Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 18 clash between the Sydney Roosters and the Wests Tigers.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Sydney Roosters Vs Wests Tigers
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Date: Sunday July 6, 2PM (ADST)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Mark Nawaqanitawase 5. Tom Rodwell 6. Sandon Smith 7. Hugo Savala 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Benaiah Ioelu 10. Makahesi Makatoa 11. Egan Butcher 12. Salesi Foketi 13. Blake Steep 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Max McCathie 16. Taylor Losalu 17. Delasalle Vaa 18. Ethan King 19. Ethan Roberts 20. Chad Townsend 21. Ben Johnson 22. Tyler Moriarty
Tigers: 1. Sunia Turuva 2. Charlie Staines 3. Luke Laulilii 4. Starford To’a 5. Jeral Skelton 6. Adam Doueihi 7. Latu Fainu 8. Terrell May 9. Tristan Hope 10. Fonua Pole 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Jack Bird 13. Alex Twal 14. Charlie Murray 15. Alex Seyfarth 16. Sione Fainu 17. Tony Sukkar 18. Kit Laulilii 19. Brent Naden 20. Royce Hunt 21. Solomona Faataape 22. Izaac Tu’itupou
Referee: Peter Gough
Bunker: Adam Gee
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Wests Tigers will pay a visit to their Bondi rivals as they head to Allianz Stadium on Sunday afternoon to go to war against the high-flying Roosters. The Tigers’ hopes of playing finals football are on life support, with the side sitting six points adrift of the top eight, while the Roosters find themselves in sixth and are firming their own chances of a finals berth with every coming week.
Although the Roosters are heavily impacted by Origin, with five of their stars in camp as they head into this clash with the Tigers, the home side come into this match-up as the heavy favorites, having won their last two on the trot and three of their last four. The Roosters have the benefit of the bye before this clash, while the Tigers are stinging from an 18-point loss at the hands of Manly.
On paper, this Roosters forward pack may be light in terms of star power and NRL experience but underestimate this talented young pack at your own peril. Only two players in the forward rotation are over the age of 30, with the rest of them being born after the year 2000. These young guns will be given every chance to put their best foot forward and show coach Trent Robinson they deserve their place in the Roosters’ best 17 as they take on a forward pack that will not take a backwards step, led by former Rooster Terrell May.
The Tigers have hit the mother of all form slumps, with their last win coming against the Dragons two months ago back on the 3rd of May; they will be desperate to return to the winner’s circle sooner rather than later. While they may have lifted themselves from the foot of the ladder and are producing better football on a consistent basis, they still aren’t producing the results that their long-suffering fans have been waiting for. If the club can claim a few more wins on the run home, fans will have a much sweeter taste in their mouth, even if they don’t manage to make finals football.
The battle of the young sevens steering their sides around the park is the most exciting match-up, with 20-year-old Latu Fainu takes the fight to 23-year-old Hugo Savala. Fainu has been handed the halfback jersey to a side trying desperately to drag itself up the ladder, and his partnership with Jarome Luai – once the star returns from Origin – will be a huge indicator of how the rest of the year will go, while Hugo Savala has blossomed into a regular first-grader as he fills the boots of his fellow young star Sam Walker.
The Roosters have declawed the Tigers on nine of the last 10 occasions, and the reading doesn’t get any better for Tigers fans, who boast an appalling 18-2 record dating back to 2011. The Roosters welcome debutants Tom Rodwell and Max McCathie into the fold, while the Tigers shift Sunia Turuva to fullback in place of the injured Heath Mason, while Tristan Hope comes in for the injured Api Koroisau and the departed Tallyn Da Silva.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Roosters by 14 points.
Check out our round 18 predictions here.
What’s your prediction? Drop it in the comments below.
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