- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
After the Anzac Day matches were wiped out by COVID-19 last year, both return in 2021.
The first match of the double header sees the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday afternoon, each with four wins and two losses for the season.
Both sides are coming off convincing defeats, with the Chooks falling victim to a Ryan Papenhuyzen masterclass against the Storm at AAMI Park, while the Dragons fell victim to a perfect performance from the Warriors at Kogarah Oval.
The Roosters’ depth was always going to be tested after losing Luke Keary to a season-ending ACL injury against the Rabbitohs in Round 3, and while Sam Walker has done well deputising in the halfback role, he and the team were shown up against the reigning premiers in Melbourne.
(Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
They did not score their first (and only) try until the dying minutes, when Matt Ikuvalu avoided the wiped out. It was otherwise an epic battle of defences, with the first half seeing no tries scored.
In between the losses to the Rabbitohs and Storm, Trent Robinson’s side had to come from behind in consecutive matches, first overhauling the Warriors in Round 4 before coming back from the dead to beat the Sharks in Round 5.
Meantime, the Dragons were left to rue another poor start as they lost 20-14 to recent bogey side New Zealand.
Both sides scored three tries but Zac Lomax’s inaccuracy with the boot proved fatal, putting an end to a four-game winning streak that had seen the Red V sit as high as fourth on the ladder.
Josh McGuire made a reasonable debut for the club after joining them from the Cowboys during the week and fans will be hoping for another back-up performance.
In a major boost for Anthony Griffin’s side, captain Ben Hunt looks set to make a comeback from a broken leg that he suffered in their Round 3 win over the Sea Eagles at WIN Stadium.
Hunt has thrived with the captaincy after it was bestowed onto him in the wake of the ACL injury suffered by Sharks-bound hooker Cameron McInnes during the off-season. Now the challenge is for him to lead his side to victory on Anzac Day for the first time since 2018.
Later in the evening, the Storm and eighth-placed Warriors go head to head at AAMI Park.
While there was no such clash last year, the two teams did face each other on neutral territory at Kogarah Oval, after which Craig Bellamy, Ryan Hoffman and Cameron Smith went into the Warriors’ rooms and praised them for sacrificing their family lives for the sake of recommencing the NRL season.
The Storm won that match 50-6, a week after the Kiwi club sacked coach Stephen Kearney following a loss to the Rabbitohs at Bankwest Stadium.
(Ashley Feder/Getty Images)
The Victorian club have shown that they are still contenders sans Smith, winning four of their first six games, with Papenhuyzen the architect in most victories.
Last week, Harry Grant was best-on-ground as the team took care of the Roosters, while reigning Clive Churchill Medallist Papenhuyzen took the honours in his individual battle with incumbent NSW fullback James Tedesco.
Meantime, after two straight losses, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck turned back the clock with a best-on-ground performance in his 100th game for the club as they beat the Dragons. The Auckland club’s goalkicking proved the difference as they ended an 18-year hoodoo at Kogarah Oval.
The challenge now for the Warriors will be to back it up in Melbourne, the scene of some of their most memorable victories, including a famous preliminary final win in 2011.
With a kick-off time of 6:15pm, there is still the chance that fans may be filing into the stadium after kick-off, with the AFL blockbuster between Collingwood and Essendon over the bridge at the MCG expected to wrap up sometime around 6pm.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.