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Sydney Uni are looking to bounce back after a loss to Eastwood last weekend.
by Brendan Bradford –
Manly vs Eastwood at Manly Oval, Saturday 31 May, 3:10pm ABC TV
Manly: 1. Mitch Lewis, 2. John Wunder, 3. John Baranyi, 4. Jack Wesson, 5. Greg Peterson (c), 6. Harry Bergelin, 7. Kotoni Ale, 8. Dylan Sigg, 9. Mark Swanepoel (c), 10. Sam Vaevae, 11. Dane Chisholm, 12. Scott Daruda, 13. Mali Hingano, 14. Lui Siale, 15. BJ Hartmann.
Eastwood: 1. Jed Gillespie, 2. Todd Pearce, 3. Guy Millar, 4. James Neale, 5. Andrew Clyne, 6. Hugh Perrett (c), 7. George Kent, 8. Pat Sio, 9. Shanin Proctor, 10. Jai Ayoub, 11. Nick Batger, 12. Tom Hill, 13. Michael McDougall, 14. John Grant, 15. Ben Batger.
Referee: Ian Smith
Read the full Rugby News preview here: http://www.rugbynews.net.au/shute-shield-manly-and-eastwood-prepare-for-epic-encounter/
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Parramatta v West Harbour at Merrylands RSL Rugby Park 3:00pm
Parramatta: 1. Nick Blacklock, 2. Liu Taituave, 3. Simon Lemalu (c), 4. Sakaria Noa, 5. Evan Olmstead, 6. Josh Kaifa, 7. Sililo Savea, 8. Aisea Namoa, 9. Kaleb Rech, 10. Chris Nay, 11. Tui Fa’asisila, 12. Lani Tiatia, 13. Taqele Naiyaravoro, 14. Larry Hermens, 15. Sam Yakopo.
West Harbour: 1. Michael Alaalatoa, 2. Ryan Dalziel, 3. Dave Lolohea, 4. Chris Simons, 5. Harrison Orr, 6. Tom Games (c), 7. Cohen Masson, 8. Matt Coles, 9. Rob Cattanach, 10. Dave Harvey, 11. Joel Brooks, 12. Rory Sidey, 13. Usaia O’Sullivan, 14. Tito Mua, 15. Dylan Taikato-Simpson.
Referee: Ed Martin
Read the full Rugby News preview here: http://www.rugbynews.net.au/shute-shield-pirates-and-parramatta-in-western-derby-duel/
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Sydney University vs Randwick at University Oval, Friday 30 May, 7:00pm
Randwick lock Josh Eden-Whaitiri in action last weekend. Photo: Ric McLellan
Sydney University coach Chris Malone said his side was guilty of trying too much too soon in their loss to Eastwood last weekend. Playing with the ball for large portions of the game, Malone said the Students tried going wide too early against an Eastwood side defending smartly.
“Eastwood unsettled us at the set-piece and we based most of our attack on phase play rather than trying to build anything straight from the set-piece,” said Malone.
“We started fairly well but were guilty of playing around them rather than through them and they weren’t committing too many to the breakdown. So we were probably outnumbering ourselves by getting too many at the breakdown which hurt us on the attacking side.”
Uni have scored over 100 points more than the Galloping Greens so far this season, but the fifth placed Wicks are the second best defensive team in the competition. Sitting just one place on the ladder and six points behind his side, Malone is wary of what Randwick can produce when they put it all together.
“They’re quite clinical when they break the line and I’m expecting they’ll throw a lot at us,” he said.
“They’ve got some hard working forwards and a bit of consistency and we’ll have to work hard for a long time to break them down because they’ve got one of the best defensive records in the comp, so it should be a good game.”
Uni second-rower Harry Marples is out long term with a knee injury, meaning Byron Hodge starts in the number four jersey. When Rugby News spoke to him, Malone was unsure whether Pat McCutcheon would be needed by the Waratahs against the Chiefs this weekend so had named James Nonu-Carling at blindside flanker with captain Tom Boidin going to No. 8.
The only other change sees Henry Clunies-Ross replace veteran winger Dave Dillon on the wing. Clunies-Ross was injured last week along with flyhalf Dan Kelly who has a glute strain but could make a return late in the week.
Randwick earned a win at Coogee Oval against Easts last weekend, but it came at a cost. Kuki Ma’afu, Ethan Ford and Eli Bailey are all out injured with Marc Kotezcky coming in at 12, Tim Wright at outside centre and Pieter Englebrecht on the wing.
Up front Sione Kolo starts at loosehead prop in place of Toa Asa who has an ongoing back injury.
“There are a few injuries but there’s a lot of knocks as well,” said coach, Wade Kelly who noticed some improvement in last week’s tense win over Eastern Suburbs.
“It was a tough one last week and we cut down our errors and that’s what got us home in the end. They’re playing well, but they still need to work on their skills.”
With five wins so far, the Galloping Greens are placed fifth on the table, but it’s a tenuous position at best with Southern Districts, Parramatta and West Harbour all within striking range. Kelly has rarely been able to field a consistent side this season and this Friday’s game against the defending champions will be a gauge of where the Wicks are at.
“This will put it in perspective because we haven’t played Manly, Uni or Warringah yet and we’ve got them all in the next month,” said Kelly.
“It’ll be the first time we play against a team that will go for 80-minutes and we haven’t really reacted well to teams that do that – even for 60 minutes. It’ll be good for the boys to see exactly where they are.”
Sydney University v Randwick at University Oval, Friday 30 May, 7.30pm
Sydney University: 1. Sam Talakai, 2. Tim Reid, 3. Rhys Brodie, 4. Byron Hodge, 5. Tom Heslop, 6. James Nonu-Carling, 7. David Hickey, 8. Tom Boidin (c), 9. Jake Gordon, 10. Stefano Hunt, 11. Henry Clunies-Ross, 12. Tom Carter, 13. Chris Ingate, 14. James Dargaville, 15. Jack Macklin.
Randwick: 1. Sione Kolo, 2. Alex Walker, 3. Tristan Goodbody, 4. Jesse Harris, 5. Josh Eden – Whitari, 6. Sam Figg (c), 7. Tom Connor, 8. Will Munro, 9. Harry Boileau, 10. Andrew Norton, 11. Nathan Roye, 12. Marc Kotezcky, 13. Tim Wright, 14. Pieter Englebrecht, 15. Liam Windon.
Referee: Jamie McGregor
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Eastern Suburbs vs Southern Districts –
Easts halfback Steve Shapland will be dangerous against Southern Districts this Saturday. Photo: Ric McLellan
Last week’s messy loss to Randwick leaves Eastern Suburbs in ninth place, but coach Campbell Aitken says energy and confidence is high within the playing group. It’s a far cry from the first month of competition when the Beasties looked and played like a nervous side unable to buy a win.
“The guys were disappointed obviously, but they were pretty upbeat at training at the start of the week,” said Aitken.
“It was more an opportunity lost than anything but I’m really pleased with the style of rugby we’re playing.”
Henry Hudson was an early injury casualty last weekend forcing fullback Darcy Etrich into flyhalf. Etrich will wear the number 10 jersey from the kick-off this Saturday while Will Paterson switches to 15 and Sam Devlin gets a start on the wing.
“It was a bit rushed with all the chopping and changing last week and Darcy moving into flyhalf but when the game got more and more fractured, that’s when Darcy tends to excel,” said Aitken.
Tala Gray picked up a calf injury playing for the Barbarians against the Australian U-20s and will monitored closely throughout the week with youngster Dan Elsom (no relation to Rocky) to step in if Gray doesn’t play.
Southern Districts are coming off two losses at home but, like Easts, Rebels coach Matt Barr says he’s confident his side is still on the right track.
“It was a nail-biter that unfortunately went the other way last week and we’re just regrouping this week,” said Barr of the one-point loss to Parramatta.
“We had a tough start to the season and did well to get our season back in shape and had a good month where we won four in a row, but now we’re back where we were and need to work our way back and stay in touch with those top four sides.
“There’s no panic stations, it’s just about simple stuff, decision making and discipline.”
Two losing bonus points allowed Southern Districts to hang onto their sixth place on the table with Parramatta behind on points-difference and West Harbour lying in wait.
Back-rower Sam Latunipulu is out with a pectoral tear with Jono Hayes replacing him at blindside. Ben Volavola is still recovering from a broken cheekbone sustained against Penrith a few weeks back, so Richie Williams starts at fullback.
“The boys are still upbeat and Easts this weekend will be a challenge because they seem to be on the improve and there are no easy games in the competition,” said Barr.
“Easts have a really strong forward pack so we’ll need to front up there and really try and dominate set-pieces.”
Eastern Suburbs v Southern Districts at Woolahra Oval 3.00pm
Eastern Suburbs: 1. Cooper Chapman, 2. Billy Johnston, 3. Clay Brodie, 4. Gab Passmore, 5. Richard Stanford, 6. Seilala Lam, 7. Ben Willis, 8. Tala Gray, 9. Steve Shapland, 10. Darcy Etrich, 11. Dan Gallagher, 12. Anton La Vin (c), 13. Damon Anderson, 14. Sam Devlin, 15. Will Paterson.
Southern Districts: 1. Duncan Chubb, 2. Maile Nguamo, 3. Tim Metcher, 4. Andrew Leota, 5. Marcus Carbone, 6. Jono Hayes, 7. Kieran Black, 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.
Referee: Michael Hogan
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Warringah vs Penrith –
Scott Bradley replaces Josh Holmes at halfback for Warringah. Photo: Karen Watson.
The Rats haven’t been able to maintain the high standards they set at the start of the season but have crucially managed to keep notching the wins and currently sit in second place on the table.
Warringah were made to work for their 31-21 win over Gordon last weekend which followed on from close wins over Norths and Wests and they’ll be looking for more consistency in front of a home crowd for the first time in a while.
“We played well in patches,” Rats fullback Dave Feltscheer told Rugby News after last week’s match.
“It certainly was frustrating but we had a focus on positive chat. We get down on ourselves a bit when things don’t go our way. It’s been a bit the same in the last three weeks, we haven’t really clicked but we’ve still found a way to win which I think is a sign of a good side.”
It hasn’t really ‘clicked’ for the Rats since the Manly derby a month ago with injury taking its inevitable toll but coach Haig Sare has named a strong line-up against a physical Penrith side. After playing for the Barbarians on Tuesday, Ben Adams starts at lock alongside Dennis Watson while Scott Bradley replaces Josh Holmes who is still away with the Melbourne Rebels.
Centre, Michael Adams is still injured, so Chris Arnold partners Tui Tuisava’ii in the midfield and Brad Dixon returns from injury on the wing.
Each week is a learning curve for Penrith coach Teki Tuipulotu and his team at the foot of the mountains. In last Saturday’s 59-32 loss to Manly, the lesson was ball retention. Despite scoring another four try bonus point, the Emus stood no chance of troubling the Marlins by recording 37 turnovers during the game.
“If we hold onto the ball and build pressure with phases, we’ll be ok,” Tuipulotu said.
“You just can’t come away with that many turnovers and expect to win. We’ll just have to go back and do the repetitive stuff at training and hope it comes out alright on the day.
“We’re starting to see signs because the players know if we can hold onto it, we’ll come away with points. Whether it’s handling errors or whatever, we’ll get put on the back foot and with our static defence we’ll get caught out.”
Three Emus players – Jerome McKenzie, Senio Toleafoa and Nigel Vaifale – were awarded for their great form with spots in the Barbarian side which played the Australian Under-20s on Tuesday and Tuipulotu has moved Pene Narube from openside flanker to the wing with John Waititi coming back from injury. Toleafoa goes to lock with Pita Tupou returning to the starting side after playing off the bench in his come back from injury last week.
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Warringah v Penrith at Pittwater Rugby Park 3:00pm
Warringah: 1. Richard Southan, 2. Luke Holmes (c), 3. Wayne Borsak, 4. Ben Adams, 5. Dennis Watson, 6. Junior Palau, 7. Boyd Killingworth, 8. Samuel Crompton, 9. Scott Bradley, 10. Hamish Angus, 11. Brad Dixon, 12. Tui Tuisavaii, 13. Christopher Arnold, 14. Sireli Tagicakibau, 15. David Feltscheer.
Penrith: 1. Daniel Arona, 2. Ethan- Robinson Mate (c), 3. Nigel Vaifale, 4. Matthew Wilton, 5. Senio Toleafoa, 6. Pita Tupou, 7. John Waititi, 8. Paea Siualangapo, 9. Solomona Silipa, 10. Robbie Mate, 11. Malakai Zelezniak, 12. Michael Mate, 13. Wilson Silipa, 14. Peni Narube, 15. Jerome Mckenzie.
Referee: Anthony Moyes
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Northern Suburbs vs Gordon –
Norths backrower Michael Wells makes a run. Photo: Jock Cameron
Every match is a finals game from here until the end of the season for Norths, says coach Scott Fava. With just two wins in nine starts and sitting 10th on the table, Fava will draw inspiration from the late run the Shoremen made in 2012 to scrape into the top eight and go deep into the finals.
“Our season is on the line. There’s an opportunity to sneak into the top six but we need to take these games against Gordon and next week against Penrith,” said Fava.
“In 2012 we started our run around round 9 after we lost our first three. Then we put it together and won eight of our last nine which was a good run.”
A host of late changes due to injury left Norths struggling against West Harbour in a one-point loss last weekend. The disruption left talented back-rower Will Miller playing on the wing and the Shoremen are hoping the side will be more settled this Saturday.
“You know you’re at low level when you’ve got your back-rowers on the wing,” said Fava who will be forced to wait until late in the week to finalise his starting side.
“The forward pack is the same, but most likely we’ll have Mitch Walton at ten or fullback, hopefully (Cam) Crawford will be back, Tom Redden on the wing and Jac Cameron hopefully back at 13 but they’re all pushing fitness tests.”
Gordon rattled Warringah in a 31-21 loss last weekend at Chatswood Oval but, as they have throughout the season, found themselves on the wrong side of the referee. The 11th placed Highlanders are now just looking for every win they can muster before the end of the regular season.
“We more than matched Warringah across the park but a severe penalty count in the second half cost us – and not for the first time,” said coach, Geoff Townsend.
“It’s something we just have to deal with and we’re improving but it’s frustrating not to get the rewards sometimes.”
Townsend has named an unchanged side for the first time this season and expects further improvements in the local derby.
“Norths are a very young and inexperienced side in a rebuilding phase, I suppose a lot like ours, and in 12 or 18 months they’ll be in a far healthier position than what they are now,” he said.
“That’s by virtue of playing these younger guys now and it’s obviously the derby so it’ll draw a few nerves. It’s one that both clubs will be very keen to perform well in.”
Northern Suburbs v Gordon at North Sydney Oval 3:00pm LIVE ON www.clubrugbytv.com.au​
Northern Suburbs: 1. Kevin McNamara, 2. Will Weeks, 3. Nick Lah (c), 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.
Gordon: 1. Aritema Ralulu, 2. Ron Hobden, 3. Nick Fraser, 4. Ruiraidh Wilson, 5. Jack Maguire, 6. Malelili Vukinamualevu, 7. Mitch Greenway, 8. Johnno Broome, 9. Terry Preston (c), 10. Will Shirvington, 11. Brandon Quinn, 12. Tom Matthews, 13. Matt McDougall, 14. Xavier McCoy, 15. Sione Ala.
Referee: Will Houston