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The biggest match on the rugby league calendar is nearly upon us, and it brings together two in-form teams in the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.
While Allianz Stadium is knocked down and rebuilt, the annual Anzac Day match, which has been held since 2002, will shift a few metres south for the next three years, ensuring that there will be a historic backdrop for the game during this period.
After six rounds, the Sydney Roosters remain the team to catch for this year’s premiership, stringing together five consecutive victories after losing to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the SCG in Round 1.
Against the Storm last week, they led 20-0 just before half-time before the Storm hit back to level the scores by the full-time siren, ensuring a tense golden point period during which Latrell Mitchell stepped up to kick the match-winning field goal and give his side a narrow 21-20 win.
They had also been impressive in victories over the Sea Eagles, Eels, Broncos and Sharks – and thus possess the NRL’s best attack with 161 points scored.
With the recent retirement of Greg Inglis, the 21-year-old may have taken over the mantle as the best player in the game, such is the impact he has made on the team, and by extension the competition, since his debut in 2016.
Latrell Mitchell. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Therefore, it will take a whole team effort from the Dragons to shut him down if they are to end the Chooks’ five-match winning streak and notch up a fifth consecutive victory of their own.
After dominating the Bulldogs at Kogarah Oval in Round 5, Paul McGregor’s side was forced into a tight tussle against the Sea Eagles at their other home ground, WIN Stadium, before grounding out a gritty 12-10 win to retain their place in the eight.
Halfback Ben Hunt backed up his stunning performance against the Bulldogs with another impressive display against the Sea Eagles, just about winning the battle for the Maroons’ number seven guernsey against his Manly counterpart Daly Cherry-Evans.
The win over the Silvertails wasn’t without its controversy, though, as Tim Lafai just escaped being penalised at the death for an apparent block on his Manly opponent, which would’ve seen the Sea Eagles take a shot at goal on the siren to force golden point.
Still, it was the perfect way for McGregor to celebrate having his contract extended to the end of the 2021 season, at the end of which he will become the joint venture’s longest-serving coach, surpassing Nathan Brown who was at the helm for six seasons between 2003 and 2008.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor has received a contract extension. (Photo by Matt Blyth/Getty Images)
Historically, the Dragons have dominated the Anzac Day Cup since it was introduced in 2002, winning the fixture eleven times, most recently last year when Ben Hunt led his side to a convincing 24-8 victory at Allianz Stadium.
However, it will be the Roosters who enter this Thursday’s clash, the first to be held at the SCG since its inception, as favourites; it will also be the first time the two sides have met at the iconic ground since 2010.
In the evening, the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors will face off at AAMI Park, with the match to mark a decade since that fixture’s inception in 2009, which ended in a 14-all draw.
Craig Bellamy’s side will start favourites to notch their sixth win of the season, the side having had their undefeated start ended last week when it lost to the Sydney Roosters in golden point extra time at home last week.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will be looking to turn around a slow start to the season in which it has won only two of their first six matches, their last outing resulting in a 17-10 loss to the Cowboys at home last Saturday night. They also haven’t won in Melbourne since 2014.
The match will kick off at 7:50pm, some two hours after the conclusion of the AFL clash between Essendon and Collingwood over the bridge at the MCG, thus allowing fans to enjoy both matches without the hassle of being late to AAMI Park.
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