Round 25 Eels v Sharks

EELS V SHARKS - SAT 29 AUGUST, 3.00PM, PIRTEK STADIUM | BUY TICKETS

Eels
1 Reece Robinson
2 Semi Radradra
3 Will Hopoate
4 Ryan Morgan
5 Bureta Faraimo
6 Corey Norman
7 Luke Kelly
8 Junior Paulo
9 Isaac De Gois
10 Tim Mannah (c)
11 Manu Ma'u
12 Tepai Moeroa
13 David Gower

Interchange
14 Pauli Pauli
15 Darcy Lussick
16 Daniel Alvaro
17 Peni Terepo

Coach: Brad Arthur

Sharks
1 Michael Gordon
2 Sosaia Feki
3 Gerard Beale
4 Ricky Leutele
5 Valentine Holmes
6 Jack Bird
7 Jeff Robson
8 Chris Heighington
9 Michael Ennis
10 Sam Tagataese
11 Luke Lewis
12 Wade Graham
13 Paul Gallen (c)

Interchange
14 Matt Prior
15 Anthony Tupou
16 Tinirau Arona
17 Jayson Bukuya

Coach: Shane Flanagan

Eels v Sharks preview

Wed 26 Aug, 2015, 12:00pm
Joe Riordan, NRL.com

Eels v Sharks preview
Parramatta Eels v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Pirtek Stadium
Saturday, 3:00pm

They've ruined the finals chances of Sea Eagles and now the Parramatta Eels hope to play spoilers again as they face top-four aspirants the Cronulla Sharks.

In wet conditions last week the Eels' tough pack dominated, and this week they receive a further boost with captain Tim Mannah set to return at prop.

But they won't be expecting such an easy passage up the middle this Saturday afternoon against a seasoned Sharks pack featuring hard heads such as Paul Gallen, Luke Lewis and Michael Ennis.

With those experienced stars and some scintillating youngsters out wide, Cronulla easily put away the Wests Tigers 40-18 last week.

They're unchanged from that in-form outfit this week.

With a few big name stars going down injured from teams currently above them on the ladder, the boys from the Shire will know this is an amazing opportunity to seal a top four spot.

They'll have to beat Manly next week and hope the Bunnies lose one of their remaining two to do so.

Meanwhile the Eels moved themselves out of wooden spoon range with their upset victory last week.

Now they're just playing for pride.

Watch Out Eels: Valentine Holmes just keeps getting better and after two tries last week is primed for another huge performance at home. Holmes has burst onto the scene this year, thanks to his amazing acceleration and poise under pressure to kick many game-winning field goals for his team. If things go down to the wire in this one, the Sharks will be looking for him to step up and seal the win. They'll also look for him to manufacture points out of nothing with his amazing running game. Eels beware.

Watch Out Sharks: The danger man Semi Radradra is by far the most important player for the Sharks to contain. This week Cronulla talked about how they were going to limit the the Fijian flyer's involvement, Luke Lewis saying: "Hopefully we can keep him down the other end of the field." And that may be the only way to stop this season's top try-scorer from getting over the line. Semi had a brace of tries in a typically outstanding performance last week and will be looking to wrap up the top try-scorer award with another couple against Cronulla. Meanwhile the Sharks will have to get numbers in front of Radradra on Saturday afternoon and will have to work hard to minimise his involvement running the ball from his own end.

Key Match-Up: Corey Norman v Jack Bird. Two exciting, ball-running five-eighths go head-to-head in what should be a classic battle on Saturday afternoon. Norman is the more experienced of the two, and has the better ball-playing game, as shown by his amazing cut-out pass to set up a try for Radradra last week. But the stand-in Eels captain doesn't quite possess the power running game of the dynamic Bird, who's shown many times this season how difficult he is to tackle, particularly when he starts showing off his fend.

History: Played 80; Eels 39, Sharks 41. A brilliant two-try performance from Jarryd Hayne saw the Eels defeat the Sharks 32-12 last time these two sides met.

What Are The Odds: The money is running three-to-one in favour of the Sharks according to Sportsbet and Cronulla have been very popular in line betting, where they’re conceding the start. Not surprisingly, Semi Radradra has been the best backed in the first try-scorer market. Latest odds at Sportsbet.com.au.

Match Officials: Referee: Matt Ceccin. Assistant Referee: Grant Atkins. Touch Judges: Russell Turner, Chris Sutton. Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Luke Patten.

Televised: Fox Sports, Live, 3:00pm.

The Way We See It: The Eels' confidence will be soaring from last week but the Sharks will be a big step up. With Tim Mannah returning, their pack should keep them in the game, but Cronulla should have too much experience and toughness to let the Eels into it. We're tipping the Sharks to get the win by eight points.

Eels fuelled by last year's finals choke

Fri 28 Aug, 2015, 6:45pm
Matt Encarnacion, AAP

Eels fuelled by last year's finals choke
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur says last year's pre-finals choke has provided them with the motivation to close out this NRL season on a positive note.



The Eels needed just one win over lowly Newcastle or Canberra in the final fortnight last year to clinch a finals berth, but flopped against both to leave them stewing with regret over the entire summer.

With two games to go this year and his side already out of contention for the top eight, Arthur said it was important the Eels finished the season strongly for their suffering fanbase.

"Pre-season's a long time. We had a lot of regrets in the pre-season last year in terms of those last two performances," Arthur said ahead of Saturday night's clash with Cronulla.

"We've got two home games. We haven't played here since round 16.

"Our fans have been very loyal and stuck by us. We need to put two very strong performances together starting this weekend for our fans."

The Eels all but ended Manly's finals fairytale with a shock win at Brookvale last week and can put a dent in Cronulla's top-four ambitions with a similar upset at Pirtek Stadium.

Bur Arthur insisted he was more focused on repaying their fans.

"It's got to be about us and pride in our own performance," he said.

"It's been a tough year for everyone, (but) our fans haven't wavered one bit.

"Our players need to show their appreciation with our actions tomorrow."

Skipper Tim Mannah was named to return for the John Mannah Cup after missing last week's win with a knee injury but trained for the first time on Friday.

"If he gets through that, he'll take the field tomorrow," Arthur said.

"Tomorrow's game is important to him because it's a game of footy and he missed last week. It also holds a bit of sentimental value for him as well."

Arthur refused to comment on recent reports of him taking legal action against the club for allegedly reneging on the figures of his contract extension announced last November.

"I haven't talked about player contracts, so I'm certainly not going to talk about my own. I hope to get it sorted soon," he said.

STATS THAT MATTER:

* Cronulla's 40-18 win over the Wests Tigers last week was the first time they broke the 40-point barrier since 2012

* The Sharks receive a league-high eight penalties per game, while the Eels are awarded an equal-low 5.6 per game

* In their 13 clashes since 2007, the Sharks have led the Eels at halftime on just once

* Eels winger Semi Radradra became just the third player in club history to score more than 20 tries in a season

* Sharks winger Valentine Holmes (16 tries) is within striking distance of becoming the first player in the club's history to notch 20 tries. David Peachey holds the record with 19 in 1999

Video first featured on parraeels.com.au

That would have to be a first ever........A top 4 team (admittedly another game to go) with a minus differential. Top 4! I would believe team 7 or 8 perhaps but top 4!