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Wests Tigers vs Manly Sea Eagles: NRL live scores, blog

Roar Guru
6th April, 2014
Teams

Wests Tigers

1 James Tedesco
2 David Nofoaluma
3 Keith Lulia
4 Chris Lawrence
5 Pat Richards
6 Braith Anasta
7 Luke Brooks
8 Aaron Woods
9 Robbie Farah (c)
10 Keith Galloway
11 Liam Fulton
12 Bodene Thompson
13 Adam Blair

Interchange
14 Martin Taupau
15 Ava Seumanufagai
16 James Gavet
17 Tim Simona
18 Sitaleki Akauola

One to be omitted


Manly Sea Eagles

1 Peta Hiku
2 Cheyse Blair
3 Jamie Lyon (c)
4 Steve Matai
5 David Williams
6 Kieran Foran
7 Daly Cherry-Evans
8 Josh Starling
9 Matt Ballin
10 Brenton Lawrence
11 Anthony Watmough
12 Justin Horo
13 Glenn Stewart

Interchange
14 James Hasson
15 Dunamis Lui
16 Jamie Buhrer
17 Jason King
18 Jesse Sene-Lefao

One to be omitted


Kick-Off: 3pm AEST
Venue: Leichhardt Oval
Referees: Ashley Klein, Adam Gee
Head to Head: Wests Tigers 7, Sea Eagles 12
Last 5:Wests Tigers 1, Sea Eagles 4
Last Meeting: Wests Tigers 18-36 Sea Eagles
Betting: $2.65 Wests Tigers, $1.48 Sea Eagles
TV: Nine 4pm (Delayed)
Manly centre Steve Matai. (Digital Image by Robb Cox )©nrlphotos.com : Brookvale Oval. Sunday the 23rd of March 2014.
Roar Guru
6th April, 2014
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13416 Reads

GAME SUMMARY

FULL-TIME: Tigers 34 – Sea Eagles 18

What a performance by the Tigers today. Absolutely dominant in all aspects.

The two relatively late tries to Manly left a scoreline that probably didn’t fully reflect the Tigers’ dominance. Their forwards absolutely monstered Manly; personally I think Aaron Woods is in career best form and Taupau and Gavet’s impact off the bench is enormous. Robbie Farah’s dummy half work was also exceptional, steering his side around the park today with great skill. Brooks and Anasta were solid but probably took a backseat to Farah today.

For Manly it was just one of those days – their forwards were out-enthused and outplayed and they could never really manage a roll-on. Despite this they did look pretty good when they had their attacking opportunities. You could see Brett Stewart’s influence on that left-hand side as Matai came away with a brace and could have had a couple more. But in the end, they were never in this game today and looked by far the lesser side.

There will, however, be a cause for concern for Tigers’ fans as James Tedesco succumbed to an ankle injury in the second half. It was sustained earlier and he tried to play through the pain but in the end it was too much and he exited with 30 minutes remaining. Ava Seumanufagai also left the field with a shoulder injury.

For Manly, Daly Cherry-Evans went on report for a knee, but I didn’t see too much in it and don’t think he’ll have a case to answer.

 

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GAME PREVIEW

It’ll be suburban rugby league at its best this afternoon as the Wests Tigers take on the Manly Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval. Join us for live scores and commentary from 3pm AEST.

While most experts had these two sides at very different ends of their ladder predictions just a few weeks ago, after four rounds of NRL action the Tigers have shown enough to be considered a legitimate threat to any side in 2014.

There’s the faintest whiff of 2005 about them at the moment as a new crop of exciting youngsters – headlined by fullback James Tedesco and halfback Luke Brooks – are lighting up the NRL in the early rounds.

Whether that whiff becomes anything more in 2014 remains to be seen, but the Tigers have a chance today to prove they have what it takes as they take on one of the competition’s heavyweights.

So far this season the Sea Eagles have faced three of last season’s top four sides (they, of course, were the fourth) and have managed to come through with six competition points despite injuries to key personnel, in particular Brett Stewart.

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They were at their gritty best last week as they defeated the Roosters in a low-scoring contest. Expect it to be far more open today – the Tigers have scored the second most points in the NRL this season with 109 while also conceding more points than any other team with 114.

The home side welcomes back Liam Fulton and possibly Tim Simona while Manly may be missing the services of Glenn Stewart, who sustained a concussion in Round 4. He’ll be monitored up until game time.

If the combination of Tedesco and Brooks can turn it on today like they did against the Rabbitohs and the Titans in earlier rounds, anything could happen here.

The Tigers might have lost to the Warriors last week, but they were ahead in that contest until Tedesco limped off the field in the 28th minute. It’s no coincidence that they lost their way from there.

Also look for plenty of impact from the Tigers’ bench, especially Marty Tapau and James Gavet who have been excellent this season and are always looking for off-loads.

For mine, though, Manly simply have too much class in the backline. In Kieran Foran – who was outstanding against the Roosters – and Daly Cherry-Evans they have the best 6-7 in the comp, while in Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai they also have the best 3-4.

I’m predicting a spirited showing from the home side at Leichhardt, but I reckon the visitors will be too good in the end. Manly by 10.

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Can the Tigers pick up a memorable win at their spiritual home, or will the Sea Eagles once again prove why they’ve so often been the benchmark over the last few years?

Join us this afternoon at 3pm AEST for live score updates and debate on our live blog, and be sure to give us your opinion in the space below if you’re watching.

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