After a couple of surprise results last week, as well as an absolute belting from Melbourne Rising, we hit the fourth round of the NRC with plenty to think about.

When will those Sydney Stars get some points? Can Queensland Country get it done, now they’re at home? One of them and North Harbour will be off the bottom by the end of the game, so there’s something to look forward to for them.

Can Melbourne Rising continue their dominant form, or will Perth bounce back from an unexpected loss to the Rams last week? How long can we keep posing questions?

Let’s dive into this week’s preview.

More NRC:
>> Full NRC Draw
>> Brett McKay’s round 3 NRC wrap
>> Streams, a shield and craft beer: Some ideas to boost the NRC

Melbourne Rising vs Perth Spirit
AAMI Park, Melbourne
Thursday 11 September – 7:30pm
TV: Fox Sports

Melbourne Rising are hot, hot, hot, and it’s largely thanks to their brilliant backline, led by skipper Nick Stirzaker and vice Mitch Inman. Oh, and Tom English scored four tries as well.

Rising have now scored an astonishing 25 tries in three games. That is partly thanks to the law variations in play in this tournament, but 25 tries can’t just be put down to laws. Teams have to be willing to run with the football, and Jack Debreczini is steering them around the park admirably. It helps when you have Super Rugby calibre players like Luke Burgess and Lloyd Johannsson on your bench, it must be said.

Brett McKay rated Sean McMahon as Rising’s best last week, and Lopeti Timani is proving hard to stop as well. All in all, they’re looking a bit like an unstoppable force in this competition, even though the 79-19 thrashing was against Brisbane City.

Are Perth Spirit the immovable object then? On last week’s showing against the Rams, you would have to suggest they are not, and that Rising should be staring down the barrel of a fourth straight win. But that’s the beauty of this new competition – no one really knows.

Spirit were up at half time, and would have expected to get on with the job. Beating Melbourne will take an 80 minute effort, and might force something of a rethink in the Spirit’s coaching ranks.

Team news:

Melbourne Rising
1. Toby Smith (Melbourne Uni/Melbourne Rebels)
2. Pat Leafa (Box Hill/Melbourne Rebels) (Vice Captain)
3. Paul Alo-Emile (Power House/Melbourne Rebels)
4. Sam Jeffries (Melbourne Uni/Melbourne Rebels)
5. Cadeyrn Neville (Foostcray/Melbourne Rebels)
6. Luke Jones (Moorabbin/Melbourne Rebels)
7. Sean McMahon (Endeavour Hills/Melbourne Rebels)
8. Lopeti Timani (Footscray/Melbourne Rebels)
9. Nic Stirzaker (Endeavour Hills/Melbourne Rebels) (Captain)
10. Jack Debreczeni (Endeavour Hills/Melbourne Rebels)
11. Joe Kamana (Moorabbin)
12. Mitch Inman (Southern Districts/Melbourne Rebels) (Vice Captain)
13. Sefanaia Naivalu (Box Hill)
14. Telusa Veainu (Melbourne/Melbourne Rebels)
15. Jonah Placid (Melbourne Rebels)

16. Tom Sexton (Power House/Melbourne Rebels)
17. Tuiatua Tuia (Moorabbin)
18. Cruze Ah-Nau (Footscray/Melbourne Rebels)
19. Pom Simona (Harlequin) (Vice Captain)
20. Sione Taufa (Harlequin)
21. Luke Burgess (Melbourne/Melbourne Rebels)
22. Lloyd Johansson (Harlequin)
23. Tom English (Melbourne Uni/Melbourne Rebels)

Perth Spirit
1. Joe Savage (Palmyra)
2. Harry Scoble (UWA)
3. Chris Heiberg (Perth Bayswater)
4. Rory Walton (Wests Scarborough)
5. Brent Murphy (Perth Bayswater)
6. Brynard Stander (Nedlands)
7. Richard Hardwick (UWA)
8. Alex Rovira (Associates)
9. Justin Turner (Associates)
10. Dillyn Leyds (Palmyra)
11. Nili Fielea (Cottesloe)
12. Luke Burton (UWA)
13. Ammon Matuauto (Associates)
14. Brad Lacey (Wests Scarborough)
15. Zack Holmes (Associates)
16. Robbie Abel (Cottesloe)
17. Alec Hepburn (Cottesloe)
18. Oliver Hoskins (Cottesloe)
19. Corey Thomas (UWA)
20. Kane Koteka (Wests Scarborough)
21. Michael Ruru (Nedlands)
22. Davis Tavita (Nedlands)
23. Va’a Mailei (Palmyra)

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased here.

Twitter: #MELvPER

TV: Foxtel

The Roar‘s live blog: We’ll be covering it, so join in the banter from 7:30pm AEST.

Greater Sydney Rams vs Sydney Stars
Pirtek Stadium, Parramatta
Saturday 13 September – 3:00pm

Sydney Stars, who had the bye last week, must be wondering what’s going on. Pre-tournament there was talk that they were title contenders, but three weeks in they find themselves on zero points, and coming up against a Rams side who must be buzzing after their victory over Perth last week.

Indeed, before the tournament started Brett described the Stars as “the side that seems to have become everyone’s NRC equivalent of Collingwood or Manly.” We never relish in telling Brett how wrong he was, but…

To be fair to them, they’ve come across a couple of good sides in Brisbane City and Melbourne Rising, but I think we can all say we expected more from them.

Greater Sydney, on the other hand, will be quietly pleased, but certainly not jumping out of their skin, after their win over Perth last week. It was a performance of character, with skipper Jed Holloway showing why he’s a big game player and giant winger Taqele Naiyaravoro bagging three tries.

Ben Volavola’s performance will also have Rams fans excited, as he’s been widely touted as one of the most talented young players in New South Wales rugby.

So, with two Sydney teams colliding, what should we expect? A big crowd wouldn’t hurt to start with. The teams will dish out the running rugby, we can be assured of that.

Team news:

Rams
1. Benn Robinson
2. Hugh Roach
3. Guy Millar
4. Jared Barry
5. Steve Mafi
6. Hugh Perrett
7. Chris Alcock
8. Jed Holloway (Captain)
9. Mark Swanepoel
10. Ben Volavola
11. Taqele Naiyaravaro
12. Michael McDougall
13. Lalakai Foketi
14. Jarome McKenzie
15. Dane Chisholm

REPLACEMENTS
16. Maile Ngauamo
17. Jed Gillespie (FR)
18. Dave Lolohea (FR)
19. Dylan Sigg
20. Pat Sio
21. Vasa Falaelii
22. Jai Ayoub
23. Henry Seavula

Stars
1. Jeremy Tilse
2. Tom Coolican
3. Paddy Ryan
4. Andrew Leota
5. Will Skelton
6. Tipiloma Kaveinga
7. Patrick McCutcheon (C)
8. Sam Quinn
9. Jake Gordon
10. Stuart Dunbar
11. Matthew Kenny
12. Michael Hodge
13. Jim Stewart
14. James Dargaville
15. Jack Macklin

Replacements
16. James Willan (FR)
17. Tom Robertson (FR)
18. Laurie Weeks (FR)
19. Matthew Philip
20. Hugo Dessens
21. Jock Merriman
22. Jonathan Fakai
23. Jono Sullivan

Tickets: Tickets can be found at the Rams’ website

Twitter: #RAMvSYD

Live Stream: Whispers are the Rams might have some streaming capability, but we’ll let them tell us whether that’s true or not.

The Roar‘s live blog: If it’s streamed, we’ll cover this as well. RobC will be on the job.

Queensland Country vs North Harbour Rays
Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast
Saturday 13 September – 5:10pm

Country came up against a very strong Vikings’ side last week, and were just unable to get it done in Canberra. It was an improved attacking effort, however, considering their lack of penetration in their first match against NSW Country in the first round.

They will be glad to be back home, this time at CBus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast, their first match at the venue.

You would say they have it all in front of them, but with North Harbour also winless on the other side of the field, this is anyone’s game.

On paper, the North Harbour side looks impressive. With some very accomplished Shute Shield talents and Super Rugby experience, there’s no reason they shouldn’t be competitive with most teams in the comp. They have also lost to the Eagles, with their other loss coming to Melbourne Rising in Round 1. Both teams have had the bye, which only adds to the mystery.

So, we could be looking at two middle of the table quality teams here, but we can’t know. Whoever loses this one is in serious trouble though, so both sides will be desperate to show what they can do.

Team news:

Queensland Country
1. Fred Burke – GPS
2. Saia Fainga’a – Reds/GPS
3. Greg Holmes – Reds/Sunnybank (VC)
4. Dan Gorman – GPS
5. Rubin Fuimaono – Bond University
6. James Turner – Souths
7. Beau Robinson – Reds/Souths
8. Ben Adams – Sunnybank
9. Sam Grasso – GPS
10. Matt Brandon – Easts
11. Todd Winkley – GPS
12. Anthony Fainga’a – Reds/GPS (C)
13. Campbell Magnay – GPS
14. Tom Pincus – University of Queensland
15. Jamie-Jerry Taulagi – Reds/University of Queensland

Reserves
16. Ryan Freney – GPS
17. Campbell Wakely – University of Queensland
18. Haydn Hirsimaki – Sunnybank
19. Sam Fattal – Easts
20. Jack de Guingand – University of Queensland
21. James Tuttle – GPS
22. Sam Johnson – Reds WTS/GPS
23. Giles Beveridge – Brothers

North Harbour Rays:
15. David FELTSCHEER (Warringah)
14. Cam CRAWFORD (Northern Suburbs)
13. Michael ADAMS (Warringah)
12. Tom MATTHEWS (Gordon)
11. Sireli TAGICAKIBAU (Warringah)
10. Hamish ANGUS (Warringah)
9. Matt LUCAS (Manly)
8. Sam WARD (Warringah)
7. Kotoni ALE (Manly)
6. Michael WELLS (Northern Suburbs)
5. Greg PETERSON © (Manly)
4. Ed GOWER (Manly)
3. Tobias GUKIBAU (Gordon)
2. Luke HOLMES (vc) (Warringah)
1. Dane MARAKI (Manly)

RESERVES:
16. Dave PORECKI (Manly)
17. Mitch LEWIS (Manly)
18. Nick FRASER (Gordon)
19. Ryan MELROSE (Manly)
20. Harry BERGELIN (Manly)
21. Josh HOLMES (Warringah)
22. Brian SEFANAIA (Manly)
23. Scott DARUDA (Manly)

Tickets: Note that all people heading to the Wallabies also get admission to this game, so if you’re going to see Australia take on the Pumas, get there early! You can get tickets to the game here.

Twitter: #QueenslandvRays

Live Stream: The good people at Queensland Rugby will be streaming the game for all to see again, so head to the front page of Reds Rugby at 5:10pm AEST or keep your eyes on The Roar‘s live blog, as they’re generously allowing us to embed the stream on there.

The Roar‘s live blog: Yep, we’ll have it, thanks to the QRU’s stream. You can watch the game there too, if you choose.

NSW Country vs Brisbane City
Oakes Oval, Lismore
Sunday 14 September – 3:00pm

A good old Sunday hitout in Lismore should be cracking for all those in attendance. If you are attending, and want to cover the game live for us, feel free to get in touch.

NSW Country have a serious football side at their disposal, mixing the likes of Stephen Hoiles with the promise of Tala Gray. There has been a lot of chat about the young backrower for the Eagles, so it would be worth getting there to see him in action. Matt Carraro has also been earning plaudits, both on attack and defence, and leads this effective Eagles backline.

They only trail Melbourne by one point, and are a perfect three from three, so it looks like Brisbane City have their work cut out for them in this one.

Will Genia’s return to football didn’t exactly pan out how he would have liked, with City copping a shellacking in the second half against Melbourne. What happens to him this week, with Nick Frisby still in good form, is again a matter for the courts.

You would think that a player of that quality can’t be kept out of the starting line-up for too long, but Rising have similar issues with Stirzaker and Burgess. Either way, we’l find out today.

Team news:

NSW Country
1) Ben Suisala
2) Josh Mann-Rae
3) Michael Aloaatoa
4) Ben Matwijow
5) Mitch Chapman
6) Tala Gray
7) Will Miller
8) Steven Hoiles
9) Brendan McKibbin
10) Sam Windsor
11) Andrew Kellaway
12) Ed Stubbs
13) Samu Wara
14) John Grant
15) Paddy Dellit

16) Clay Brodie
17) Jake Ilnicki
18) Will Weeks
19) Cam Treloar
20) Ita Vaea
21) Sam Croke
22) Darcy Etrich
23) Ethan Ford

Brisbane City
1. David Faeo – Souths
2. Andrew Ready – Reds EPS/Easts
3. Sef Faagase – Reds WTS/University of Queensland
4. Tim Buchanan – Reds WTS/University of Queensland
5. Dave McDuling (C) – Reds/University of Queensland
6. Adam Korczyk – University of Queensland
7. Liam Gill – Reds/Sunnybank
8. Jake Schatz – Reds/Sunnybank
9. Will Genia – Reds/Wests
10. Jake McIntyre – Reds WTS/Sunnybank
11. Lachie Turner – Reds/Easts
12. Samu Kerevi – Reds/GPS
13. Toby White – Easts
14. Chris Kuridrani – Reds/GPS
15. Brando Va’aulu – Sunnybank

16. Pettowa Paraka – Reds WTS/Easts
17. Matt Mafi – Brothers
18. Sam Talakai – Sydney University
19. Marco Kotze – GPS
20. Chazz Mahina – Sunnybank
21. Nick Frisby – Reds/GPS
22. Jack Mullins – Easts
23. Junior Laloifi – Sunnybank

Tickets: Tickets can be purshased here.

Twitter: #EaglesvBRI

Live Stream: No live stream news coming from this game.

The Roar‘s live blog: There will be no live blog, unless we can find someone in the coming days who’ll be at the game. Any takers?

**Canberra Vikings have the bye

NRC ladder after Round 3
Melbourne Rising 15, NSW Country Eagles 14, Canberra Vikings 9, Brisbane City 8, Perth Spirit 5, Greater Sydney Rams 4, Queensland Country 0, North Harbour Rays 0, Sydney Stars 0.