2015 Round 1 EELS V SEA EAGLES

EELS V SEA EAGLES - FRI 6 MAR, 7:45PM (AEDT), PIRTEK STADIUM

Eels
1 Will Hopoate
2 Semi Radradra
3 Beau Champion
4 Brad Takairangi
5 Reece Robinson
6 Corey Norman
7 Chris Sandow
8 Darcy Lussick
9 Nathan Peats
10 Tim Mannah (c)
11 Manu Ma'u
12 Tepai Moeroa
13 Anthony Watmough

Interchange
14 Isaac De Gois
15 Joseph Paulo
16 Junior Paulo
17 David Gower
18 Danny Wicks
19 Pauli Pauli

Coach: Brad Arthur


Sea Eagles
1 Brett Stewart
2 Cheyse Blair
3 Jamie Lyon (c)
4 Clinton Gutherson
5 Peta Hiku
6 Kieran Foran
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Willie Mason
9 Matt Ballin
10 Brenton Lawrence
11 Feleti Mateo
12 Tom Symonds
13 Dunamis Lui

Interchange
14 Jesse Sene-Lefao
15 Blake Leary
16 James Hasson
17 Luke Burgess
18 Justin Horo

Coach: Geoff Toovey

Watmough ready for Manly: Arthur

Thu 05 Mar, 2015, 1:00pm
By Matt Encarnacion, Western Sydney Correspondent, NRL.com


Eels coach Brad Arthur says he's not a fan of rugby league theatre.

"I just want to come to work, coach the boys and go home. That's me – simple," Arthur said on Thursday.

Only Friday night's grudge match against rivals Manly-Warringah will be anything but. On the eve of what will be one of the most anticipated season-openers of the weekend, Arthur admitted to sitting down with his fired-up new recruit Anthony Watmough to ensure the former Sea Eagle was focused on his new team and not how much he wanted to get the better of his old one.

"I think a lot of the stuff said, even the stuff that was on 'Sterlo' last night, that [story] was done in November. It's water under the bridge now," Arthur said.

"A lot of it's tongue in cheek, and Choc's very appreciative of his time at Manly. We've had a chat about [how] he just needs to channel his focus to his football team now moving forward, especially for this game.

"Once this game's over and done with, there'll be no more talk about Manly."

The second-year Eels coach also said he didn't expect the Sea Eagles to target their former teammate.

"They're too smart for that. They're a team of footballers. They're all good mates," he said. "If he runs into them, they might put a little bit extra into their tackle, but they're not going to go out of their way to get him and come out of their defensive structures."

Watmough's only appearance of the pre-season was in Parramatta's trial win over Penrith a fortnight ago, but Arthur declared the NSW Origin forward was ready to play.

"He's been ready for a long time. We didn't play him in most of the trials, he was itching to get a run and we reduced to about 40-50 minutes at Penrith. He was probably a little bit rusty there too. But he's raring to go," he said.

---

A former Sea Eagles assistant, Arthur was in no mood to discuss rumours of Manly targeting him for a return to Brookvale in place of current head coach Geoff Toovey.

"I don't want to comment on rumours. But I'm committed to the 17 players that are playing this week and the 40 players that we've got to our squad. I'm committed to the Parramatta fans," he said.

He was also unwilling to shed any light on a reported deal this week with Manly five-eighth Kieran Foran to come to Parramatta next season.

"I don't comment, again, on recruitment. I'm happy to talk about what we need to do Friday night," he said.

---

However Arthur was happy to reveal that halfback Chris Sandow will enter the season "at the lightest [weight] he's ever been", despite missing almost a month of training after hurting his ankle in the Auckland Nines.

"Maybe we could've played him in the Penrith trial, but we didn't see it was a necessity and it was more important to get him right for this game," he said.

"Credit to him, he's down at 81 kilos, the lightest he's ever been. And that was including 3-4 weeks sitting on the sideline. He came back in our first conditioning session and he was leading the pack. It's a real credit to him and I hope he takes it onto the field."

Eels v Sea Eagles preview

Fri 06 Mar, 2015, 11:00am
By Chris Kennedy, National Correspondent, NRL.com


Parramatta Eels v Manly Sea Eagles
Pirtek Stadium
Friday 7.45pm

Well here we are, Round 1 of a new year and those bitter old foes, Manly and Parra, will resume hostilities in Sydney's west in a massive Friday night clash.

Seriously, you wouldn't find more subplots, intrigue and shock twists in a series of Days of Our Lives guest-written by William Shakespeare and directed by M Night Shyamalan. This one is set to be more explosive than a trilogy of Michael Bay movies and easily a thousand times more entertaining.

We've got the former northern beaches golden boy, Manly premiership-winner Anthony Watmough, lighting the fuse and setting fire to plenty of bridges in the process by torching his old club in a series of inflammatory media appearances.

We've got Manly's former assistant clipboard-holder – but a man who's bled blue and gold from childhood – in Brad Arthur now in charge of the Eels. There are even suggestions Manly are keen on luring him back, creating an even greater level of interest in the head-to-head contest between the two coaches.

On Arthur's roster he has not just Watmough but former maroon-and-white prodigy Will Hopoate, and ex-Sea Eagles Darcy Lussick, David Gower and Richie Fa'aoso. Manly also have their share of ex-Eels in their current squad to go with plenty more back over the years.

And the big one: Manly's star five-eighth, Kiwi Test pivot Kieran Foran, who, depending on what day you pick up the paper, may or may not be wearing blue and gold from 2016 in what would be a massive coup for the Eels and a bitter blow for Manly. Has he already decided his future? What will be going through his head when he runs out on what may prove to be his home ground from next year?

What else would you rather be doing on a Friday night than watching these two old-school rivals go at it? Welcome back, rugby league, we've missed you.

On the teams front, the Eels enter their post-Jarryd Hayne era with Hopoate at fullback, club debutants Reece Robinson on the right flank, Brad Takairangi and Beau Champion in the centres and Watmough at lock. Nathan Peats is back from injury at hooker pushing Isaac De Gois to the bench.

Manly have a few early-season injury concerns with prop Josh Starling set to miss a month and freshly re-signed centre Steve Matai also missing, with Clint Gutherson to start in the centres. Jorge Taufua will miss 1-2 months handing Cheyse Blair a wing spot. Jamie Lyon, Tom Symonds and Brenton Lawrence have all been named despite injury clouds. Willie Mason (prop) and Feleti Mateo (second row) each start in their club debuts while new signings Luke Burgess and Blake Leary also make their club debuts off the bench.

Watch out Eels: Mercurial Manly fullback Brett Stewart may be known as the 'Prince of Brookvale' but he's not just a home patch bully. He notched more try assists last year than any player outside of regular halves, and fourth overall behind Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk and James Maloney, with 21 assists in 22 games.

Watch out Sea Eagles: Maligned halfback Chris Sandow looked incredibly dangerous at the recent Auckland Nines. He looked as fit as he'd ever been and repeatedly pulled off crucial long kicks when his side needed them. That long boot saw him notch more than double the amount of successful 40/20 kicks by any player last season (seven, next best Adam Reynolds with three) and he had a few more near-misses, a couple of which earned his side the ball back. He's also in a contract year and if the pieces fall into place his boot could prove the difference.

Key Match-Up: Anthony Watmough v Manly. Say what you will about 'Choc' but the bloke knows how to generate some interest, and for that our hats go off to him. In the past few months he's waxed lyrical on how unhappy he was last year at Manly and questioned his former coach Geoff Toovey's leadership. No doubt the smattering of Manly fans in the away supporters bay will be letting him have it and he'll be loving every second of it.

The History: Played 131; Eels 46, Sea Eagles 81, Drawn 4. The northern beaches boys have had the wood over the blue-and-golds over the years. The past eight games at Parramatta are split four apiece but Manly have six of the past eight overall.

What Are The Odds: Eels $1.95, Sea Eagles $1.85. Manly may be slightly favoured in the betting but the Eels have received double the amount of money. Latest odds at Sportsbet.com.au

Match Officials: Matt Cecchin & Henry Perenara; touch judges: Brett Suttor & Nick Beashel; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton & Luke Patten.

Televised: Channel Nine, Live, 7.30pm.

The Way We See It: This is one of the toughest matches of the round to call. Injuries to a couple of key players brings Manly back to the field just a little bit but in turn, the Eels may take some time to adjust to the post-Hayne era. On that basis we'll hesitantly tip Manly but both sides have significantly different rosters so whoever adapts to their new systems the quickest could take this one.

If only we could watch it live. Not the same listening to it on the radio but live sport it is or nothing.

Been lookin' forward to this game moreso than the Donkeys 'n Rabbitohs, last night. Here's hoping it's a cracker of match. :)

Parra were very good but couldn't believe how weak Manly was on the edges,,,, did anyone notice how hard Willy was blowing after only 3 minutes of play

Eagles are in trouble for me,Shamus,Teke,Mexican & a few others our RL year ahead isn't looking too promising

Very impressive performance by Parramatta. Manly were close in the first half but were blown off the field in the second half. Manly may be in trouble but I'm excited for the year ahead for Parra. Be interesting to see if they can sustained it over the course of the season.