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This weekend is the Anzac Day round, which means one thing – this Monday, all of Australia will stop in the morning to commemorate those who went to fight for the country in World War I over 100 years ago.
In the afternoon, the St George Illawarra Dragons and Sydney Roosters will continue a tradition that has stood since 2002 – contesting the Anzac Day clash at Allianz Stadium.
It will be the 15th time the Dragons and Roosters have met exclusively at Allianz Stadium (ANZ Stadium in 2008) on the day, in a match which typically draws a very large crowd regardless of both teams’ position on the ladder.
Both clubs have endured disappointing starts to the 2016 season, with the Dragons only winning three out of their seven openers and the Roosters just one, and as a result enter the match in 13th and 16th place respectively on the ladder.
Following two scoreless losses to the Cowboys and Broncos, the Dragons salvaged something from their venture to Queensland by defeating the Titans last week, while the Roosters remain last with just one victory following yet another narrow loss, this time to the Penrith Panthers, last Monday night.
What hasn’t helped the Roosters’ cause was the eight-week suspension handed to Mitchell Pearce in the wake of the Australia Day video scandal, as well as the absences of forwards Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Boyd Corner due to injury.
The trio could be back as early as next week, against the Newcastle Knights, by then which Pearce’s suspension will be complete.
The Dragons, meanwhile, appear to be taking a step backwards following an improved 2015 season which saw them at one stage top the ladder before a club-record seven-match losing streak saw them settle for eighth place.
The contractual issues involving halfback Benji Marshall has proven to be a distraction, but that certainly wasn’t the case when they defeated the Titans last week to end a tough three-week period camped in the Sunshine State.
Recent history is against the Red V, who have only defeated the Roosters three times since the 2010 grand final. One of them, however, was in the corresponding match last year which they won 14-12 after wild weather caused the match to be paused for 30 minutes in the first half.
That victory counts as one of nine (out of fifteen) that the Dragons have enjoyed over the Roosters in the Anzac Day clash since it was initiated in 2002. Overall, they have won 18 of the 34 contests dating back to 1999, with one draw in 2001.
Later that day, the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors will resume their Anzac Night rivaly after it was not held last year, due to the Warriors wanting to play at home on the 100th anniversary of the landing of the troops at Gallipoli.
The match will kick off at 7:00pm, allowing those who would’ve attended the Collingwood versus Essendon AFL match to make the five-minute walk across the bridge from the Melbourne Cricket Ground to AAMI Park.
Even without Billy Slater, who is sidelined for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, the Storm continue to prove that they are anything but a spent force, sitting fifth on the ladder with a 5-2 record for the season.
Their most recent outing saw them defeat the Wests Tigers in golden point at Leichhardt Oval with Cooper Cronk kicking the match-winning field goal five minutes into extra time.
On the other hand, just when it seemed that everything was finally starting to come together for the New Zealand Warriors, their season suddenly took a turn for the worse with prized fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to miss the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury.
The former Roosters premiership-winning winger suffered the injury in his side’s thrilling victory over the Bulldogs last Saturday and it has seriously dented their chances of reaching the finals for the first time since 2011.
But still, a side featuring Shaun Johnson is one not to be taken lightly, especially after he had led his side to a 28-14 victory in Round 18 last year before disaster struck, the Warriors eventually finishing 13th at season’s end after that aforementioned victory had lifted them above the Storm into the top four.
The Storm, however, did win their most recent meeting a month ago by 21-14 after pulling away from the Warriors late in the match.
Since the Anzac Night match became a regular fixture in 2009, the Storm lead 3-2 with the one draw occurring in the first year of its inception.
Before it was put on hold last year, the Warriors won the most recent match 16-10 in 2014, in a result which also doubled as their first win under current coach Andrew McFadden after he had replaced Matthew Elliott earlier in the season.
It will now remain to be seen how they overcome the loss of their fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck for the remainder of the season, and whether they can continue their season resurgence on Monday night.
In the other matches of the round
* South Sydney will enter their Friday night match against the ladder-leading Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium as heavy underdogs;
* The Bulldogs and Titans will clash on Saturday afternoon at ANZ Stadium;
* The Wests Tigers will be out to snap a five-game losing streak against an out-of-sorts Raiders side in Canberra;
* The Eels will look to continue their recent good form against the North Queensland Cowboys;
* Likewise, the Sharks will look to cement their status as NSW’s best-performed side when they face the Panthers at home; and
* Thirteen years after their infamous sideline incident, Nathan Brown and Trent Barrett will oppose each other as coaches when the Newcastle Knights host the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at Hunter Stadium.
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