Matchday Details
Sunday 15 March – 4:05pm (AEDT) – 4 Pines Park, Sydney
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Todd Smith | Bunker: Grant Atkins
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Jason Saab, 3. Tolutau Koula, 4. Reuben Garrick, 5. Lehi Hopoate, 6. Luke Brooks, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Taniela Paseka, 9. Jake Simpkin, 10. Kobe Hetherington, 11. Haumole Olakau’atu, 12. Ben Trbojevic, 13. Jake Trbojevic, 14. Joey Walsh, 15. Nathan Brown, 16. Ethan Bullemor, 17. Paul Bryan, 18. Brandon Wakeham, 19. Josh Feledy, 20. Corey Waddell, 21. Jackson Shereb, 22. Simione Laiafi.
Newcastle Knights
1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Dominic Young, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Greg Marzhew, 6. Sandon Smith, 7. Dylan Brown, 8. Jacob Saifiti, 9. Phoenix Crossland, 10. Trey Mooney, 11. Dylan Lucas, 12. Jermaine McEwen, 13. Tyson Frizell, 14. Thomas Cant, 15. Mat Croker, 16. Pasami Saulo, 17. Francis Manuleleua, 18. Fletcher Hunt, 19. Harrison Graham, 20. Tyson Gamble, 21. Cody Hopwood, 22. James Schiller.
Match Preview
Sunday afternoon footy travels to 4 Pines Park as the Sea Eagles host the Knights. The Sea Eagles return to the scene of their heartbreaking Golden Point loss to the Raiders in round 1, while the Knights will be riding high after defeating the Cowboys 28-18 in Las Vegas.
If the Knights are to continue their winning ways, they’ll need to overcome a losing record at 4 Pines Park to do it. They’ve only won four games at the venue from 23 total games played there. This will undoubtedly boost the Sea Eagles’ confidence heading into a game they must win to avoid starting the season with a 0-2 record.
For the Sea Eagles, Siosiua Taukeiaho is out with a calf injury. Kobe Hetherington moves into the starting prop role to replace him. Prop Paul Bryan is set to make his club debut off the bench against his former club.
For the Knights, Fletcher Sharpe is out with a knee injury, replaced at five-eighth by Sandon Smith. Second-rower Francis Manuleleua joins the bench and is set to make his NRL debut.
The focus for the Sea Eagles will be on fixing up their problematic left-edge defence, which leaked four tries last week. This week, that side is up against Dylan Brown, Jermaine McEwen, Dane Gagai, and Dominic Young – all capable try-scorers in their own right. On the attacking side of the ball, one factor in the home side’s favour is the weather is expected to be clear on Sunday afternoon. That should free up Tom Trbojevic and their star-studded backline to score plenty of points out wide.
Expect a bounce-back performance from the Sea Eagles, as they look to get their first win of the year in front of their home fans. Tolutau Koula is also riding a 10-game try-scoring streak at 4 Pines Park.
A big positive for the Knights last week was the form of Kalyn Ponga. He assumed a lot of the general-play kicking and looked back to his attacking best. The Knights also did a great job of offloading to create second phase for Ponga against the tired Cowboys defence. If this is a direction from new coach Justin Holbrook, the Knights will go a long way to exposing the Sea Eagles, who leaked points in bunches against the Raiders.
The loss of Fletcher Sharpe’s speed and x-factor will hurt, but it’s not as big of a loss with Sandon Smith stepping in, who brings his own x-factor to the five-eighth role. The Knights have won three of their past four games against the Sea Eagles.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Sea Eagles by 4 points.
Bold call: Tom Trbojevic will score the match-winning try in the final few minutes of the game.
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