Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-AU
X-NONE
X-NONE
Warringah halfback Josh Holmes in full flight against Eastwood last week. Photo: Karen Watson.
by Brendan Bradford –
Manly vs Southern Districts at Manly Oval, 3pm
Manly – 1. Mitch Lewis 2. Dave Porecki 3. Chris Cocca 4. Dylan Sigg 5. Greg Peterson (c) 6. Harry Bergelin 7. Kotoni Ale 8. Vaka Manu 9. Mark Swanepoel (c) 10. Sam Vaevae 11. Dane Chisholm 12. Brian Sefanaia 13. Malietoa Hingano 14. Lui Siale 15. BJ Hartmann
Southern Districts – 1. Marcus Heather 2. Maile Nguamo 3. Cameron Betham 4. Andrew Leota 5. Kane Douglas 6. Marcus Carbone 7. Jono Hayes 8. Jed Holloway (c) 9. Chris O’Reilly 10. Rohan Saifoloi 11. Faleula Finau 12. Ollie Samuela 13. Denny Godinet 14. Ben Connolly 15. Richie Williams
Read the full Rugby News preview here: http://www.rugbynews.net.au/shute-shield-we-havent-achieved-anything-yet-says-blake/
********************
Gordon v Penrith at Chatswood Oval 3:00pm
Gordon: 1. Tobias Gukibau, 2. Ron Hobden, 3. Nick Fraser, 4. Ruiraidh Wilson, 5. Luke Heavey, 6. Jack Maguire, 7. Mitch Greenway, 8. Johnno Broome, 9. Terry Preston (c), 10. Henry Carmichael, 11. Brandon Quinn, 12. Tom Matthews, 13. Matt McDougall, 14. Sione Ala, 15. Xavier McCoy.
Penrith: 1. Daniel Arona, 2. Ethan- Robinson Mate (c), 3. Sione Matangi, 4. Sione Pusi’aki Fifita, 5. Dave Reopoama, 6. Senio Toleafoa, 7. John Waititi, 8. Andrew Pelasio, 9. Notise Tauafao, 10. Robbie Mate, 11. Malakai Zelezniak, 12. Michael Mate, 13. KJ McKenzie, 14. Peni Narube, 15. Jerome Mckenzie.
Referee: Jamie McGregor
Read the full Rugby News preview here: http://www.rugbynews.net.au/shute-shield-emus-eager-to-go-back-to-back/
********************
Warringah vs Randwick –
The ABC cameras travel up to Pittwater Park this Saturday where the second-placed Rats host a Randwick side smarting after last weekend’s heavy loss to Manly at home.
Warringah coach Haig Sare had plenty to work on after a 41-24 loss to Eastwood last Saturday when the simple stuff simply went missing.
“I think our skills have really dropped off recently and we’re making too many errors especially coming out of our half,” he said.
“We’re just giving opposition teams too many opportunities to score points and we’ll have a real defence focus and a real skills focus at training all this week.”
The Rats benefitted from the return from injury of back-rower Sam Ward who scored a try off the bench last week but Sare is wary of a Galloping Greens outfit keen to make amends for a 60-12 thrashing at the hands of Manly.
“Wardy is our guy that goes forward and really punches through on attack, but he’s our biggest defender and will add some physicality to our pack as well,” he said.
“It’s the first time we’ve met Randwick this year and they had 60-points put on them last week and for a very proud club, they’ll be looking to turn it around while we’re looking to firm in second spot on the ladder.”
Wade Kelly had a pretty straightforward summation of his side’s loss last week.
“We were washed up, like a ship-wreck,” he said.
“We just gave them all the ball and they just scored. We were poor in defence, poor at ruck time and poor on attack so this week we’ll just be trying to get our defence in order, both individually and collectively. That’s where it all starts.”
After a derby win over Easts and a hard-fought draw with Uni, the defeat came as a shock, but far from denting the confidence, Kelly said it ought to act as a wake-up call ahead of more tough matches against Warringah, West Harbour and Eastwood before a rematch with Manly in a month.
“The game against Uni was really good for us and the confidence was high but the Manly game was just a reality check,” said Kelly.
“It didn’t take the confidence away, but just gave the boys a reminder that they need to keep working. It doesn’t get any easier and away at Rat Park on TV it’ll be tough but we’re confident that if we turn up and play we can beat anyone and we think we’ll go with them on Saturday.”
Their task will be made easier with the inclusion of Stephen Hoiles and Matt Carraro from the Waratahs who start at No. 8 and inside centre respectively. Marc Kotezcky starts at flyhalf with Eli Baillie joining Haynes Wileman on the wings and Ethan Ford at fullback.
Warringah v Randwick at Pittwater Rugby Park 3:00pm
Warringah: 1. Richard Southan, 2. Luke Holmes (c), 3. Wayne Borsak, 4. Ben Adams, 5. Junior Palau, 6. Martin Collins, 7. Boyd Killingworth, 8. Sam Ward, 9. Joshua Holmes, 10. Hamish Angus, 11. Harry Jones, 12. Tui Tuisavaii, 13. Michael Adams, 14. Sireli Tagicakibau, 15. David Feltscheer.
Randwick: 1. Toa Asa, 2. Alex Walker, 3. Tristan Goodbody, 4. Jesse Harris, 5. Josh Eden – Whitari, 6. Sam Figg (c), 7. Tom Connor, 8. Stephen Hoiles, 9. Harry Boileau, 10. Marc Kotezcky, 11. Haynes Wileman, 12. Matt Carraro, 13. Tim Wright, 14. Eli Bailie, 15. Ethan Ford.
Referee: Will Houston
**********************
Eastern Suburbs vs West Harbour –
Easts were in a fight with Parramatta for 60-mintues last weekend before going behind by a couple of scores and letting the final result blow out to 53-20 in the last 20-minutes. Coach Campbell Aitken said there were a couple of things to work on.
“There will be a lot of tackling practice at training this week,” he joked.
“They’re a difficult side to play against when they get a bit of momentum and we didn’t really touch the ball in the last 20-minutes. We had a really young side out there and once the crowd got involved Parramatta got a lot of momentum so hopefully our guys learnt a bit out of it.”
The Beasties will be bolstered by an infusion of Super Rugby talent in halfback Brendan McKibbin and inside-centre Jono Lance who have already been influential in a couple of Easts’ wins so far this season.
“They’re both really keen to play and they bring a whole new skill level and attitude and our results do lift another level when they’ve been playing,” said Aitken.
“You saw that against Eastwood when Jono was fantastic and also against Penrith with Brendan. They haven’t played together for Easts yet, so I’m looking forward to seeing that this weekend.”
Tala Gray is another Waratah inclusion, while Mitchell Chapman is another week away from a return as Easts look to climb from 10th place on the table. Sam Windsor starts at flyhalf at Woollahra with Angus Sinclair moving to outside-centre and Darcy Etrich at fullback.
After showing his playmaking potential with a great set-up last weekend, Alofa Alofa has been named to replace Dave Harvey in the number 10 jersey for the Pirates this Saturday. Harvey, who is in Brazil for a month, is a big loss, but coach Matt Briggs believes Alofa is the man for the job pending a trial run at training later in the week.
“There’s a lot of guys in the mix and even Rory (Sidey), who played a bit there as a junior, could get a run,” said Briggs.
“It’d be good for Alofa to get the ball in his hands a bit more and he’s one of the best talents going around. He doesn’t lack for enthusiasm and he’s played a couple of games of Colts at ten but we’ll see how we go at training this week.”
The Pirates made the most of dewy conditions in an evening game win over Gordon last weekend and Briggs was most pleased at the side’s ability to keep the Highlanders scoreless. After leaking 37 points to Parramatta the week before, it was a massive turnaround and Briggs has made a couple of changes with Joel Brooks switching to fullback and Maquire Tatola starting on the wing in addition to Alofa moving to 10.
Eastern Suburbs v West Harbour by Woollahra Oval 3:00pm
Eastern Suburbs: 1. Cooper Chapman, 2. Seilala Lam, 3. Clay Brodie, 4. Gab Passmore, 5. Phil Mathers, 6. Richard Stanford, 7. Ben Willis, 8. Tala Gray, 9. Brendan McKibbin, 10. Sam Windsor, 11. Will Paterson, 12. Jono Lance, 13. Angus Sinclair, 14. Anton La Vin (c), 15. Darcy Etrich.
West Harbour: 1. Michael Ala’alatoa, 2. Ryan Dalziel, 3. Dave Lolohea, 4. Chris Simons, 5. Harrison Orr, 6. Tom Games (c), 7. Cohen Masson, 8. Matt Coles, 9. David Osofua, 10. Alofa Alofa, 11. Tito Mua, 12. Rory Sidey, 13. Usaia O’Sullivan, 14. Macquire Tatola, 15. Joel Brooks.
Referee: Timothy Wills
********************
Sydney University vs Parramatta –
A solid defensive effort helped the Students bounce back from a couple of disappointing performances with a 30-18 win over Southern Districts last weekend at Forshaw Park. Coach Chris Malone was happy with the result as he starts looking to the back end of the season.
“It was a win and some things improved from the week before and we held them out, so defensively we were decent,” he said.
“We’ve had quite a few games away from home so we’re looking at five of the last seven at home and we’ve got an opportunity to gain some momentum. Considering the amount of games we’ve had away so far, we’re doing alright and none of the rest of the games will be easy but we’ve done some hard work and now it’s time to capitalise on that.”
Uni have used plenty of players so far this season and this Saturday brings even more changes with Waratahs Jeremy Tilse, Tolu Latu and Paddy Ryan forming an all-new front-row while Pat McCutcheon will pack down at No. 8.
“It’s great we’ve got the boys back from the Waratahs, but that’s not to take away from the brilliant work some of the boys did last week” said Malone.
“Sam Reid was very good last weekend, as was Hugo Dessens at No. 8 and Sam Talakai up front, so those guys will get a chance to have a rest this weekend. The great thing with Sydney Uni is that everyone gets a buzz out of those guys returning, they all enjoy playing and ultimately if they’re to play for us at any other stage in the season, it’s important to integrate them into what we’re trying to do.”
Malone hasn’t made any changes to the backline with Jake Gordon and Dan Kelly in the halves, Henry Clunies-Ross on the wing and Jack Macklin at fullback.
Parramatta have scored 120 points in their last three outings and have jumped to fifth on the table, just five competition points behind Uni, but coach Gerrard Fasavalu is aware the Students pose the biggest challenge they’ve faced in a couple of weeks.
“It’s a big test,” he said simply.
“It’ll be a good measuring stick for the guys, as it was a couple of weeks ago against Eastwood. Sydney Uni have been the benchmark over the last10-years and they’re an outstanding and professional outfit who are very disciplined throughout the entire club.”
Like Uni, Parramatta have rarely been able to field a consistent side, but Fasavalu says that minor improvements are being made from week to week throughout the squad.
“There are always things that need fine-tuning and things we need to pay more attention to,” he said.
“Certain areas have had a dramatic improvement over the last few weeks which is really pleasing for the playing group. The players see it for themselves and they’re accountable to themselves and in terms of improving as a collective every week that’s really important.”
Tomu Mataika returns to the side at fullback while Chris Nay starts at flyhalf and Sililo Savea is at No. 8. Taqele Naiyaravoro, who was damaging against Easts last week, will start at 13 as Fasavalu continues to ease him back into rugby union.
Sydney University v Parramatta @ University Oval No. 1 3:00pm
Sydney University: 1. Jeremy Tilse, 2. Tolu Latu, 3. Patrick Ryan, 4. Tom Boidin (c), 5. Tom Heslop, 6. James Nonu-Carling, 7. David Hickey, 8. Patrick McCutcheon, 9. Jake Gordon, 10. Daniel Kelly, 11. Henry Clunies-Ross, 12. Tom Carter, 13. Chris Ingate, 14. James Dargaville, 15. Jack Macklin
Parramatta: 1. Nick Blacklock, 2. Liu Taituave, 3. Simon Lemalu, 4. Sakaria Noa, 5. Evan Olmstead, 6. Andrew Cox, 7. Josh Kaifa, 8. Sililo Savea, 9. Kaleb Rech, 10. Chris Nay, 11. Alex Samoa, 12. Tui Fa’asisila, 13. Taqele Naiyaravoro, 14. Larry Hermens, 15. Tomu Mataika.
Referee: Dominic McCarthy
********************
Northern Suburbs vs Eastwood –
Poor decision-making was a key factor in Norths’ downfall last weekend against a spirited Penrith side at Nepean Rugby Park, says coach Scott Fava. A few simple errors led to a 35-26 loss which leaves them placed precariously in ninth on the table with 18-points while Easts are one back on 17 and Penrith on 13.
“Poor decision-making has been part of our year this year,” said Fava.
“When a chip-kick and a couple of off-loads lead to them scoring, it comes down to awareness of who you’re playing and as a group they know they need to work on it. We’ve done a few things but when it comes down to it, you need to do it under pressure and it just goes back to playing rugby really.”
Fava makes one change with Cam Crawford moving from outside centre to fullback with Jackson Selby to wear the 13 jersey and Jack Grant playing second grade.
“The focus this week has been just to forget about it, to turn to Eastwood and to play a different style of rugby and rectify last week’s performance,” Fava said.
“Eastwood defend well, they attack well and they’re very effective in putting the ball in front of their forwards and putting pressure on teams, so there’s a lot we need to work on and focus on.”
Last week’s 41-24 win over Warringah capped off an up-and-down month for Eastwood who fell to Easts and Manly either side of a big win over Sydney University. After closing the gap on the second placed Rats, Woods coach John Manenti is looking to gain a bit of momentum going into the back end of the season.
“We let ourselves down in a couple of performances over the last month or so, so it was a fairly important win against a team traveling very well last week,” said Manenti.
“From our point of view, our see-sawing form after Easts and Manly, it was good to keep us in the hunt for the top two spots.”
The only change Manenti makes is the inclusion of Mick Snowden at halfback. The fleet-footed number nine upped the pace of the game when introduced from the bench last week and scored a try on the buzzer. Second-rower Jared Barry who, like Snowden, is returning from injury will start from the bench again as Manenti gradually increases his gametime.
“It’ll be a battle against a Norths side looking to bounce back at home,” the Eastwood coach said.
“They have a solid set-piece, a couple of good on-ballers in the back-row and plenty of speed in the backs. Cam Crawford can definitely score some points when he gets the ball but we need to focus on ourselves a bit more.”
Northern Suburbs v Eastwood at North Sydney Oval 3:00pm
Northern Suburbs: 1. Kevin McNamara, 2. Will Weeks, 3. Nick Lah (c), 4. Sev Domoni, 5. Ben Matwijow, 6. James Cunningham, 7. Will Miller, 8. Michael Wells, 9. Christian Cage, 10. Mitch Walton, 11. Richard Woolf, 12. Michael Freeman, 13. Jackson Selby, 14. Tom Redden, 15. Cam Crawford.
Eastwood: 1. Jed Gillespie, 2. Hugh Roach, 3. Guy Millar, 4. James Neale, 5. Andrew Clyne, 6. Michael Kovacic, 7. Hugh Perrett (c), 8. Pat Sio, 9. Mick Snowden, 10. Jai Ayoub, 11. Nick Batger, 12. Tom Hill, 13. Michael McDougall, 14. John Grant, 15. Ben Batger.
Referee: Richard Goswell.