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Dragons
4
Match Complete
Eels
12
| 69 |  | M. Moses | ||
| M. Ravalawa |  | 46 | ||
| 23 | | D. Brown | ||
| 5 |  | M. Moses | ||
| 4 | | M. Sivo |
| 1 | Tries | 2 | ||
| 0 | Conversions | 1 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
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The Parramatta Eels look to have cemented a top-eight spot with an eight-point win over the St George Illawarra Dragons that, while it may not have blown fans away, got the job done.
Final score
St George Illawarra Dragons 4
Parramatta Eels 12
Round 20 of the NRL concludes with a Sunday afternoon clash between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Parramatta Eels at the beautiful Netstrata Jubilee Stadium! Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:05pm (AEST).
With a finals berth all but impossible, the Dragons will be looking to save face with their fans and ruin the finals hopes of others by claiming upset victories over potential top eight sides in the last six rounds.
The Eels meanwhile are one of the seven or eight sides vying for the final three or four spots in the top eight. They currently sit in sixth place on 22 points – a relatively comfortable position to be in, yet given the congested nature of the ladder, a couple of losses on the trot could easily see them drop out of the eight altogether.
Dragons coach Paul McGregor has kept his starting 13 together after last week’s loss to South Sydney. It was a vastly improved performance from the Dragons compared to the previous two losses against the Raiders and Panthers, the Dragons going down to the competition heavyweights in the last second after nearly pulling the Rabbitohs’ pants down.
Impressive teenage wing sensation Jason Saab keeps his spot on the right flank after a two-try effort on debut against Souths last week.
The only changes to the side are on the interchange bench, with Josh Kerr and Matt Dufty both relegated to the reserves in favour of mid-season signing Patrick Kaufusi and Jeremy Latimore, who announced his impending NRL retirement earlier this week.
For the Eels, Michael Jennings returns from a knee injury, pushing Brad Takairangi to the wing and Ethan Parry out of the side altogether. Shaun Lane also returns from a finger injury to the back row.
Marata Niukore moves to the bench after starting last week, while Oregon Kaufusi misses out, which is unfortunate for those of us who were looking forward to seeing the Kaufusi brothers face off.
Prediction
The Dragons showed plenty of improvement last week against the Rabbitohs. Skipper Cameron McInnes was inspirational as usual, while the return of former skipper Gareth Widdop to the halves gave the side a way less panicky look in attack. Corey Norman also looked safe at the back, with Matt Dufty making plenty of mistakes under the high ball in his last few games.
The Eels on the other hand were far from convincing against the Warriors last week. The Warriors were cruelled by a forward pass call towards the end of the game – a call universally accepted to be incorrect – which denied them what would have been the match-winning try.
The Eels have shown this year their inability to win away from home with a three-from-ten record on the road (one of those wins was an “away” game at their home ground Bankwest Stadium against the Wests Tigers).
This strikes me as a danger game for the Eels.
Dragons by 10.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 4:05pm (AEST).
Where: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
When: 4:05pm
TV: Channel 9, Fox League
Streaming: NRL Digital Pass, 9 Now, Kayo Sports
Dragons
1. Corey Norman 2. Jason Saab 3. Euan Aitken 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Zac Lomax 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Ben Hunt 8. Blake Lawrie 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Tariq Sims 13. James Graham 14. Jeremy Latimore 15. Korbin Sims 16. Patrick Kaufusi 17. Luciano Leilua 18. Tristan Sailor 19. Josh Kerr 20. Matthew Dufty 21. Mikaele Ravalawa
Eels
1. Clint Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Michael Jennings 4. Waqa Blake 5. Brad Takairangi 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Kane Evans 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Manu Ma’u 13. Nathan Brown 14. Marata Niukore 15. Daniel Alvaro 16. David Gower 17. Tepai Moeroa 18. Josh Hoffman 19. Peni Terepo 20. Jaeman Salmon 21. Andrew Davey
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