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Round 23 continues this afternoon when the St George Illawarra Dragons take on the Sydney Roosters at the Clive Berghofer Stadium in Toowoomba. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 2:00pm (AEST).
This is shaping up as an important clash for both teams.
For the Dragons, it’s clearly a must win with another loss bringing an end to any thoughts of a finals appearance. A win for the Roosters would have them hanging on to fourth spot with two rounds to go.
The BBQ fiasco has had a disastrous impact on the Dragons’ season. Since that story broke, and players sat out over multiple games, the Dragons have suffered five straight losses and are at long odds to make the eight.
The 34-16 loss scoreline against Penrith perhaps flattered the Dragons, with the game effectively over with just under 30 minutes remaining. Talatau Amone looked the best for the Dragons when he came off the bench.
Amone does get a chance to start this week with Adam Clune dropped to the reserves. Matt Dufty has been recalled at fullback and Jack Bird will move to the centres.
Josh McGuire has been named at hooker following Andrew McCullough’s season ending injury.
Despite being floored by injuries and suspensions, the Roosters continue to find ways to win. They did so again last weekend, beating the Broncos with a last minute penalty goal.
With Sam Walker and Drew Hutchison below their best at the moment, James Tedesco and Joey Manu have taken it upon themselves to ignite the attack. Tedesco, especially, will be looking for opportunities through the middle of the ruck.
Sitili Tupouniua has been named, despite suffering a head knock last weekend, and is expected to play. Victor Radley’s place in the pack is taken by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, with Isaac Liu moving to lock.
Prediction
The Roosters are missing a large group of players through mid-season retirements, injuries and suspensions. While this has to bite against the best teams, the Roosters keep getting the job done against the rest.
The Dragons have made some changes but I’m not sure the Norman-Amone combination in the halves will create enough structure to upset the Roosters.
Sydney Roosters by 8.
Kick-off: 2:00pm (AEST)
Venue: Clive Berghofer Stadium, Toowoomba
TV: Nine, Fox Sports
Live stream: Kayo, Foxtel, NRL Live Pass
Odds: Dragons $3.90; Roosters $1.25 (odds via PlayUp)
Dragons
1. Matthew Dufty 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Jack Bird 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Talatau Amone 7. Corey Norman 8. Kaide Ellis 9. Josh Mcguire 10. Jack de Belin 11. Billy Burns 12. Tyrell Fuimaono 13. Tariq Sims
Interchange: 14. Jayden Sullivan 15. Josh Kerr 16. Daniel Alvaro 17. Jackson Ford
Roosters
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Adam Keighran 4. Joseph Manu 5. Dale Copley 6. Drew Hutchison 7. Sam Walker 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Sam Verrills 10. Siosiua Taukeiaho 11. Nat Butcher 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Isaac Liu
Interchange: 14. Lachlan Lam 15. Egan Butcher 16. Fletcher Baker 17. Ben Thomas
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