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Eels and Dragons Epic on the Cards
Friday, August 4, 2006 - 9:44 AM
The last time these two teams met it was on a drenching Friday might back in round 13, when Rugby League endured a throwback to the days of yore, with hard tough football being played and a low scoring fixture of 8-1 gave the die hard fans who attended plenty of entertainment.
This time around the game may be even more hotly contested as Parramatta have broken out of their form slump and won seven in a row while the Dragons have stumbled to three straight losses and have come under criticism this week from past greats Johnny Raper and Graeme Langlands.
Coach Nathan Brown is waving this off, and insists the team is not bothered by the comments made about Trent Barrett.
At the end of the day people can have their opinions but we are just focused on our football, and the best thing we can do is perform and work hard as a team.
Brown does concede that a win would take some heat away from his team for two weeks now we have lost the game right at the death, but at the same time nearly won it, so we are not a long way away.
The threat it appears will come from out wide with boom youngster Jarryd Hayne in hot form, and he will be matched up against Colin Best whose defence is not always in the top league.
Jarryd is a dangerous player, it is no surprise to me he has been as good as he has, he is a great talent and has been for a couple of years now, said Brown.
At the same time Dragons centre Matt Cooper has been in scintilating form scoring five tries in the last five games.
Coops has been in outstanding form, and its off the back of Matthew Head playing really well, so hopefully that combination can continue on Friday.
There should be a big battle in the forwards during this game. The Eels are struggling to field a big pack, while the Dragons have one of the largest in the competition with the likes of Luke Bailey, Jason Ryles, Justin Poore and Sam Isemonger all in the starting lineup.
The Eels will look to counter this with lots of running from dummy half as is their customary style. PJ Marsh and Mark Riddell are known for their dummy half runs, and will look to damage the Dragons through the middle of the ruck.
Along with supersub Dean Widders and the wet conditions the Eels could look likely victors if the Dragons big men tire late in the game.
The big question mark hangs over Parramattas ability to handle the size of the Dragons, with young Josh Cordoba facing a big challenge when he comes into the fray for either Natahn Cayless or Chad Robinson.
Eels media manager Damian Kelly is confident in Cordoba Josh can certainly handle first grade and the club has a good opinion of him.
On the injury front Dragons coach Nathan Brown asserted I am 100 percent sure Mark Gasnier will not play.
However Eels coach Jason Taylor is wary of the injured player trick and has said this past week we will prepare as if he (Gasnier) were playing.
The matches between these two teams are always tight, and this should be no different. The Eels are carrying themselves in a manner that is convincing while the Dragons began to play some classy football last week.
This will be one of the games of the season, so fans should ignore the weather and head to Parramatta Stadium in droves, to watch a classic battle between two traditional rivals.
Source: NRL
http://nrl.com.au/News/Latest/NewsArticle/tabid/76/NewsId/2348/Default.aspx
Get your plastic garbage bags, your plastic ponchos, raincoats, drizabones.... whatever and make sure your there boys and girls!
Friday, August 4, 2006 - 9:44 AM
The last time these two teams met it was on a drenching Friday might back in round 13, when Rugby League endured a throwback to the days of yore, with hard tough football being played and a low scoring fixture of 8-1 gave the die hard fans who attended plenty of entertainment.
This time around the game may be even more hotly contested as Parramatta have broken out of their form slump and won seven in a row while the Dragons have stumbled to three straight losses and have come under criticism this week from past greats Johnny Raper and Graeme Langlands.
Coach Nathan Brown is waving this off, and insists the team is not bothered by the comments made about Trent Barrett.
At the end of the day people can have their opinions but we are just focused on our football, and the best thing we can do is perform and work hard as a team.
Brown does concede that a win would take some heat away from his team for two weeks now we have lost the game right at the death, but at the same time nearly won it, so we are not a long way away.
The threat it appears will come from out wide with boom youngster Jarryd Hayne in hot form, and he will be matched up against Colin Best whose defence is not always in the top league.
Jarryd is a dangerous player, it is no surprise to me he has been as good as he has, he is a great talent and has been for a couple of years now, said Brown.
At the same time Dragons centre Matt Cooper has been in scintilating form scoring five tries in the last five games.
Coops has been in outstanding form, and its off the back of Matthew Head playing really well, so hopefully that combination can continue on Friday.
There should be a big battle in the forwards during this game. The Eels are struggling to field a big pack, while the Dragons have one of the largest in the competition with the likes of Luke Bailey, Jason Ryles, Justin Poore and Sam Isemonger all in the starting lineup.
The Eels will look to counter this with lots of running from dummy half as is their customary style. PJ Marsh and Mark Riddell are known for their dummy half runs, and will look to damage the Dragons through the middle of the ruck.
Along with supersub Dean Widders and the wet conditions the Eels could look likely victors if the Dragons big men tire late in the game.
The big question mark hangs over Parramattas ability to handle the size of the Dragons, with young Josh Cordoba facing a big challenge when he comes into the fray for either Natahn Cayless or Chad Robinson.
Eels media manager Damian Kelly is confident in Cordoba Josh can certainly handle first grade and the club has a good opinion of him.
On the injury front Dragons coach Nathan Brown asserted I am 100 percent sure Mark Gasnier will not play.
However Eels coach Jason Taylor is wary of the injured player trick and has said this past week we will prepare as if he (Gasnier) were playing.
The matches between these two teams are always tight, and this should be no different. The Eels are carrying themselves in a manner that is convincing while the Dragons began to play some classy football last week.
This will be one of the games of the season, so fans should ignore the weather and head to Parramatta Stadium in droves, to watch a classic battle between two traditional rivals.
Source: NRL
http://nrl.com.au/News/Latest/NewsArticle/tabid/76/NewsId/2348/Default.aspx
Get your plastic garbage bags, your plastic ponchos, raincoats, drizabones.... whatever and make sure your there boys and girls!
