon, powering over the top of Mitch Rein in a bullocking 30-metre run before offloading for skipper Jarryd Hayne to maintain Parramatta's ascendancy and stretch the lead to 18.
The Eels were at it again just three minutes later, as Sio crossed for his second in the right corner after the ball passed through eight pairs of hands to leave a number of Dragons defenders clutching embarrassingly at thin air. Chris Sandow continued his perfect afternoon off the tee, converting from the sideline to push the Eels out beyond reach with half an hour to go.
Boom front-rower Pauli Pauli then got himself across the line in the 63rd minute courtesy of an offload at the line by Hayne, while Hayne himself barged over for a second four-pointer nine minutes later to cap a stellar performance in which he also ran for 187 metres, broke four tackles and set up a try.
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:48:24 GMT 10
Parramatta Eels 36 (K Sio 2, J Hayne 2, C Norman, Pauli tries; C Sandow 6 goals) defeated St. George-Illawarra Dragons 0 at Pirtek Stadium. Crowd: 18,631.
|
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:49:13 GMT 10
 Semi Radradra breaks the Dragons defence. |
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:50:00 GMT 10
 Ken Sio scores a try. |
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:50:48 GMT 10
 Jarryd Hayne searches for a gap in the Dragons defence. |
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Jul 7, 2020 21:51:42 GMT 10
 Pauli Pauli scores a try. |
|
|
|
Post by Electric Eel on Sept 8, 2021 12:41:15 GMT 10
|
|
1981 1982 1983 1986 