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Teamsheet: Round 1 vs Warriors
by Phil Sim
Kris Keating has beaten out newcomer Kevin Kingston as the Eel's replacement hooker for their Round 1 clash against the Warriors, while Joel Reddy has been selected on the wing over Taulima Tautai, who has been named on an extended bench. Meanwhile, Todd Lowrie has been given the nod on the Eel's bench in front of Joe Galuvao.
Kris Keating's selection in the 14 jersey is the main difference to the team that 1Eyed named as the likely Round 1 side last week. Keating may not provide as much dash out of dummy half as Kingston, but he does have a better kicking game and he supports the ball well, which will be a key ingredient to the 2009 side's gameplan.
As tipped by 1Eyed, Reddy won the winger's spot over last year's Eels Rookie of the Year, Taulima Tautai. Reddy was consistently good for Parramatta last year, is a clinical finisher, great under the high ball and I think he'll excel if given the chance to become a specialist winger this year.
As already reported in paper's yesterday, Eric Grothe will fill the opposite wing position.
Parramatta also chose to announce yesterday that Tim Mannah would make his debut and he'll come off the bench with Fuifui Moimoi. Josh Cordoba has been selected as the starting prop alongside captain Nathan Hindmarsh.
Perhaps the most contested position in the Parramatta lineup is the bench second-rower position, which has gone to Todd Lowrie. However, Joe Galuvao has been named on the extended bench.
All in all, I agree with every selection Anderson has made, although I would liked to have seen Fuifui start as I've felt the Cordoba/Cayless combination has not provided a lot of go-forward in the past. I like the fact that he has stuck with young Kris Keating, who really didn't deserve to lose his spot after some great performances last year and I think he'll complement Jarryd Hayne playing in six. Tim Mannah deserved his spot after some stand-out trial performances and I think he'll fairly quickly consolidate his role in the top seventeen. I don't mind the selection of Lowrie as I think he's defensively excellent and he complements the hard-running games of Moimoi and Mannah.
Eels vs Warriors
1. Luke Burt
2. Joel Reddy
3. Ben Smith
4. Krisnan Inu
5. Eric Grothe
6. Jarryd Hayne
7. Brett Finch
8. Nathan Cayless
9. Matt Keating
10. Josh Cordoba
11. Nathan Hindmarsh
12. Weller Huaraki
13. Feleti Mateo
14. Kris Keating
15. Todd Lowrie
16. Tim Mannah
17. Fuifui Moimoi
18. Taulima Tautai
19. Joe Galuvao