Round 1 - Wests Tigers v St George-Illawarra
Sunday March 9thANZ Stadium, Kick Off 3pmTV: Channel 9 (delayed) 4pm, Fox 8.30pm (replay)
Dragons Tigers
1 Adam Quinlan 1 James Tedesco2 Brett Morris 2 Marika Koroibete
3 Dylan Farrell 3 Keith Lulia
4 Gerard Beale 4 Chris Lawrence
5 Jason Nightingale 5 Pat Richards
6 Gareth Widdop 6 Braith Anasta
7 Michael Witt 7 Luke Brooks
8 Jack de Belin 8 Aaron Woods
9 Mitch Rein 9 Robbie Farah (c)
10 Dan Hunt 10 Martin Taupau
11 Leeson Ah Mau 11 Liam Fulton
12 Ben Creagh (c) 12 Bodene Thompson
13 Trent Merrin 13 Adam Blair
Interchange Interchange
14 Bronson Harrison 14 Cory Paterson
15 Kyle Stanley 15 Ava Seumanufagai
16 Joel Thompson 16 Sauaso Sue
17 Tyson Frizell 17 James Gavet
20 Mike Cooper
Coach: Steve Price Coach: Mick Potter
Wests Tigers begin their post "Benji era" and 2014 campaign with Sunday's clash against the Dragons. For the two teams, there are similarities between both. For one, both sides are experiencing a rebuilding phase that has seen considerable experience leave the club. With that in mind, both sides are tipped to be among the sides making up the numbers in 2014. On top of that, both coaches are under pressure and uncannily charged with plotting the downfall of the club they played first grade with (Price at the Tigers - Potter at the Dragons).
The Dragons give club debut's to Dylan Farrell, Gareth Widdop, Michael Witt, Joel Thompson and if he plays also Mike Cooper (18th man). For the Tigers there are club debut's to Keith Lulia, Martin Taupau, Cory Paterson and a first grade debut for James Gavet. Pat Richards also makes his first appearance for Wests Tigers in 8 years!
Key Points - Wests Tigers
For the Tigers, you would think that any victory on Sunday afternoon has to rely on a couple of key issues. Firstly, the impact of Luke Brooks. Last time these two sides met, Brooks debuted. He also tore the Dragons up that day. So his influence will be key, His ability to run the football to the line, to bring others into the game are to be watched carefully. If he plays well there's a fair chance the Tigers get the points on the day.
The second key point has to be defense. In two trial wins over Penrith and Cronulla, the Tigers had to defend their line for periods of time. To which they did well. It's an area of the park that we've been poor at for far too long now and it's an area that if we're to improve overall, this defense needs to improve significantly.
Key Points - St George- Illawarra
For the Dragons, their key for success this weekend looks to be in two areas. First, their back row. It is strong, exeprienced and capable of success this weekend. Leeson Ah Mau's pre-season has been encouraging for the Dragons and coupled with the experience of Ben Creagh and likely origin rep Trent Merrin, this is a danger area for the Tigers.
The other area of concern for the Tigers will be the Dragons halves, but not so much for what we know about them, more for what we don't know. Gareth Widdop leaves the Storm and takes on more responsibility at the Dragons. He will partner Michael Witt who returns to the NRL in 2014. They don't have much football together under their belt and are most definitely a work in progress. What these two are able to do will effect another strength of the Dragons, in wingers Brett Morris and Jason Nightingale.
Late Mail
The Dragons are expected to be 1-17 at this point. No players are listed as being doubtful for the game. Mike Cooper is the addition on a 5 man bench which will be culled closer to kick off.
For the Tigers, boils have dominated the build up this week. The club expects Robbie Farah, Aaron Woods and Pat Richards to be okay, despite being quarantined this week.
The Verdict
I honestly see nothing but a Tigers win this week. I expect it to be relatively close but feel the Tigers trump the Dragons in the crucial spine area of the team. The presence of James Tedesco, Luke Brooks and Robbie Farah just looks so much stronger than that of the Dragons - Adam Quinlan, Michael Witt and Mitch Rein.
On a 1-17 basis the Tigers appear to contain a little more quality, compared to the Dragons who appear to offer a lot of untapped/unrealized potential. Make no mistake though, i'm not writing the Dragons off here. They are a great chance of winning this weekend. I just don't know if they possess the attack right now to outscore the Tigers. The loss of Josh Dugan was massive.
The return of Liam Fulton is a BIG plus too for the Tigers. He rarely has off days. The experience of Pat Richards and Chris Lawrence also looks a formidable combination out wide. Expect Luke Brooks to head in that direction often.
No comments:
Post a Comment