There are some terrific match-ups in the weekend round, but the two games I’m looking forward to the most are the ANZ Stadium clashes between South Sydney and Canterbury today and Parramatta and Wests Tigers on Monday.
I’d like to think these two potentially great games could, together, draw at least 100,000 to the venue. I realise it might be asking for a bit much to get that many – 80,000 is probably a more realistic target – but you never know.
Last year’s Good Friday clash between the Rabbitohs and Bulldogs drew 51,686. The unknown is how the tremendous early-season form of the Eels and the Tigers will affect the crowd turnout.
But, regardless of how many turn up to watch, these two games should be crackers.
Souths and Canterbury are two of the heavyweights of recent years. Neither has been quite good enough to win a premiership, but they’ve each landed some solid punches and they should be in the thick of the action again come finals time this year.
Parramatta and the Tigers have been disappointing in recent years. The Eels have won back-to-back wooden spoons, while the Tigers slipped from being a finals team in 2011 to 10th in 2012 and 15th last year.
They have each begun this season in fine style, with four wins and two losses apiece.
So which teams are going to win?
I’m going for Canterbury today. I love the way Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson are playing in the halves and I think they can orchestrate a win for the Bulldogs. Souths look better in the halves with John Sutton having moved back there, but they still need a lot more from Adam Reynolds.
I think the Bulldogs have more potential for game-breaking off the bench, too, with Greg Eastwood and David Klemmer warming the pine.
Souths coach Michael Maguire would have been filthy that two of his key forwards – George Burgess and Ben Te’o – were each silly enough to attract tripping charges last weekend.
The charges on their own weren’t enough to get them suspended, but loadings for prior non-similar offences in the last two years plus carry-over points took each past 100 points and brought a one-game suspension.
Canterbury are now missing the injured Frank Pritchard on top of Sam Kasiano, who has been missing all season, but they have a bit more forward depth than the Rabbitohs.
Souths badly miss Issac Luke at hooker. They were still able to get the two points without him in each of the last two rounds, against St George Illawarra and Penrith, but an in-form Bulldogs side is a much sterner test.
The Panthers had plenty of great field position in the first half against the Rabbitohs last weekend, but weren’t brave enough to ask a few more difficult questions in attack and were comfortably held out in what ended up an 18-2 win to Souths. The Bulldogs will be more threatening.
Greg Inglis could still make the difference for the Rabbitohs with sheer brilliance on a couple of plays, but I’m backing the Bulldogs to limit his influence to good as opposed to great.
On Easter Monday, I think Parramatta will win. The Tigers have been hit very hard in the key positions, with hooker Robbie Farah having joined fullback James Tedesco on the injured list, and it is in those key positions that the Eels are doing very well.
Fullback Jarryd Hayne, five-eighth Corey Norman, halfback Chris Sandow and hooker Nathan Peats are among the best-performed spines this season and should prove the difference between the two sides.
With both Tedesco and Farah out, I can’t see the Tigers coming up with enough points to win this one.
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