Round 18: South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Parramatta Eels

[DIEHARD]

South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Parramatta Eels

Saturday 7:30pm 12 July 2008 - ANZ Stadium, Sydney


http://www.nrl.com/portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/Round_18/Rabbitohs_V_Eels_Rd18_320.jpg

Referee: Matt Cecchin

RABBITOHS

1. Luke Capewell
2. Nathan Merritt
3. Jamie Simpson
4. Beau Champion
5. Fetuli Talanoa
6. Craig Wing
7. Chris Sandow
8. Scott Geddes
9. Issac Luke
10. Roy Asotasi (C)
11. Luke Stuart
12. David Fa'alogo
13. John Sutton

Interchange:
14. Beau Falloon
15. Shannan McPherson
16. Manase Manuokafoa
17. Michael Greenfield

Reserves:
18. David Kidwell
19. Ben Lowe

EELS

1. Luke Burt
2. Taulima Tautai
3. Krisnan Inu
4. Joel Reddy
5. Jarryd Hayne
6. Feleti Mateo
7. Brett Finch
8. Nathan Cayless (c)
9. Mark Riddell
10. Josh Cordoba
11. Nathan Hindmarsh
12. Daniel Wagon
13. Chad Robinson

Interchange:
14. Matthew Keating
15. Fuifui Moimoi
16. Weller Hauraki
17. Brendan Oake

[SuperCliffy#01]

Salutations All

The Bunnies by 6.

Regards

Cliffy:fist:

[DIEHARD]

Rabbitohs v Eels Preview

ANZ Stadium Saturday 7.30pm


http://www.nrl.com/portals/0/galleries/Fixture_Cycler_Images/Round_18/Rabbitohs_V_Eels_Rd18_320.jpg

LOOKING into the crystal ball we see only two possible outcomes: another narrow win ? their fifth in a row ? for the new comeback kings of the NRL the South Sydney Rabbitohs; or an Eels landslide.

At the risk of repeating ourselves too many times, this Eels outfit is just waiting to explode.

But expectation and performance are two different things altogether and after failing to play to their potential Parramatta find themselves precariously positioned just outside the top eight.

Meanwhile the Rabbitohs? players have breathed new life into their contracts ? and their coach Jason Taylor?s stay at Redfern (or is it ANZ Stadium?) ? courtesy of consecutive wins over the Warriors, Titans, Cowboys and Bulldogs.

In their past two games they?ve overcome record deficits to nab the points ? but their achievements are a little misleading when you consider they have been up against the worst and third-worst sides defensively (Bulldogs a woeful 86.1 per cent effected tackles, Cowboys 87.1 per cent) over the past fortnight.

They?ve named an unchanged 17 from the side that trumped the ?Dogs; in somewhat of a rarity they have all their top squad fit and available.

Meanwhile Michael Hagan?s boys have worryingly lost four of their past seven, including two of the past three.

Sandwiched between those losses was a lacklustre two-point win over the Storm minus their nine Origin players.

There are no excuses: injuries have been kind to them, too, with only Ben Smith and Junior Paulo on the casualty list.

Watch out Rabbitohs: Souths are extremely vulnerable when sides break their defensive line; 41 of the 68 tries scored against them have originated this way.

Unfortunately for them, the Eels are the second best side in the NRL at turning line breaks into four-pointers ? 38 of their 57 tries have started from defensive-line busts.

Watch out Eels: In just a couple of games back from injury Craig Wing has shown what might have been for the Rabbitohs this year.

He was devastating in a man-of-the-match performance at five-eighth last week, with two try assists, two line breaks and six probing runs at the line for 99 metres.

Formerly considered more of a ruck specialist, Wing is relishing the extra space just off the play and his combinations with hooker Issac Luke and young halfback Chris Sandow are proving fruitful.

His run-around play to get outside his man and set up a try last Monday was superb.

Where it will be won: Up the centre of the ruck, both in attack and defence.

It?s obvious the NRL is cracking down on the marker area; the past few weeks have seen a brace of penalties awarded as sides attempt to make decent yards out of dummy-half with scurries.

That?s suiting the Rabbitohs in particular as it?s a basic Jason Taylor tactic to ?push up?.

Now the move has the added incentive of a possible penalty expect Luke and the outside backs to make even more darts out of dummy-half.

They made a whopping 34 against the Bulldogs.

As visitors, the Eels markers need to attempt to get square at all times, especially given the appointment of fledgling referee Matt Cecchin.

No team has the advantage in discipline ? in fact they?re the two best-behaved sides in the comp, with Souths conceding the least penalties (81) and the Eels the next best with 83.

The History: Played 107; Rabbitohs 57, Eels 48, drawn 2.

The Eels have won six of the past eight games ? although the Rabbitohs did slaughter the Eels 31-6 at ANZ Stadium last year in their only meeting at the venue.

Conclusion: Michael Hagan is 18 months into a three-year deal.

The Eels are expected to be top-four material in 2008 but if they lose this they?ll be in a serious battle just to make the top eight.

That would put Hagan?s future under the spotlight.

Last week against the Panthers the Eels seemed to telegraph their moves and play in slow motion.

Expect greater urgency here.

The Rabbitohs?

They?re playing with plenty of passion but this week they meet a side scoring almost four points more every game.

The Bunnies have made their point and exorcised a few demons over the past month; we get the feeling it could be the Eels who?ll be generating the positive media over the coming month.

The last word: Souths have won just two of the past 15 games against the Eels.

Match officials: Referee ? Matt Cecchin; Sideline Officials ? Gavin Reynolds & Gerard Sutton; Video ref ? Paul Simpkins.

Televised: Fox Sports 2 ? Delayed 9.20pm.

HEAD TO HEAD RECORDS (1947 - )

Overall Head-to-head Records
Played 107; South Sydney 57, Parramatta 48, Drawn 2

Head-to-head at ANZ Stadium
Played 1; South Sydney 1, Parramatta 0

Record Crowd these Clubs (Excludes Finals and Double Headers)
27688 at Sydney Cricket Ground, 9/5/1964 (Rd 6), Parramatta Won 16 - 15

Last 10 Games Head-to-head: Played 10; Parramatta 8, South Sydney 2

Won By Score Venue Date
Parramatta 18 - 12 Parramatta Stadium 15/7/2007 (Rd 18)
South Sydney 31 - 6 ANZ Stadium 25/3/2007 (Rd 2)
Parramatta 30 - 10 Parramatta Stadium 17/6/2006 (Rd 15)
Parramatta 52 - 16 Parramatta Stadium 3/7/2005 (Rd 17)
South Sydney 49 - 26 Sydney Football Stadium 20/3/2005 (Rd 2)
Parramatta 41 - 20 Parramatta Stadium 12/4/2004 (Rd 5)
Parramatta 34 - 20 Sydney Football Stadium 20/7/2003 (Rd 19)
Parramatta 28 - 4 Parramatta Stadium 31/5/2003 (Rd 12)
Parramatta 54 - 0 Parramatta Stadium 10/8/2002 (Rd 22)
Parramatta 22 - 14 Sydney Football Stadium 22/4/2002 (Rd 6)

Biggest Win Score Venue Date
South Sydney 50 - 10 Redfern 1/6/1957 (Rd 7)
South Sydney 50 - 10 Cumberland 25/8/1951 (Rd 18)
Parramatta 54 - 0 Parramatta Stadium 10/8/2002 (Rd 22)

Most Tries in a Match Head-to-head
5 E Sladden (Rabbitohs) Rabbitohs Won 48 - 12 (Rd 16, 1957)
5 I Moir (Rabbitohs) Rabbitohs Won 50 - 10 (Rd 7, 1957)

Most Goals in a Match Head-to-head
10 T Butler (Rabbitohs) Rabbitohs Won 35 - 22 (Rd 2, 1947)

Most Points in a Match Head-to-head
23 J Graves (Rabbitohs)(3T, 7G, 0FG) Rabbitohs Won 38 (Rd 10, 1948)


* Statistics: NRL Stats.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[goldcoastitans]

i love watching the eels play and as much as im enjoying this stint from the rabbits i think its coming to a halt at this game i think they all going to walk in there with big heads and eels are going to take full advantage of it ...we gonna see some Mateo magic in this game ....the mans a friggen OFFLOAD king...he amazes me ...he should move to the titans :D

[Capital_Shark]

I'm going the Bunnies for 5 straight. They'll have to open the account a little earlier this week though and not wait for Parra to score 20 odd.

Hopefully Mateo continues to do the work his forwards aren't, thus keeping Hayne, Reddy, Inu and Tautai deprived of good ball.

Carn the Rabbits! Another blinder from Craig Wing. Man I've enjoyed watching him play the last few weeks. If he keeps it up, even with spending the majority of the season as a spectator, he could be the buy of the year along with Johnny Lang.

[goldcoastitans]

i love watching the eels play and as much as im enjoying this stint from the rabbits i think its coming to a halt at this game i think they all going to walk in there with big heads and eels are going to take full advantage of it ...we gonna see some Mateo magic in this game ....the mans a friggen OFFLOAD king...he amazes me ...he should move to the titans :D

well i guess i ate my words in this match ....i hope they can play like this next week!:salute:

[SuperCliffy#01]

i love watching the eels play and as much as im enjoying this stint from the rabbits i think its coming to a halt at this game i think they all going to walk in there with big heads and eels are going to take full advantage of it ...we gonna see some Mateo magic in this game ....the mans a friggen OFFLOAD king...he amazes me ...he should move to the titans :D

Salutations goldcoastitans

For me the Eels have become to boring, they rely on a few individuals to produce the magic stuff while the rest of the team is lazy, i am also surprised that the Eels of late become fatigued so quickly.

Souths on the other hand have spirit, you can see this just by looking into their eyes, they belive that they can beat any side on any day, this makes them a danger side, one i'll not dismiss, and yet this is not the case of the Eels, their eyes betray a team that want's to be somewhere else.

Regards

Cliffy:fight: