Opinion
With the third State of Origin match just around the corner, it means another round of split matches, and for the teams playing this weekend, weakened teams as New South Wales goes for a series clean-sweep at McDonald Jones Stadium next Wednesday night.
All matches this weekend will be played behind closed doors, with Sydney’s two-week lockdown set to be extended past this Friday as the coronavirus situation shows no signs of improving in the short term.
On the field, the Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs will look to continue on their recent good form, facing the out-of-form Raiders and Cowboys respectively, while the Bulldogs and Roosters will attempt to put horror shut-out losses behind them on Saturday night.
The other match sees Shaun Johnson face the team he will return to next year, when the Sharks face the Warriors at Kogarah Oval on Sunday.
Here is your preview of Round 17.
Sea Eagles vs Raiders
Fresh off a record 66-0 thrashing of the Bulldogs at an empty Bankwest Stadium last Saturday afternoon, the Sea Eagles will start hot favourites to heap more misery on the Canberra Raiders at the newly-named 4 Pines Park this Thursday night.
In what could only be described as the most absolute team performance by anyone this year, the Silvertails scored 11 tries, with Tom Trbojevic and Jason Saab both snaring hat-tricks, and Reuben Garrick scoring two tries and 11 goals for a personal total of 30 points.
They also became the first team since, ironically, the Bulldogs in 2003, to score 50 or more points in three consecutive matches, displaying the attacking prowess that had been missing in the first four rounds of the season.
There are already fears of another similar result when the Raiders come to town, with Ricky Stuart’s men coming off a 44-6 loss to the Gold Coast Titans at home, after which Stuart apologised to the fans who’d endured the wintry conditions to watch their side serve up such tripe.
(Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
That result has dropped the Raiders to 13th place on the ladder with a 5-10 record, their finals hopes all but over.
Their record against the Sea Eagles dating back to 2005 also does not make for good reading, with the Green Machine winning only six times from their past 25 attempts against the men from the northern beaches, and not since mid-2018.
At home, and even without the Trbojevic brothers, the Silvertails should show no mercy.
Prediction: Sea Eagles by 20 points.
Rabbitohs vs Cowboys
The South Sydney Rabbitohs’ merciless march to September will continue when they host the North Queensland Cowboys at Stadium Australia on Friday night.
The Bunnies picked up where they left off from Round 15, when they thrashed the Brisbane Broncos by 46-0 at Suncorp Stadium, running riot in the first half against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval and entering halftime ahead 26-0 before settling for a 38-22 win.
Broncos-bound halfback Adam Reynolds chalked up one final milestone before he leaves Redfern at season’s end, becoming the Pride of the League’s greatest-ever goalkicker with over 800 goals.
Having missed out on NSW Origin selection, Reynolds will again lead his side out into battle against the Cowboys, who are again without head coach Todd Payten after he was identified as a close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 case in Townsville.
Assistant coach Dean Young, who led the Dragons towards the end of last season, will again carry the clipboard for the northerners and will be hoping for a much improved performance from his side after they fell victim to a Kalyn Ponga masterclass in Newcastle, losing 38-0.
The loss has kept them outside the eight and also continued the club’s poor record in away matches, with only one win outside of Queensland Country Bank Stadium this year (against the Wests Tigers in Round 5).
At home in front of an empty Stadium Australia, the Bunnies should make it five straight wins.
Prediction: Rabbitohs by 18 points.
Bulldogs vs Roosters
Saturday night sees the Bulldogs and Roosters attempt to hit back from embarrassing shut-out losses suffered last week, the Bulldogs being thrashed 66-0 by the Sea Eagles, while the Chooks were blanked 46-0 by the ladder-leading Melbourne Storm.
Just when you thought the boys from Belmore were starting to turn a corner, the record loss they copped at the hands of the Sea Eagles exposed just how much work Trent Barrett has on his hands as he tries to restore the club’s glory days.
(Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
It seems the impending arrivals of Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr from the Panthers or the Storm can’t come quite soon enough, and even when they do arrive at Belmore next year the Dogs will still face another painful year trying to rebuild its image.
As for the Chooks, the impact of its horror injury toll and the overexposure of Sam Walker has started to show in recent weeks, with the side losing three of its past five matches since their Round 10 win over the Cowboys in Magic Round.
That could so easily have been four losses from their past five, had they not edged out the Gold Coast Titans at the death on the holiday strip last month.
And while they will be without captain James Tedesco and a host of others due to Origin duty, they will at least get Victor Radley back from suspension, following his outrageous conduct against the Broncos in Round 11.
They say that good teams rarely suffer back-to-back bad losses and on that front I expect the Roosters to hit back, and hit back hard, at Stadium Australia this Saturday night.
Prediction: Roosters by 24 points.
Sharks vs Warriors
The final match of the shortened Round 17 sees the Cronulla Sharks play host to the New Zealand Warriors, with the home side returning home from a hit-and-run trip to Brisbane with their tails between their legs.
After being tied 12-all at halftime against the lowly Brisbane Broncos, the Sharks fell to a disappointing 26-18 defeat, putting an end to a four-game winning streak; despite the result over the weekend, they sit in eighth place on the ladder on percentage.
Included in that winning streak was a one-point win over the previously ladder-leading Penrith Panthers, in which Shaun Johnson booted the winning field goal at the death.
Their performances of recent would’ve brought some joy to the supporters, who will again be absent with the match against the Warriors set to be played behind closed doors on Sunday.
The Kiwi side blew their chance of a second win over the Dragons this season; after leading 18-10 with ten minutes to play, Nathan Brown’s side coughed up the final two tries, including when Cody Ramsey scored for the Dragons right at the death, to leave scores tied 18-all.
They were then sunk in the final two minutes of extra time by the boot of Corey Norman, who could’ve won the game for his side in normal time had he not missed any of his conversions.
In a major subplot to Sunday’s match, Chad Townsend will face his old side after being granted an early release from the Sharks, as part of a short stint with the Warriors before he links up with North Queensland from next season.
Further, Sharks halfback Johnson will face the side he will play for next year, after signing a contract to return to the club whom he led to an unlikely grand final appearance in 2011.
At home, the Sharks should put last week’s woes behind them and get their finals hopes back on track with a win not just against the Warriors, but also against their old teammate Townsend.
Prediction: Sharks by 14 points.
Byes: Broncos, Dragons, Eels, Knights, Panthers, Storm, Titans, Wests Tigers.
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