THE LONG HARD LOOK WITH MIKE WILSON
Cronulla Sharks v Newcastle Knights
Toyota Stadium, 2:00pm
SHARKS: Nathan Gardner, Stewart Mills, Ben Pomeroy, Colin Best, John Williams, Wade Graham, Todd Carney, Bryce Gibbs, Isaac De Gois, Ben Ross, Jeremy Smith, Anthony Tupou, Paul Gallen. Interchange: Sam Tagataese, John Morris, Mark Taufua, Jayson Bukuya
KNIGHTS: Darius Boyd, James McManus, Wes Naiqama, Tafeaga Junior Sa’u, Akuila Uate, Kurt Gidley, Jarrod Mullen, Kade Snowden, Danny Buderus, Adam Cuthbertson, Chris Houston, Zeb Taia, Neville Costigan. Interchange: Matt Hilder, Lisiate Richie Fa’aoso, Joel Edwards, Alex McKinnon
BOTH THE SHARKS AND THE KNIGHTS LOST IN GOLDEN POINT last week and both will be pretty desperate to get their campaigns underway by winning a match. It’s fair to say that the Knights played better than the Sharks did but it’s not much of a form line to make big betting decisions from.
Todd Carney showed some promising signs that he may be building up towards his best after putting in a brilliant second half effort and as a Sharks supporter you would be happy with the potential shown by the halfback.
The Knights as a team showed some excellent potential and it may have been a lack of fitness that cost them last week. Look for hooker Danny Buderus to keep his team’s momentum up by rolling the forwards up the middle of the field. Wouldn’t it be exciting if these two went to golden point again?
Chance of winning: Sharks 41%, Knights 58%, Draw 1%
Mike’s Tip: Knights
Mike’s Best Bet: None
Sydney Roosters v Penrith Panthers
Allianz Stadium, 3:00pm local time
ROOSTERS: Anthony Minichiello, Justin Carney, Joseph ‘BJ’ Leilua, Mitchell Aubusson, Sam Perrett, Braith Anasta, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Lama Tasi, Aidan Guerra, Boyd Cordner, Frank Paul Nuuausala. Interchange (from): Tinirau Arona, Mose Masoe, Martin Kennedy, Daniel Mortimer, Anthony Mitchell
PANTHERS: Lachlan Coote, Etu Uaisele, Michael Jennings, Brad Tighe, Sandor Earl, Travis Burns, Luke Walsh, Sam McKendry, Kevin Kingston, Tim Grant, Luke Lewis, Cameron Ciraldo , Nathan Smith. Interchange (from): Dayne Weston, Chris Armit, Clint Newton, Blake Austin, Danny Galea
THE ROOSTER’S LAST MINUTE VICTORY of last week will be talked about for quite some time but the truth is that for most of the game they played some fairly standard footy. The Panthers on the other hand played some solid footy before losing their way towards the end of their match against the Bulldogs and ultimately losing.
Braith Anasta looks likely to return to the Roosters side which will only benefit them whereas on the Panthers side of things, they have lost David Simmons to a concussion and key player Michael Gordon to a broken ankle. These roster changes are pretty much what it comes down to in this one and I’m tipping the Roosters to get up in front of their home crowd.
Chance of winning: Roosters 57%, Panthers 42%, Draw 1%
Mike’s Tip: Roosters
Mike’s Best Bet: None
Melbourne Storm v South Sydney Rabbitohs
AAMI Park, 7:00pm
STORM: Billy Slater, Matt Duffie, Dane Nielsen, Justin O’Neill, Anthony Quinn, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Sika Manu, Ryan Hoffman, Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Kevin Proctor, Siosaia Vave, Michael Greenfield, Rory Kostjasyn
RABBITOHS: Dylan Farrell, Matt King, Shaune Corrigan, Greg Inglis, Chris McQueen, John Sutton, Adam Reynolds, Sam Burgess, Nathan Peats, Roy Asotasi, Dave Taylor, Eddy Pettybourne, Michael Crocker. Interchange (from): Dave Tyrell, Issac Luke, Scott Geddes, Jason Clark, Necron Areaiiti, Fetuli Talanoa
THE STORM PULLED A RABBIT OUT OF THE HAT against the Raiders last week with a win in the dying minutes whereas Souths were famously beaten in the last minute by the Roosters.
Expect the big Rabbitohs forward pack to cause the Storm a bit of grief in this game. The Storm encounter the most resistance when they play sides that boast huge forwards and South Sydney are definitely one of those sides.
To have every chance of beating the Storm we’ll need to see the Rabbitohs shift plenty of early ball to Greg Inglis on the left flank and get him moving laterally.
Overall though, I’m sticking with the Storm who have a bit more class to get them home in this special edition of Sunday night footy.
Chance of winning: Storm 60%, Rabbitohs 39%, Draw 1%
Mike’s Tip: Storm
Mike’s Best Bet: None
Starting Bank: $2000, Current Bank $2078.44
(Team lists sourced from nrl.com.au)
