Sydney Roosters vs. Wests Tigers – Match Preview
After a commanding performance by the Roosters put them as the best team of round one and the Wests Tigers spirited second half comeback to gift themselves a win over Manly, both teams have given the NRL a classic match to look forward to.
Dreamland for Charity Nest
After just one week into the NRL Season, Charity Nest was in dreamland after receiving a cheque for $32,500 for the Roosters commanding performance in their 36-10 win over arch-rivals, the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their 200th clash. The club’s new initiative of $1000 being donated by Steggles and $250 by the Roosters for every point the Roosters beat their opposition by, and if things keep going the way they’re going, they could be $100,000 more better off than they were a week ago in just 3 weeks time.
Lote Tuqiri... Is he that good of a buy?
He may have made a try-scoring debut for his Tigers last week against the Sea Eagles, but is Lote Tuqiri that good of a buy. The clash against the Sea Eagles saw Tuqiri score a try, make 6 tackles (missing one in the process), defuse 2 bombs, make 4 tackle breaks, 2 line breaks, 1 error and 145 metres of 15 runs in a very mixed performance.
Everyone will be able to see whether he was “that” good of a buy when the game goes underway this weekend, especially against Round 1’s top performing side.
Brian Smith the master coach?
Many believed that putting Todd Carney at fullback was very confusing, but this could have turned out being a masterstroke by Roosters coach Brian Smith.
The former half slotted into the fullback spot as if he had always played in that position. Carney showed the smart side of his play against the Rabbitohs, knowing the exact right moments to come into play as a playmaker or as a ball runner... and was absolutely brilliant, and his statistics showed it all. He ran the ball 9 times to make a massive 144 metres which included 2 linebreaks, and his kicking game was also good, 190 metres off 8 kicks. He also made a try assist.
Mitchell Pearce was also extremely impressive during the Round 1 clash, finishing the match with two tries and a try assist, and his kicking game phenomenal. Both these players will give the Wests Tigers plenty of headaches.
Form Guide
Sydney Roosters
March 14, 2010 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 def. by Sydney Roosters 36
February 27, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 40 def. Parramatta Eels 14
February 21, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 28 def. Wests Tigers 10
February 13, 2010 – New Zealand Warriors 26 def. Sydney Roosters 8
February 12, 2010 – Atherton Roosters 18 def. by Sydney Roosters 68
Wests Tigers
March 15, 2010 – Wests Tigers 26 def. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 22
February 27, 2010 – Wests Tigers 36 def. Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 12
February 21, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 28 def. Wests Tigers 10
February 12, 2010 – North Queensland Cowboys 4 def. by Wests Tigers 28
September 2, 2009 – Wests Tigers 34 def. Canterbury Bulldogs 12
Head to Head
Played: 15
Sydney Roosters Wins: 8
Wests Tigers Wins: 7
Drawn: 0
Last Match:
August 9, 2009 – Wests Tigers 17 def. Sydney Roosters 10
Team News
Sydney Roosters
The Roosters finally received some better-than-usual news on the injury front with scans revealing that Tom Symonds, who was feared to have hyper-extended his knee against the Rabbitohs, was only suffering from bruised bones and would only miss out 3-4 weeks. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is expected to return for the Round 4 Good Friday clash against the Brisbane Broncos and Anthony Cherrington is out for the season. Jason Ryles is expected to start the game, with either Lopini Paea or Frank-Paul Nuuausala dropping to the bench. Ben Jones and Sonny Tuigamala are expected to be omitted from the squad.
Squad: Todd Carney, Anthony Minichiello, Phil Graham, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Sam Perrett, Braith Anasta (c), Mitchell Pearce, Lopini Paea, James Aubusson, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Aiden Guerra, Mitchell Aubusson, Nate Myles; Daniel Conn, Jason Ryles, Brad Takairangi, Nick Kouparitsas, Ben Jones, Sonny Tuigamala (two to be omitted).
Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers utility Daniel Fitzhenry will come into the starting into the starting 11 after being suspended for 1 match for a tackle that was made in the Sea Eagles match. It is still unknown who will take Fitzhenry’s spot to make up the 17. On the injury front, Taniela Tuiaki, Simon Dwyer and Tame Tupour are all out indefinitely and Todd Payten out until next week.
Squad: Tim Moltzen, Lote Tuqiri, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Daniel Fitzhenry, Benji Marshall, Robert Lui, Bryce Gibbs, Robbie Farah (c), Keith Galloway, Liam Fulton, Gareth Ellis, Chris Heighington; Jason Cayless, Junior Moors, Mark Flannagan (one to be added).
Players to Watch
Sydney Roosters – Todd Carney
After a commanding performance last week against arch-rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Todd Carney will now be looking for his first Roosters try and hopefully, an even better performance against fellow foundation club, the Wests Tigers. If he plays like he did against the Tigers in the Foundation Cup, he will be handing the Roosters the victory once again.
Wests Tigers – Lote Tuqiri
After a try-scoring debut for the Tigers and his first match into the return to his NRL career, Lote Tuqiri will only get better and in a few weeks time, he may not give his spot back to Taniela Tuiaki. He needs some time to adjust back to the NRL, but is still good enough to make a big impact on the game.
Mouth-watering Match Ups
Todd Carney vs. Tim Moltzen
Both players had fantastic games for their respective clubs and both will be vital to their teams’ success this week round also. Both will try to get as involved as possible and both will provide some magic.
Sam Perrett vs. Lote Tuqiri
This will prove to be a very important encounter in the context of the match. If Perrett can keep a cool head and keep his wing under control, Lote may have no say in how the game turns out, while it could also be the complete opposite.
Braith Anasta vs. Benji Marshall
The battle of the custodians will prove vital in the match. Anasta was quiet in the match against the Rabbitohs so he would be looking to step it up a gear, while Marshall had a good game against Manly and will want to maintain it against the Roosters.
Nate Myles vs. Chris Heighington
After putting Sam Burgess in his place last week, Nate Myles will want to continue his good form with another commanding performance over his Wests Tigers counterpart, Chris Heighington, who also had a stellar game against the Sea Eagles.
What the Chookpen forum members think
“I have a feeling this will be an edge of your seat match, a lot of ball movement and free play. We will be in for a cracker!” – supermario
“We have them covered in 10 out of 13 positions, the only guys they have that are slightly better than ours are Farah, Ellis and Lawrence. They have talent in attack but defensively I think we are going to worry them, especially with the addition of Carney to the mix. I think we will win by a margin of 1 to 12, and I’ve backed is to do that, $3.50 was too good to pass up ,but I’m worried we might really carve them up and win by 20+.” – Roosdaman
“Once again I will go with: Roosters 13+ SPECIALS! The Pussycat Dolls were lucky to get away with the win last week, their defence up the middle was in shambles and their forwards offered nothing.” – MattO*Luvs*Cocks
Also in the poll, over 90% went for a Roosters win with 70.27% of them going for a Roosters win by 1-12 points.
Prediction
If the Roosters can maintain the speed and defensive work that they played against the Rabbitohs for the full 80 minutes against the Tigers, there is no reason why they can’t put on a cricket score, especially after having an extra days’ preparation on the Tigers. In saying that, the Tigers will not want to leave a comeback so late, so look for them to be going for a couple of early tries.
Sydney Roosters by 1-12
After a commanding performance by the Roosters put them as the best team of round one and the Wests Tigers spirited second half comeback to gift themselves a win over Manly, both teams have given the NRL a classic match to look forward to.
Dreamland for Charity Nest
After just one week into the NRL Season, Charity Nest was in dreamland after receiving a cheque for $32,500 for the Roosters commanding performance in their 36-10 win over arch-rivals, the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their 200th clash. The club’s new initiative of $1000 being donated by Steggles and $250 by the Roosters for every point the Roosters beat their opposition by, and if things keep going the way they’re going, they could be $100,000 more better off than they were a week ago in just 3 weeks time.
Lote Tuqiri... Is he that good of a buy?
He may have made a try-scoring debut for his Tigers last week against the Sea Eagles, but is Lote Tuqiri that good of a buy. The clash against the Sea Eagles saw Tuqiri score a try, make 6 tackles (missing one in the process), defuse 2 bombs, make 4 tackle breaks, 2 line breaks, 1 error and 145 metres of 15 runs in a very mixed performance.
Everyone will be able to see whether he was “that” good of a buy when the game goes underway this weekend, especially against Round 1’s top performing side.
Brian Smith the master coach?
Many believed that putting Todd Carney at fullback was very confusing, but this could have turned out being a masterstroke by Roosters coach Brian Smith.
The former half slotted into the fullback spot as if he had always played in that position. Carney showed the smart side of his play against the Rabbitohs, knowing the exact right moments to come into play as a playmaker or as a ball runner... and was absolutely brilliant, and his statistics showed it all. He ran the ball 9 times to make a massive 144 metres which included 2 linebreaks, and his kicking game was also good, 190 metres off 8 kicks. He also made a try assist.
Mitchell Pearce was also extremely impressive during the Round 1 clash, finishing the match with two tries and a try assist, and his kicking game phenomenal. Both these players will give the Wests Tigers plenty of headaches.
Form Guide
Sydney Roosters
March 14, 2010 – South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 def. by Sydney Roosters 36
February 27, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 40 def. Parramatta Eels 14
February 21, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 28 def. Wests Tigers 10
February 13, 2010 – New Zealand Warriors 26 def. Sydney Roosters 8
February 12, 2010 – Atherton Roosters 18 def. by Sydney Roosters 68
Wests Tigers
March 15, 2010 – Wests Tigers 26 def. Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 22
February 27, 2010 – Wests Tigers 36 def. Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 12
February 21, 2010 – Sydney Roosters 28 def. Wests Tigers 10
February 12, 2010 – North Queensland Cowboys 4 def. by Wests Tigers 28
September 2, 2009 – Wests Tigers 34 def. Canterbury Bulldogs 12
Head to Head
Played: 15
Sydney Roosters Wins: 8
Wests Tigers Wins: 7
Drawn: 0
Last Match:
August 9, 2009 – Wests Tigers 17 def. Sydney Roosters 10
Team News
Sydney Roosters
The Roosters finally received some better-than-usual news on the injury front with scans revealing that Tom Symonds, who was feared to have hyper-extended his knee against the Rabbitohs, was only suffering from bruised bones and would only miss out 3-4 weeks. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is expected to return for the Round 4 Good Friday clash against the Brisbane Broncos and Anthony Cherrington is out for the season. Jason Ryles is expected to start the game, with either Lopini Paea or Frank-Paul Nuuausala dropping to the bench. Ben Jones and Sonny Tuigamala are expected to be omitted from the squad.
Squad: Todd Carney, Anthony Minichiello, Phil Graham, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Sam Perrett, Braith Anasta (c), Mitchell Pearce, Lopini Paea, James Aubusson, Frank-Paul Nuuausala, Aiden Guerra, Mitchell Aubusson, Nate Myles; Daniel Conn, Jason Ryles, Brad Takairangi, Nick Kouparitsas, Ben Jones, Sonny Tuigamala (two to be omitted).
Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers utility Daniel Fitzhenry will come into the starting into the starting 11 after being suspended for 1 match for a tackle that was made in the Sea Eagles match. It is still unknown who will take Fitzhenry’s spot to make up the 17. On the injury front, Taniela Tuiaki, Simon Dwyer and Tame Tupour are all out indefinitely and Todd Payten out until next week.
Squad: Tim Moltzen, Lote Tuqiri, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Daniel Fitzhenry, Benji Marshall, Robert Lui, Bryce Gibbs, Robbie Farah (c), Keith Galloway, Liam Fulton, Gareth Ellis, Chris Heighington; Jason Cayless, Junior Moors, Mark Flannagan (one to be added).
Players to Watch
Sydney Roosters – Todd Carney
After a commanding performance last week against arch-rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Todd Carney will now be looking for his first Roosters try and hopefully, an even better performance against fellow foundation club, the Wests Tigers. If he plays like he did against the Tigers in the Foundation Cup, he will be handing the Roosters the victory once again.
Wests Tigers – Lote Tuqiri
After a try-scoring debut for the Tigers and his first match into the return to his NRL career, Lote Tuqiri will only get better and in a few weeks time, he may not give his spot back to Taniela Tuiaki. He needs some time to adjust back to the NRL, but is still good enough to make a big impact on the game.
Mouth-watering Match Ups
Todd Carney vs. Tim Moltzen
Both players had fantastic games for their respective clubs and both will be vital to their teams’ success this week round also. Both will try to get as involved as possible and both will provide some magic.
Sam Perrett vs. Lote Tuqiri
This will prove to be a very important encounter in the context of the match. If Perrett can keep a cool head and keep his wing under control, Lote may have no say in how the game turns out, while it could also be the complete opposite.
Braith Anasta vs. Benji Marshall
The battle of the custodians will prove vital in the match. Anasta was quiet in the match against the Rabbitohs so he would be looking to step it up a gear, while Marshall had a good game against Manly and will want to maintain it against the Roosters.
Nate Myles vs. Chris Heighington
After putting Sam Burgess in his place last week, Nate Myles will want to continue his good form with another commanding performance over his Wests Tigers counterpart, Chris Heighington, who also had a stellar game against the Sea Eagles.
What the Chookpen forum members think
“I have a feeling this will be an edge of your seat match, a lot of ball movement and free play. We will be in for a cracker!” – supermario
“We have them covered in 10 out of 13 positions, the only guys they have that are slightly better than ours are Farah, Ellis and Lawrence. They have talent in attack but defensively I think we are going to worry them, especially with the addition of Carney to the mix. I think we will win by a margin of 1 to 12, and I’ve backed is to do that, $3.50 was too good to pass up ,but I’m worried we might really carve them up and win by 20+.” – Roosdaman
“Once again I will go with: Roosters 13+ SPECIALS! The Pussycat Dolls were lucky to get away with the win last week, their defence up the middle was in shambles and their forwards offered nothing.” – MattO*Luvs*Cocks
Also in the poll, over 90% went for a Roosters win with 70.27% of them going for a Roosters win by 1-12 points.
Prediction
If the Roosters can maintain the speed and defensive work that they played against the Rabbitohs for the full 80 minutes against the Tigers, there is no reason why they can’t put on a cricket score, especially after having an extra days’ preparation on the Tigers. In saying that, the Tigers will not want to leave a comeback so late, so look for them to be going for a couple of early tries.
Sydney Roosters by 1-12
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