Team Talk with Marcho: Rd 6
Welcome to Team Talk for Round Six. Nathan Peats headlines the players returning from injury while Tariq Sims gets his first game of the year, but thankfully there were no serious injuries to come out of a cracking round of footy which seems like a pretty rare thing these days.
Brisbane v St George-Illawarra
Thursday nights game seems like a forgone conclusion with the Dragons struggling to post points so far this year. The Broncos will be unchanged despite James Roberts and Jarrod Wallace each carrying a slight injury, both are expected to play.
The Dragons only two wins came when Josh McCrone was playing at halfback so another belting could see Benji Marshall dropped for a week or two. The Dragons also remain unchanged form round six.
South Sydney v Sydney City
A good grudge match here, hopefully we get to see a decent sized crowd turn out for this one. Sam Burgess will play his second game in a row at prop (third for the season) and I for one am really hoping he gets positional update as I need another good prop. Bryson Goodwin returns to the wing, Kirisome Auvaá will play in the centres, not sure who makes way when Alex Johnson returns. Damien Cook remains in some doubt with Paul Carter to come in.
The Roosters are desperate for a win here. Aidan Guerra will again play five-eighth and get a positional update this week, with Isaac Liu most likely coming into the starting line-up. Brendan Elliot will also be in line for a positional update should he play one more game in the centres. Abraham Papalii comes onto an extended bench as cover.
Parramatta v Canberra
This should be cracking game, great match ups all over the park here. Nathan Peats comes straight back into the starting side as Isaac De Gois is named on the bench and Kaysa Pritchard drops back to NSW Cup. Daniel Alvaro is starting at prop for David Gower in the only other change. The Eels recent home form isn’t that good at the moment.
The Raiders will be coming off the dreaded five day turn around and have lost Iosia Soliola to a broken arm for 6-8 weeks. Luke Bateman has been added to the bench. I expect Joseph Tapine and Josh Papalii to get more involvements while Soliola is out.
New Zealand v Manly
As soon as the Warriors side strung a few wins together the confidence would flow though all their players, which makes them a really daunting prospect, but the backs of the Warriors are generally the benefactors of this. Shaun Johnson, RTS, Solomone Kata and Tuimoala Lolohea will all start posting consistent points. Manu Vatuvei has suffered another injury, is his age finally catching up to him? Jonathan Wright is his replacement. Still no sign of Bodene Thompson either. Thomas Leuluai has been named as 18th man.
The Sea Eagles get Jake Trbojevic back at lock with Feleti Mateo to stay back in Australia to care for his sick wife. Blake Leary and Luke Burgess will also travel with the team as backups. Tom Symonds comes back into the second row. Matt Parcell has been impressive at hooker so far and will continue to churn out points as long as DCE is out injured and Api plays in the halves.
Penrith v North Queensland
The Panthers have added Elijah Taylor and Jeremy Latimore to an extended bench but I don’t think either will play, maybe James Fisher-Harris could drop out. No signs of James Segeyaro yet he is due back next round, but could push for a late inclusion as this is against his old club. Te Maire Martin would be the man to drop out if that was the case and Peter Wallace going back to the halves. I’m expecting a closer encounter here.
No surprises to guess that the Cowboys are unchanged again. Javid Bowen looked the goods out wide filling in for Kane Linnett. That means they have only used 18 players in six round of footy, traditionally the less players a team uses during a season spells a deep finals run, not that we were expecting anything else from the Cowboys.
Cronulla v Gold Coast
The Sharks return to Southern Cross Group Stadium for a rare day time game. Skipper Paul Gallen goes from the bench to lock, while Jayson Bukuya goes back to the bench and Gerard Beale is the 18th man. Sharks are looking strong and becoming more settled as a side. Only David Fifita is unavailable at the moment.
The Titans continue to turn up and impress all. Cameron Cullen has been handed his NRL debut in the five-eighth role, with Greg Bird going back to lock and Agnatius Paasi to the bench. Eddy Pettybourne and Will Zillman have been named on an extended bench and I wouldn’t be surprised if Zillman forced his way into the backline somewhere, possibly even at five-eighth.
Newcastle v Balmain-Wests
This is the best chance for the Knights to get the two competition points so far this year, each week is proving to be better than the one before. Tariq Sims comes back into the second row and a shout out must go to Duffman aka Spider Pigs in my LOL comp, Luke Keary for Tariq Sims? Well you can shove that trade up your you know where mate! Very late mail is that Robbie Rochow fractured his arm in training today and we are yet to hear the results, but that means he’s out for a fair few weeks. Logic would suggest that means that both Saifiti twins will play with Jacob starting and Daniel off the bench. Dane Gagai got a positional update to fullback but should really only be a bench player at best in your NRLCEO team.
The Tigers welcome back Curtis Sironen via the bench with Mania Cherrington dropping out. Kyle Lovett has great potential but now looks to be behind Dene Halatau, Chris Lawrence and Sironen, I think it’s time to punt him. Tedesco is a juice captains choice at the moment, but you will have to wait until Sunday afternoon for him to produce the goods.
Melbourne v Canterbury
The Final game of the round is the Storm up against the Dogs, both teams can best be described as “patchy” so far and you can expect a forwards battle in this one. The Storm get Marika Koroibete back who gets their sets off to a good start and is averaging 141 metres this year. Tohu Harris has again been named at centre but this far out from the game it’s anyone’s guess as to who will line up in the storm backline as it changed from week to week.
The Dogs lose Chase Stanley (this was always going to happen) so Kerrod Holland should get an extended run in the centres now. Not sure who will get the goal kicking duties here, will have to wait and see. Adam Elliott had a few mistakes on Monday night and could drop off the bench as Lloyd Perrett has been names as 18th man.
Good luck to all coaches out there, unless you are playing me. Keep an eye out for team lists an hour before kick-off. So far this season, there has been a ton of late changes and I expect that to continue.
Will Marchinton
Latest posts by Will Marchinton (see all)
- Moneyball Podcast: The Sequel - April 19, 2018
- Team Talk with Marcho: Rd 17 - June 30, 2016
- Team Talk with Marcho: Rd 15 - June 17, 2016
