Matchday Details
Saturday, August 2 – 7:35pm (AEST) – 4 Pines Park
📺 Broadcast: Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Grant Atkins | Bunker: Chris Butler
Sea Eagles
1. Lehi Hopoate 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Tom Trbojevic 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Jazz Tevaga 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Corey Waddell 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Tommy Talau 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Toafofoa Sipley 18. Caleb Navale 19. Clayton Faulalo 20. Aaron Schoupp 21. Joey Walsh 22. Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Roosters
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Robert Toia 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Hugo Savala 7. Sam Walker 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Connor Watson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Siua Wong 13. Egan Butcher 14. Benaiah Ioelu 15. Blake Steep 16. Salesi Foketi 17. Spencer Leniu 18. Ethan King 19. Taylor Losalu 20. Toby Rodwell 21. Zach Dockar-Clay 22. Victor Radley
Match Preview
The semi finals are coming early to 4 Pines Park when the Manly Sea Eagles take on the Sydney Roosters in a virtual do-or-die fixture.
In addition to the potential ramifications on the top eight, this match will also see the two clubs compete for the fourth annual Gotcha4Life Cup, helping to build mental fitness so no one worries alone.
These two teams are bubbling just outside the top eight currently and a loss would spell disaster for their finals hopes.
Manly followed up their best win of the season (18-16 against the Storm in Melbourne) with their worst loss (42-4 against Canterbury), but aren’t hitting the panic button, with only Haumole Olakau’atu out of the side through injury, with Corey Waddell moving to the second row, and Tommy Talau joining the bench. Jake Simpkin returns to the side after he was a late scratching on Sunday, with Gordon Chan Kum Tong dropping to the reserves.
The halves merry-go-round continues for the Roosters as Hugo Savala makes a timely return from a hand injury at five-eighth, replacing Sandon Smith following his head injury in the loss to Melbourne last Thursday. Billy Smith returns from a head knock of his own, replacing Ethan King at left centre. Siua Wong has been named at right back rower alongside Egan Butcher at lock, with Salesi Foketi and Spencer Leniu dropping back to the bench, while young hooker Benaiah Ioelu joins the bench in place of Zach Dockar-Clay. Victor Radley has been named among the reserves as he seeks an early return from a shoulder issue.
After a good run of form, the Sea Eagles fell back into bad habits in the loss to the Bulldogs, making 12 errors, missing 39 tackles, and having 31 ineffective tackles, conceding a whopping 21 offloads. After keeping the game relatively close for 55 minutes, their defence fell apart in the final 25 as the Bulldogs found gaps everywhere, running in five tries in that time.
The tale of the Roosters’ season has been an inability to finish games strongly and that was again the case against the Storm. The Roosters had plenty of opportunities to secure victory, but too often their middle defence was found wanting and they eventually went down 34-30.
While Daly Cherry-Evans and Sam Walker are expected to be teaming up at Bondi Junction in 2026, they will be tasked with sinking their opponent’s season on Saturday night. The experienced Cherry-Evans has guided his team to plenty of wins over his 15 seasons, while the young Walker is still finding his feet, returning from an ACL injury as the dominant half in his team.
The Manly right edge of Cherry-Evans, Tom Trbojevic, and Jason Saab was picked apart by the Bulldogs in the second half of Sunday’s loss, and they will need to see a dramatic improvement in defensive form if they are to contain the attacking power of the Roosters’ left edge of Walker, Angus Crichton (24 offloads for the season), (seven try assists in three games), Billy Smith (14 tackles breaks in his past four complete games), and Daniel Tupou (nine tries in his past seven games).
Although the Sea Eagles historically dominated this match-up, the Roosters have had the better of them in recent years, winning nine of their 13 matches since 2018. This will be the first meeting of the two teams since the Roosters’ 40-16 win in last year’s semi-final.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Sea Eagles by 6.
See our full Round 22 Predictions (live Wednesday 12pm) here: 2025 NRL Tipping: Round 22 Writer Predictions
Have your say: Who wins? Drop your tip in the comments or vote in our poll.
Related Links
- Round 22 Late Mail
- 2025 NRL Round 21 Injury List
- Power Rankings – Round 21
