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New Zealand Warriors vs Sydney Roosters: NRL live scores, blog

Roar Guru
16th March, 2013
Teams

New Zealand Warriors

1. Kevin Locke
2. Glen Fisiiahi
3. Dane Nielsen
4. Konrad Hurrell
5. Bill Tupou
6. Thomas Leuluai
7. Shaun Johnson
8. Sam Rapira
9. Elijah Taylor
10. Ben Matulino
11. Steve Rapira
12. Simon Mannering
13. Todd Lowrie

Interchange

14. Jacob Lillyman
15. Feleti Mateo
16. Sebastine Ikahihifo
17. Pita Godinet

Sydney Roosters

1. Anthony Minichiello
2. Daniel Tupou
3. Michael Jennings
4. Shaun Kenny-Dowall
5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
6. James Maloney
7. Mitchell Pearce
8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
9. Jake Friend
10. Sam Moa
11. Aidan Guerra
12. Sonny Bill Williams
13. Frank Paul Nuuausala

Interchange

14. Daniel Mortimer
15. Martin Kennedy
16. Mitchell Aubusson
17. Luke O'Donnell

Kick-Off: 5.35pm AEDT
Venue: Eden Park
Referees: Ashley Klein, Phil Haines
Last meeting: Warriors 30-26 Roosters
Betting: $2.25 Warriors, $1.67 Roosters
TV: Fox Sports 1 (LIVE)
Anthony Minichiello plays a record-equalling 301st game this weekend. (AAP Image/Action Photographics, Renee McKay)
Roar Guru
16th March, 2013
95
8166 Reads

The New Zealand Warriors and Sydney Roosters clash in a match between two teams that are keen to bounce back after suffering heavy losses last week. Join us for live scores and commentary from 5.30pm AEDT.

It remains to be seen if the Warriors will get a rousing reception when they take to the field against the Roosters in their first home game of the season.

New Zealand played very poorly against Parramatta last week and would have alienated many supporters with their below-par performance.

Despite a promising period midway through the second half, the Warriors were never in the contest against the Eels and literally showed no sign of desperation and attitude when their backs were against the wall.

Their defeat last week was their seventh loss in a row, if you include the six consecutive defeats the Warriors suffered to finish off the 2012 season.

Luckily for New Zealand, they host a Roosters outfit that also did itself no favours in their opening round loss to South Sydney.

After a very strong start, the Roosters fell away badly and once again let ill discipline get the better of them as the Rabbitohs marched toward a commanding 28-10 victory.

With both teams struggling for confidence, defence could very well be at a premium tonight so we should be set for a high scoring contest.

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Prediction

Both the Warriors and Roosters are known for their high error counts and poor discipline, so whichever team manages to keep that aspect of their game under control will win tonight.

New Zealand can be a tough nut to crack at home and should come out firing in a bid to eradicate last week’s dreadful performance from their memory banks.

The Warriors should keep it simple early and force the Roosters to commit to an arm wrestle.

Sydney really struggled to contain the Rabbitohs’ big forwards last week and often gave away stupid penalties when placed under pressure.

If Warriors forwards Ben Matulino and Feleti Mateo can get on top early, the Warriors will go a long way to frustrating a Roosters pack that can lose its discipline very quickly.

For the Roosters to stand a chance tonight, they simply must respect possession and maintain discipline whenever they are under pressure.

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In the opening exchanges against South Sydney, the Roosters showed that they have the class necessary to match even the best opposition if they can just play simple and direct football.

As soon as the Roosters fell behind however, they lost all composure in attack and defence and panicked their way to defeat.

In short, the Roosters just need to stay calm with and without the football.

If they can do this, they certainly possess enough strike power in Michael Jennings, Sonny Bill Williams and Mitchell Pearce to win tonight.

Roosters by six.

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