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Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin will play for Easts against Penrith this weekend. Photo: Paul Seiser.
by Brendan Bradford –
Eastwood v Parramatta at T.G.Millner Field, 3:00pm
Eastwood: 1. Jed Gillespie, 2. Hugh Roach, 3. Guy Millar, 4. Steve Cummins, 5. Andrew Clyne, 6. Michael Kovacic, 7. George Kent, 8. Hugh Perrett, 9. Mick Snowden, 10. Pierre Hola, 11. Nick Batger, 12. Tom Hill, 13. Michael McDougall, 14. Ben Shorter, 15. Ben Batger.
Parramatta: 1. Nick Blacklock, 2. Liu Taituave, 3. Simon Lemalu, 4. Evan Olmstead, 5. Sakaria Noa, 6. Andrew Cox (c), 7. Rodney Ma’a, 8. Josh Kaifa, 9. Kaleb Rech, 10. Sam Yakopo, 11. Justin Paulo, 12. Taqele Naiyaravoro, 13. Lani Tiatia, 14. Alex Samoa, 15. Chris Nay.
Referee: Richard Goswell
Read the full Rugby News preview here: http://www.rugbynews.net.au/shute-shield-taqeles-two-blues-debut/
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Randwick vs Southern Districts ABC TV Game –
Matt Carraro starts in the centres for Randwick this weekend. Photo: Carl Peterson
“It was our worst performance by far,” said Randwick coach wade Kelly of his team’s 26-22 loss to West Harbour last weekend. The disappointing result capped off a frustrating couple of weeks in which the Galloping Greens outplayed Eastwood in Round 5 but still came up empty handed.
“We were on the up, but then came crashing back down,” said Kelly.
“We were just too complacent and had a few disruptions with (inside-centre) Will Reece-Hole pulling out on Thursday, but we just didn’t execute our game-plan for the whole 80 last weekend.”
The Wicks have Stephen Hoiles and Matt Carraro from the Waratahs, Dave Horwitz from the Under-20s and Liam Windon back from injury, but Kelly is warning against more complacency and hopes those inclusions don’t lead to disruptions.
“It’s a very good team on paper, but they’ve never played together before,” he said.
“They’ll have a session together before this game and I just hope we have a go and take what we know we can do and put it on the park.”
After a poor start to the season, Southern Districts have turned it around to put three consecutive wins together culminating in last weekend’s 31-25 victory over Eastwood.
“We thought we were a good chance of causing an upset and we did which was great,” said Southern Districts coach Matt Barr.
“They started well, but we weathered the storm and got the money and we’re happy, but it was straight back to work this week with another hard session.”
Even through the three losses to start the season, Barr refused to make wholesale changes, saying it was just a matter of time for the results to come. Those players rewarded their coach with the upset over Eastwood and Barr has made just two changes with Sasa Tofilau returning from the Australian U-20s side on the wing and Chris O’Reilly coming in at halfback for the injured Josh Hall.
Randwick v Southern Districts at Coogee Oval 3:00pm LIVE ON ABC TV
Randwick: 1. Toa Asa, 2. Alex Walker, 3. Tristan Goodbody, 4. Dan Falefa, 5. Will Munro, 6. Sam Figg, 7. Tom Connor, 8. Stephen Hoiles, 9. Harry Boileau, 10. David Horwitz, 11. Ethan Ford, 12. Kuki Ma’afu, 13. Matt Carraro, 14. Tim Wright, 15. Liam Windon.
Southern Districts: 1. Duncan Chubb, 2. Maile Nguamo, 3. Tim Metcher, 4. Andrew Leota, 5. Marcus Carbone, 6. Sam Latunipulu, 7. Kieran Black, 8. Jed Holloway (c), 9. Chris O’Reilly, 10. Rohan Saifoloi, 11. Sasa Tofilau, 12. Ollie Samuela, 13. Denny Godinet, 14. Ben Connelly, 15. Richie Williams.
Referee: Michael Hogan
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Gordon vs Sydney University –
Halfback and captain, Terry Preston, was a hero in Gordon’s win over Eastern Suburbs last weekend. Photo: Paul Seiser.
It took the full 80-minutes, but Gordon earned their second win of the season with a penalty in the dying moments against Eastern Suburbs last weekend in a performance Highlanders coach Geoff Townsend described simply as “gutsy.”
Fighting back from a 12-point deficit midway through the second half, Gordon claimed a late lead and held on for a memorable win when the Beasties couldn’t convert a penalty on the bell.
But the celebrations were tempered by the loss of another three forwards, taking Townsend’s tally of injured First Graders to 14.
“We hung in there and actually got to play our shapes and play some good football,” he said.
“There’s no certainty on Mitch Greenway while Andrew Chapman – we’ve selected him this weekend – but there might be a chance of not having him. Hugh Cropley’s definitely out so we’ve brought big Aritema Raululu up from Second Grade at loosehead.”
As if the Highlanders’ task wasn’t tough enough, their opposition this Saturday, Sydney University, will be bolstered by the inclusion of Waratahs Jeremy Tilse, Tolu Latu and Pat McCutcheon.
“They don’t make it any easier by bringing all these Super Rugby players back do they?” said Townsend who believes the match should be a chance for his players to show what they can do.
“It’ll be good to test our blokes against the best and with the Tahs not playing I imagine a lot of their brass will be out at different games watching, so it might be a good opportunity for Tommy Mathews and Nick Fraser and a few of our other boys to put their hands up in front of the selectors. We’ve got zero to lose and everything to gain.”
Uni snapped a two match losing streak last weekend with a 48-13 win over Norths at Uni Oval and coach Chris Malone is looking to keep building on the improvements the side has made this season.
“It was good to get back in the winner’s circle after a couple of losses, but there’s a hell of a lot we can still get better at,” he said.
“We’re heading in the right direction and it’s about our ability to improve week after week and hopefully at the right time of the year we’ll be about to hit our straps.”
Malone hasn’t been able to field a consistent side so far this season and despite running up a big score against the Shoremen, he wants to see his team start building pressure rather than scoring opportunistic and long range tries.
“We had 62 players in First Grade last year and we’ll have a truckload again this year and the guys who step in have got to do the job,” he said.
“Big ones for us are continuing to improve defensively and ensuring we’re able to build a bit of continuity with our possession. We scored some long range tries that we didn’t have to work for on the weekend but in the right parts of the field we struggle to complete multiple phases.”
In addition to Tilse, Latu and McCutcheon, Malone adds Australian Under-20s tighthead prop Tom Robertson to the front row. In the backs, Chris Ingate will start in the centres while Stu Dunbar has been ruled out with a knee injury and will be replaced by Jack Macklin.
Gordon v Sydney University at Chatswood Oval 3:00pm
Gordon: 1. Aritema Ralulu, 2. Ron Hobden, 3. Nick Fraser, 4. Ruiradh Wilson, 5. Andrew Chapman, 6. Jack Maguire, 7. Mitch Greenway, 8. Malelili Vukinamualevu, 9. Terry Preston (c), 10. Erik Moss, 11. Brandon Quinn, 12. Tom Matthews, 13. Matt McDougall, 14. Xavier McCoy, 15. Sione Ala.
Sydney University: 1. Jeremy Tilse, 2. Tolu Latu, 3. Tom Robertson, 4. Harry Marples, 5. Tom Heslop, 6. Patrick McCutcheon, 7. David Hickey, 8. Tom Boidin (c), 9. Jake Gordon, 10. Daniel Kelly, 11. Henry Clunies-Ross, 12. Tom Carter, 13. Chris Ingate, 14. James Dargaville, 15. Jack Macklin.
Referee: Ian Smith
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West Harbour vs Warringah –
West Harbour fullback Uaia O’Sullivan is tackled in the Pirates’ Round One loss to the Rats. Photo: Karen Watson.
The last time these two sides met, back in Round 1, Warringah ran away with a 39-18 win, but the Pirates are much improved after matches against Sydney Uni, Eastwood and Manly in the first month of competition.
“What I’ve seen is some good performances go unrewarded and it was nice get the five points on the weekend,” said West Harbour coach Matt Briggs of the Pirates’ victory over Randwick last Saturday.
“You could feel it in the sheds, we’ve fought well over the last few weeks I can see a marked improvement. I knew we were due and it came at a nice time, so the club song was sung with a lot of gusto. I think it’s just the spark we need to get a little confidence.”
Briggs has rewarded the side that defeated Randwick last weekend with reselection but makes one change with Alofa Alofa starting on the wing.
“We improved on the weekend, but Warringah have improved as well,” said Briggs.
“We defended tenaciously, we were quite reasonable at ruck time and if we hit our straps we’ll go alright on the weekend. You have to reward those that have done the job and it’ll be good to able to get a bit of continuity for once.”
The Rats scored five bonus points in five matches to start the season but came crashing back to Earth in a 39-16 loss to Manly last Saturday, a result coach Haig Sare believed showed the boys where improvements need to be made.
“We spoke about the game last week, reflected, and there was a lot to learn from it,” he said.
“Against a massive pack like that, we need to be more disciplined in our own half. Sessions this week have been positive and very physical, so we’ve got rid of all that frustration and we’re ready to get back into it.”
Having addressed the issue of a form slump following a tough loss, Sare has been forced to make a couple of changes with Martin Collins (fractured rib) and Ben Adams (calf) both out. Brad Dixon was getting married last weekend and missed the derby but returns to the wing in place of Harry Jones who scored a double but still goes back down to second grade.
“It’s bad luck for Harry really, but Brad’s been very good for us this season,” said Sare.
“I asked Brad when the honeymoon is, and he said not until after the season, so that’s alright.”
West Harbour v Warringah at Concord Oval 3:00pm
West Harbour: 1. Michael Ala’alatoa, 2. Ryan Dalziel, 3. Dave Lolohea, 4. Harrison Orr, 5. Phil Manukeu, 6. Tom Games (c), 7. Cohen Masson, 8. Matt Coles, 9. Rob Cattanach, 10. Dave Harvey, 11. Joel Brooks, 12. Henry Seavula, 13. Rory Sidey, 14. Tito Mua, 15. Usaia O’Sullivan.
Warringah: 1. Richard Southan, 2. Luke Holmes (c), 3. Wayne Borsak, 4. Tristan Stanley, 5. Michael Ritchie, 6. Sione Vatuvei, 7. Boyd Killingworth, 8. Sam Crompton, 9. Joshua Holmes, 10. Hamish Angus, 11. Bradley Dixon, 12. Tui Tuisavaii, 13. Michael Adams, 14. Sireli Tagicakibau, 15. David Feltscheer.
Referee: William Houston
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Penrith vs Eastern Suburbs –
Solomona Silipa starts at fullback in a dangerous Penrith side this weekend. Photo: SPA Images
Penrith were unlucky not to beat Parramatta last weekend – even the ref said so.
“He blew about five penalties in a row but he came up to me after the game and apologised for some of the decisions because he said he did make some mistakes,” said Penrith coach Teki Tuipulotu.
“I’m not going to go on and blame the referees too much because we could have put our foot on the throttle and killed it off but we didn’t and that’s what let us down.”
Pita Tupou is out with a knee injury for the Emus and is replaced by lock Paea Suialangapo who has played for Tonga A while back Malakai Zelezniak returns from injury.
For a team with no wins, Penrith can certainly score some tries. They average 26-points a game but it’s discipline and consistency on the other side of the ball that’s letting them down. With the home-ground advantage against an Eastern Suburbs side coming off a last gasp loss to Gordon, Tuiputlotu sees a great chance of recording the Emus’ first win of the season.
“We’ve done some homework on them over the week but we’re mainly going to focus on us,” he said.
“There’s always a good opportunity every weekend and no one wants to travel out to Penrith.”
That’s a sentiment no doubt shared by an Easts side lacking confidence after five losses and a win to start the season.
“It’s not often you go out to Penrith and you’re the underdogs, but I think that’s what we’ll be this week,” said Beasties coach Campbell Aitken.
“They can score tries and Teki’s got them playing very well, so we’re looking forward to a very tough match.”
Last weekend the Beasties relinquished a commanding second half lead against Gordon in a game Aitken could only describe as “very disappointing”. It was an example of the mental aspects of the game that the Beasties need to work on.
“It was sort of a stop-start game which really favoured Gordon and as it went on our guys got more and more nervous,” he said.
“It’s just a lack of confidence from not being able to win games but we’ve had a couple of excellent trainings this week and we’re confident that those results will start to come.”
The Beasties are another club benefitting from the Waratahs’ bye week with Tala Gray starting at No. 8 and Brendan McKibbin at halfback.
“Kibbo’s itching to get back, he brings that speed and experience and I actually think he influences Shute Shield games a lot more than other Super Rugby players do,” Aitken said.
Penrith v Eastern Suburbs at Nepean Rugby Park 3:00pm
Penrith: 1. Daniel Arona, 2. Ethan Robinson Mate (c), 3. Nigel Vaifale, 4. Paea Siualangapo, 5. Senio Toleafoa, 6. Dave Reopoama, 7. John Waititi, 8. Tyrone Viiga, 9. Notise Tauafao, 10. Robbie Mate, 11. Wilson Silipa, 12. Michael Mate, 13. KJ McKenzie, 14. Jerome McKenzie, 15. Solomona Silipa.
Eastern Suburbs: 1. Cooper Chapman, 2. Billy Johnston, 3. Michael Fakava, 4. Gab Passmore, 5. Phil Mathers, 6. Richard Stanford, 7. Ben Willis, 8. Tala Gray, 9. Brendan McKibbin, 10. Henry Hudson, 11. Damon Anderson, 12. Anton La Vin (c), 13. Daniel Gallagher, 14. Will Paterson, 15. Darcy Etrich.
Referee: Jamie McGregor
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Northern Suburbs vs Manly (Sunday) –
Will Weeks has been impressive for Norths this season. Photo: Paul Seiser.
Not much went right for the Shoremen last weekend against Uni and coach Scott Fava didn’t think the 48-13 scoreline did his side justice.
“The score wasn’t an indicator, but we gave Uni too many turnovers,” he said.
“I think Uni only created one opportunity with their shape and the rest we handed it to them. We’ve been working on it, but we just can’t seem to connect on defence to hold other teams out.”
Facing another challenge this Sunday in table toppers Manly, Fava said it was crucial to start correcting those defensive frailties.
“We really need to work on that transition D because they’ve been able to score from counter-attack this season,” he said.
“But also their forward pack has been awesome. To gain parity we’re really looking for our boys to step up and take control.”
Fava makes a couple of changes with Connor Healy making his First Grade debut in the front row and Christian Cage starting at halfback.
The Marlins outplayed their Northern Beaches rivals Warringah last weekend to become the only undefeated side in the competition and are looking for continued improvement and their seventh win on the trot.
“Things that we worked on throughout the week became dominant as the game went on,” said coach Phil Blake.
“Warringah are a good football team but they were up against a real hungry side and it was as good as we’ve played all year to be honest.”
Manly’s sixth win of the season took its toll and Blake has made a couple of changes. John Baranyi starts at tighthead prop, Greg Peterson is out with a neck injury, Alex Northam is back in First Grade on the wing while Malietoa Hingano replaces Brian Sefanaia at outside centre.
“We’ve got a few busted and that’s what you get from a big derby like against Warringah,” said Blake.
“It’s a testament to the fact we’ve got several reserves who could all rightly play First Grade and I suppose that depth is something that we’ve been building up over the last couple of years and it’s going to be the strength that sees us through to the end of the season.”
Sunday May 11 – Northern Suburbs v Manly at North Sydney Oval 3:00pm LIVE ONLINE AT www.clubrugbytv.com.au
Northern Suburbs: 1. Kevin McNamara, 2. Will Weeks, 3. Conner Healy, 4. Matt White, 5. Michael O’Hea, 6. James Cunningham, 7. Hugh Sinclair, 8. Michael Wells, 9. Christian Cage, 10. Jack Grant, 11. Cameron Crawford, 12. Jackson Selby, 13. Jac Cameron, 14. Tom Redden, 15. Mitch Walton.
Manly: 1. Mitch Lewis, 2. David Porecki, 3. John Baranyi, 4. Ed Gower (c), 5. Ryan Melrose, 6. Harry Bergelin, 7. Kotoni Ale, 8. Dylan Sigg, 9. Matt Lucas, 10. Marshall Milroy, 11. Alex Northam, 12. Scott Daruda, 13. Malietoa Hingano, 14. Lui Siale, 15. Shaun Treweek.
Referee: Edward Martin