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The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Newcastle Knights face off in Sunday afternoon footy at Barlow Park in Cairns. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 3:00pm (AEST).
After a clunky start to their season, Souths are sitting in second coming into the round after last start wins over Canberra and Parramatta. They will be without the suspended Ben Teo but Sam Burgess appears fit after leaving the field with a shoulder complaint against the Raiders.
Newcastle meanwhile are battling to avoid the wooden spoon and are currently languishing in 14th place. They did however manage to upset defending premiers, the Sydney Roosters last week.
Kurt Gidley returns to the side, replacing Jarrod Mullen who has an abdominal injury. Darius Boyd, Akuila Uate and James McManus all remain sidelined for various reasons.
Souths coach, Michael Maguire has been crafty in his use of young half, Luke Keary. The youngster has been used the past two games off the bench for short stints, causing havoc amongst the opposition.
Obviously for Souths, their strength lies in their forwards. Sam and George Burgess have been in top class form this season and their dominance of the middle has laid the platform for their backs.
Greg Inglis appears to be reaching full fitness following a brutal State of Origin campaign. Given any room, he’ll make the Knights pay.
A big blow for Newcastle is the injury to Jarrod Mullen. Already having missed part of the season due to a hamstring injury in the Auckland Nines, it’s a further road block for the struggling side.
On the positive side, Tyrone Roberts is playing the best footy of his career. He was the difference between the sides last week and his running game has been a revelation as it has allowed his passing game to flourish.
The Rabbits will look to go up the middle and allow Adam Reynolds to control the game with his kicking. Greg Inglis will hang around out the back and look to inject himself when he senses an opportunity; he’s built a nice combination with Dylan Walker so expect plenty of traffic on that side of the field.
With their first choice back three all out, Newcastle will try to keep it as simple as possible. The absence of Darius Boyd means their sweeping play lacks an extra dimension. Tyrone Roberts will try to match Reynolds in the kicking department and he’ll look to play nice and direct to open up his passing lanes.
Whilst Newcastle did manage to upset the Roosters last week, I can’t see them beating the Rabbits. Souths are hitting their late season form and will want to secure their finals spot as quickly as possible. If Newcastle lose the middle early it could become embarrassing.
Souths by 12.
Your predictions Roarers? And don’t forget to tune in at 3:00pm for the live blog.
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