Souths Previews

[yy_cheng]

Preview: Rabbitohs v Eels

Scott Brooks

VENUE & TIME: ANZ Stadium, Friday night - 19.35 AEDT
COVERAGE: Channel Nine
LAST TIME: Rabbitohs 32 - Eels 20 at ANZ Stadium, Round 18, 2008.
WALKING WOUNDED: The rejuvenated Rabbitohs will take an unchanged line-up into this match with star utility Craig Wing (ankle), centre Beau Champion (ankle) and prop Scott Geddes (hand fracture) all still unavailable for selection.
No changes to the initial Eels' squad for this match although a replacement may need to be found for back-rower Weller Hauraki who will attempt to have a grade-two dangerous contact (chicken wing) charge downgraded.
FORM: The Rabbitohs were undoubtedly the most impressive side to emerge from the first round of action, cruising to a record-breaking 40-point shellacking over arch-rivals the Roosters in front of almost 25,000 fans at the SFS. This comes on the back of some impressive trial form, giving Bunnies' fans plenty of hope for season 2009.
The Eels were slow starters against the Warriors and despite a second-half revival were too far off the pace to make any real inroads. Defence on their own line was an issue as was a below-par kicking game.
WHO'S HOT: Rabbitohs' half-back Chris Sandow picked up where he left off last season with a top shelf performance against the Roosters. The 20-year old Cherbourg product's greatest strength is his unpredictability and this was on display during the second-half last week when he produced and scintillating chip-and-chase try, reminiscent of the great Allan Langer's best work.
Second-rower Nathan Hindmarsh continues to earn his money and then some for the Eels, topping yet another tackle count (47) against the Warriors.
WE THINK:If Round 1 form is anything to go by then the confidence-fuelled Rabbitohs should be the shoe-ins of the week, but the Bunnies do have a less-than-impressive record against Parramatta, winning just three of the last 16 meetings between the two clubs. Expect the tide to turn on Friday night due to the fact Souths hold too many attacking aces for a side still struggling to work out their best combinations in key positions. Look for Souths' hooker Issac Luke to a have field day out of dummy-half. Rabbitohs by 18
TEAMS:
South Sydney Rabbitohs:
1 Rhys Wesser, 2 Nathan Merritt, 3 Colin Best, 4 Shaune Corrigan, 5 Fetuli Talanoa, 6 John Sutton, 7 Chris Sandow, 8 Luke Stuart, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Roy Asotasi [c], 11 David Kidwell, 12 Shannan McPherson, 13 David Fa'alogo. Interchange: 14 Ben Lowe, 15 Eddy Pettybourne, 16 Jaiman Lowe, 17 Garret Crossman, 18 Jamie Simpson (one to be omitted).
Parramatta Eels
1 Luke Burt, 2 Joel Reddy, 3 Ben Smith, 4 Krisnan Inu, 5 Eric Grothe , 6 Jarryd Hayne, 7 Brett Finch, 8 Nathan Cayless [c], 9 Matthew Keating, 10 Fuifui Moimoi, 11 Nathan Hindmarsh, 12 Weller Hauraki, 13 Feleti Mateo. Interchange: 14 Kris Keating, 15 Joe Galuvao, 16 Tim Mannah, 17 Broderick Wright, 19 Josh Cordoba (one to be omitted).
Referees: Shayne Hayne, Gavin Badger


http://sportal.com.au/league-match-preview-display/preview-rabbitohs-v-eels-67060

 

[yy_cheng]

Match Preview: Eels vs Bunnies (R2)

So Parramatta get the chance to face off against arguably the NRL's two most improved teams in the first two rounds, with a clash against the Bunnies following on from their tough opening round match against the Warriors in New Zealand.

It's going to be another stiff test for the Eels. The Bunnies have an impressive line-up from fullback to bench, but it's their halves and hooking combination where they sparkle most. 1Eyed has always had the utmost respect for John Sutton, since he demolished us in a game as a rookie some three or four years ago. We tipped him to go on and represent at State of Origin level, which is something he has not yet achieved, but if his form continues it could be his year in 2009. Chris Sandow is last year's Rookie of the Year and it looks like he is only going to go on with it this year. While often young halfbacks are worked out pretty quickly by opposition coaches, Sandow has that level of unpredictably about it and because he has a terrific all-round game he's difficult to nullify.

That said, I reckon Sandow can expect this week to go down as the week, that teams start targeting him with their big forwards. This is exactly what happened to our Tim Smith and it severely damaged his game. Now we don't have a lot of big power forwards, but I would be very surprised if Anderson doesn't have our forwards running at Sandow all day. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if this game plan sees Anderson promote Galuvao to the starting side as he is exactly the type of player who can make Sandow work overtime in defence.

Sutton is more difficult because like our own Feleti Mateo, he is big, has skills, can run and, as we saw last week, he can kick as well. He really is the complete player. However, if Parra can dent Sandow it will also impact Sutton who is enjoying playing next to Sandow and complements him ideally. The trick against Sutton is to get numbers into the tackle because he can offload in traffic.

Isaac Luke represents a massive danger to our side, who have for any numbers of years struggle against zippy dummy halves. Lance Hohaia did it to us again last week and its something Anderson has to fix up and we hope its something he's addressed in training this week or Luke is going to have a field day.

The Rabbits also have tough, hard-running direct forwards who if the Eel's don't toughen up, have the ability to dominate our pack. Roy Asotasi has ripped us to shreds before by his lonesome and it really will be up to Parramatta's forwards to muscle up. In the absence of any other options it's imperative Fuifui Moimoi starts the game to give our pack some starch and as I've mentioned previously, it would be nice to see Galuvao also move into the top 13. We're yet to hear who will take Weller's spot in the top 17 but it will almost certainly be Todd Lowrie or Brendan Oake. I think Todd Lowrie makes a good foil for Weller Huaraki but I think in Weller's absence that Oakey would give this pack a bit better balance,

The key for Parramatta, unlike last week, will be to build some pressure. We need the boys who have responsibility for kicking to immediately fix that part of their game and we need less turnovers and fewer penalties. No team could have won last week with the ratio of possession and territory that was stacked in the Warriors favour, indeed it was quite remarkable that we kept it so close on the basis.

We desperately need for Finch to stand-up. As well as improving his kicking game, he needs to put a bit more doubt in the defence to give his outside backs a bit more space. I don't think he took on the line once last week and we could have used a bit more direct play from him last week. If Finch and Hayne can at least match Sandow and Sutton, I like the chances of our outside backs finishing off more opportunities than opposition.

I was actually pretty impressed with our goal-line defence for large, chunks of the game. We eventually folded but we'd held the Warriors out on multiple occasions prior to that, and after running backwards for most of the half, it probably wasn't surprising we got a bit tired around the ruck. Anderson has obviously concentrated a lot of his coaching in this area and I'm looking to see more of that against the Bunnies. It would be nice to see us be a little bit more consistently aggressive and get off the line a little quicker, but obviously that comes down to having a reasonable share of possession.

I think Joel Reddy can have another big game and I'd be looking to make use of our height in the outside backs with chipkicks to the wings and outside centres. We've got just about the best flyers in the competition with Reddy, Inu, Grothe and Smith all capable of getting up above the opposition.

Clearly this is going to be a tough match, and to be honest, I'd settle for us just to demonstrate further improvement. However, I think we're definitely in the match and can win a close one, if the boys can keep a good share of the ball.

1Eyed Tip: Eels by 2
Key matchups: Finch vs Sandow, Sutton vs Hayne, Moimoi vs Asotasi
First scorer: Joel Reddy
Man of the match: Brett Finch


http://www.filthy_spammers.com/

 

[hineyrulz]

Finch MOM :crazy:

 

[Aaron_sfas]

souths by 20
mom- luke stuart
1st try- merrit

 

[mohses]

Match Preview: Eels vs Bunnies (R2)

So Parramatta get the chance to face off against arguably the NRL's two most improved teams in the first two rounds, with a clash against the Bunnies following on from their tough opening round match against the Warriors in New Zealand.

It's going to be another stiff test for the Eels. The Bunnies have an impressive line-up from fullback to bench, but it's their halves and hooking combination where they sparkle most. 1Eyed has always had the utmost respect for John Sutton, since he demolished us in a game as a rookie some three or four years ago. We tipped him to go on and represent at State of Origin level, which is something he has not yet achieved, but if his form continues it could be his year in 2009. Chris Sandow is last year's Rookie of the Year and it looks like he is only going to go on with it this year. While often young halfbacks are worked out pretty quickly by opposition coaches, Sandow has that level of unpredictably about it and because he has a terrific all-round game he's difficult to nullify.

That said, I reckon Sandow can expect this week to go down as the week, that teams start targeting him with their big forwards. This is exactly what happened to our Tim Smith and it severely damaged his game. Now we don't have a lot of big power forwards, but I would be very surprised if Anderson doesn't have our forwards running at Sandow all day. Indeed, I wouldn't be surprised if this game plan sees Anderson promote Galuvao to the starting side as he is exactly the type of player who can make Sandow work overtime in defence.

Sutton is more difficult because like our own Feleti Mateo, he is big, has skills, can run and, as we saw last week, he can kick as well. He really is the complete player. However, if Parra can dent Sandow it will also impact Sutton who is enjoying playing next to Sandow and complements him ideally. The trick against Sutton is to get numbers into the tackle because he can offload in traffic.

Isaac Luke represents a massive danger to our side, who have for any numbers of years struggle against zippy dummy halves. Lance Hohaia did it to us again last week and its something Anderson has to fix up and we hope its something he's addressed in training this week or Luke is going to have a field day.

The Rabbits also have tough, hard-running direct forwards who if the Eel's don't toughen up, have the ability to dominate our pack. Roy Asotasi has ripped us to shreds before by his lonesome and it really will be up to Parramatta's forwards to muscle up. In the absence of any other options it's imperative Fuifui Moimoi starts the game to give our pack some starch and as I've mentioned previously, it would be nice to see Galuvao also move into the top 13. We're yet to hear who will take Weller's spot in the top 17 but it will almost certainly be Todd Lowrie or Brendan Oake. I think Todd Lowrie makes a good foil for Weller Huaraki but I think in Weller's absence that Oakey would give this pack a bit better balance,

The key for Parramatta, unlike last week, will be to build some pressure. We need the boys who have responsibility for kicking to immediately fix that part of their game and we need less turnovers and fewer penalties. No team could have won last week with the ratio of possession and territory that was stacked in the Warriors favour, indeed it was quite remarkable that we kept it so close on the basis.

We desperately need for Finch to stand-up. As well as improving his kicking game, he needs to put a bit more doubt in the defence to give his outside backs a bit more space. I don't think he took on the line once last week and we could have used a bit more direct play from him last week. If Finch and Hayne can at least match Sandow and Sutton, I like the chances of our outside backs finishing off more opportunities than opposition.

I was actually pretty impressed with our goal-line defence for large, chunks of the game. We eventually folded but we'd held the Warriors out on multiple occasions prior to that, and after running backwards for most of the half, it probably wasn't surprising we got a bit tired around the ruck. Anderson has obviously concentrated a lot of his coaching in this area and I'm looking to see more of that against the Bunnies. It would be nice to see us be a little bit more consistently aggressive and get off the line a little quicker, but obviously that comes down to having a reasonable share of possession.

I think Joel Reddy can have another big game and I'd be looking to make use of our height in the outside backs with chipkicks to the wings and outside centres. We've got just about the best flyers in the competition with Reddy, Inu, Grothe and Smith all capable of getting up above the opposition.

Clearly this is going to be a tough match, and to be honest, I'd settle for us just to demonstrate further improvement. However, I think we're definitely in the match and can win a close one, if the boys can keep a good share of the ball.

1Eyed Tip: Eels by 2
Key matchups: Finch vs Sandow, Sutton vs Hayne, Moimoi vs Asotasi
First scorer: Joel Reddy
Man of the match: Brett Finch


http://www.filthy_spammers.com/

rather good summation of what could happen , i hope it does turn out to be a cracker of a game, but too many iff`s for parra , finch/hayne= sandow /sutton , big ask comming behind a rather ordinary pack , fowards need to lift . personally i think parra are 3-4 weeks behind the bunnies in preparation, they need more time to get game plan right. tho in saying that parra have the talent on paper to match anyone (but so did the dragons for a long time ) , the team that flinches first will suffer a loss , is my call, good luck may best team on the day win , go the bunnies

 

[woddy]

Finch MOM :crazy:

lol totally agree

 

[Dirty Mutombo]

souths by 20
mom- luke stuart
1st try- merrit

Souths have probably won the charity shield/round 1 double 19 of the last 20 years.

If comps were won in March they'd have won 45 premierships. Too early to be predicting 20 point wins if ur a souths fan id reckon.

 

[homo man]

Early in the week i was so confident we would win,but i mean just look at our halves compared to there's,I think the winner will be known in the first 20 mins.

 

[Gronk]

Parramatta coach Daniel Anderson has drafted Todd Lowrie into his squad after Weller Hauraki was suspended for two matches. Joe Galuvao is favoured to start against Souths tonight, with Lowrie occupying the fourth spot on the interchange.

http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/late-mail/2009/03/19/1237055003879.html

 

[yy_cheng]

http://www.rleague.com/db/article.php?id=32626

PREVIEW: RABBITOHS V EELS - 2009 NRL ROUND 2
Thursday 19 Mar 2009 16:03 +Blog - Have your say on this article
No author stated

There was no brighter performance in the NRL's opening round than the one delivered by South Sydney at the Sydney Football Stadium last Sunday afternoon.

It was a high quality team performance in which halves Chris Sandow and John Sutton played starring roles. Written off by most pundits in pre-season betting, Souths' first-up display has already forced many "experts" to reassess their thoughts about this year's top eight. So impressive were the Rabbitohs in their 40-point flogging of the Roosters that last year's great white hope Craig Wing was unable to force his way into this week's 17-man squad.

Parramatta players and officials would cast a nervous eye over the Rabbitohs after arriving home from Auckland, where they were completely outplayed by the Warriors.

Admittedly it was their first run under new coach Daniel Anderson but there were worrying signs already for a team which failed to fire in 2008 and which barely changed its roster.

In their current form, this looks like a comfortable night's work for the Rabbitohs. Take a Souths try as First Scoring Play ($2-10) and a Rabbitohs win by a 13+ margin ($3-10).

For First Tryscorer consider Nathan Merritt ($9), Fetuli Talanoa ($13) or Colin Best ($9) for the Rabbitohs or Eric Grothe ($13), Joel Reddy ($15) or Krisnan Inu ($13) for the Eels.

Friday March 20, 2009
South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium (Sydney), Homebush Bay, Sydney (NSW)

South Sydney Rabbitohs
1 Rhys Wesser, 2 Nathan Merritt, 3 Colin Best, 4 Shaune Corrigan, 5 Fetuli Talanoa, 6 John Sutton, 7 Chris Sandow, 8 Luke Stuart, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Roy Asotasi [c], 11 David Kidwell, 12 Shannan McPherson, 13 David Fa'alogo. Subs: 14 Ben Lowe, 15 Eddy Pettybourne, 16 Jaiman Lowe, 17 Garret Crossman, 18 Jamie Simpson (one to be omitted).

Parramatta Eels
1 Luke Burt, 2 Joel Reddy, 3 Ben Smith, 4 Krisnan Inu, 5 Eric Grothe , 6 Jarryd Hayne, 7 Brett Finch, 8 Nathan Cayless [c], 9 Matthew Keating, 10 Fuifui Moimoi, 11 Nathan Hindmarsh, 12 Weller Hauraki, 13 Feleti Mateo. Subs: 14 Kris Keating, 15 Joe Galuvao, 16 Tim Mannah, 17 Broderick Wright, 19 Josh Cordoba (one to be omitted).

Date: Fri March 20 2009, 7:30PM AEDT GMT+11 [Fri March 20 2009, 8:30AM GMT]
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gavin Badger

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Rabbitohs by 6
Adem Kolar: Rabbitohs by 13
Paul Booth: Rabbitohs by 16

OVERALL:
Total Games: 108
South Sydney Rabbitohs wins: 58. [Pts: 1945]
Parramatta Eels wins: 48. [Pts: 1826]
Draws: 2

Biggest wins:
South Sydney Rabbitohs: 40 pts: 1957 J J Giltinan Shield - Round 7 - [View] Sat Jun 1: Souths 50 d. Eels 10 [Crowd: 6280]
Parramatta Eels: 54 pts: 2002 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 22 - [View] Sat Aug 10: Eels 54 d. Souths 0 [Crowd: 10148]

Biggest Crowd: 1965 J J Giltinan Shield and WD HO Wills Cup - Semi-finals - [View] Sat Aug 28: Souths 17 d. Eels 2 [Crowd: 54626]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
South Sydney Rabbitohs: LLLLLLLLLLWLLWWLWLWLWWDLWLWWWLWWWWLLLLLLLLLLWLLWLW
Parramatta Eels: WWWWWWWWWWLWWLLWLWLWLLDWLWLLLWLLLLWWWWWWWWWWLWWLWL