Sea Eagles v Roosters: Croker returns; Taukeiaho, Verrills out
Did the Roosters use up their get-out-of-jail card last weekend, or do they still have some tricks left in their bag to curtail a fired-up Manly Sea Eagles side?
Manly will be keen to re-establish their finals credentials after an embarrassing 40-12 hiding at the hands of Melbourne. It will be a long week for the Sea Eagles to prove they are not a side that will wilt for a second time in row.
One thing is certain. Manly will want more ball than the 39% possession they had against the Storm - or 10 sets fewer than the 39 Melbourne enjoyed.
The weight of possession against Des Hasler's men could be seen by the fact Kenny Bromwich (28) was the Storm's highest tackler, while Manly's best Jake Trbojevic had to work a lot harder (48).
Sportsbet Betting Preview - Sea Eagles v Roosters
Then there is the shoring up of defence.
The Storm players busted out of 36 tackles to Manly's 19, and made five line-breaks to zero.
Trent Robinson would have been pleased his side only conceded four penalties in the slim 25-24 win over the Titans. He will not be pleased with his side's poor completion rate - 26 of 39 sets for 67%.
The winner of this match will progress to a preliminary final match-up with Souths in Brisbane.
Match: Sea Eagles v Roosters
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
4th Position
away Team
Roosters
5th Position
Venue: BB Print Stadium, Mackay
The rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: Sean Keppie comes into the starting side in a late swap with veteran prop Martin Taupau, who drops back to the bench.
Toafofoa Sipley is the final game-day cut with Moses Suli awarded 18th man duties.
Lachlan Croker is a confirmed starter after his late withdrawal last week against Melbourne with back tightness.
With Croker back on deck, Karl Lawton moves to the interchange bench and Curtis Sironen drops out.
Sironen and Tevita Funa were omitted from the reserves list 24 hours before kick-off.
The Sea Eagles have lost six of their past seven finals matches.
Roosters: No late changes to the 17 with Dale Copley named 18th man and Naufahu Whyte the game-day omission.
Sam Verrills was unsuccessful in having a careless high tackle charge downgraded at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night and will miss the next two matches including Friday night's semi-final.
Trent Robinson has turned to Ben Marschke, who was listed in the reserves, to start at rake.
Sam Walker stays on the bench as per previous weeks.
Verrills and Ben Thomas were the players to drop out of the extended squad on Thursday night.
The Roosters have won four of their past five games against the Sea Eagles.
Match: Sea Eagles v Roosters
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
away Team
Roosters
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Sea Eagles is number 1 Tom TrbojevicFullback for Roosters is number 1 James Tedesco
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 2 Jason SaabWinger for Roosters is number 2 Daniel Tupou
-
Centre for Sea Eagles is number 3 Brad ParkerCentre for Roosters is number 3 Josh Morris
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Centre for Sea Eagles is number 4 Morgan HarperCentre for Roosters is number 4 Adam Keighran
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 5 Reuben GarrickWinger for Roosters is number 5 Matt Ikuvalu
-
Five-Eighth for Sea Eagles is number 6 Kieran ForanFive-Eighth for Roosters is number 6 Lachlan Lam
-
Halfback for Sea Eagles is number 7 Daly Cherry-EvansHalfback for Roosters is number 7 Drew Hutchison
Forwards
-
Prop for Sea Eagles is number 8 Josh AloiaiProp for Roosters is number 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
-
Hooker for Sea Eagles is number 9 Lachlan CrokerHooker for Roosters is number 20 Ben Marschke
-
Prop for Sea Eagles is number 16 Sean KeppieProp for Roosters is number 10 Isaac Liu
-
2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 11 Haumole Olakau'atu2nd Row for Roosters is number 11 Angus Crichton
-
2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 12 Josh Schuster2nd Row for Roosters is number 12 Sitili Tupouniua
-
Lock for Sea Eagles is number 13 Jake TrbojevicLock for Roosters is number 13 Victor Radley
Interchange
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 10 Martin TaupauInterchange for Roosters is number 14 Sam Walker
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 14 Dylan WalkerInterchange for Roosters is number 15 Nat Butcher
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 15 Karl LawtonInterchange for Roosters is number 16 Egan Butcher
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 17 Taniela PasekaInterchange for Roosters is number 17 Fletcher Baker
Reserves
-
Reserve for Sea Eagles is number 19 Moses SuliReserve for Roosters is number 18 Dale Copley
Match Officials
- Referee: Gerard Sutton
- Touch Judge: Dave Munro
- Touch Judge: Todd Smith
- Senior Review Official: Ashley Klein
Last updated:
Key match-up
James Tedesco vs Tom Trbojevic: All eyes will be on the NSW Origin teammates, both of whom have ennjoyed stellar seasons but are yet to oppose each other this year.
When the Roosters hosted Manly in round one this year, it was a 46-4 hiding at the SCG with Trbojevic still nursing a strained hamstring. Tedesco scored two tries that match - but for the season the pair are light years apart with the Roosters fullback crossing for eight and Manly's custodian for 25.
However, in running metres and try assists they square off against each other quite well. Tedesco has the edge in tackle-busts though with 141 to Trbojevic's 107, by virtue of the fact he's played five more games.
Stat attack
It's been eight years since these two met in the finals - the 2013 NRL Grand Final to be exact, with the Roosters winning 26-18. Robinson was the coach then but Geoff Toovey was mentoring Manly.
There are two survivors from both sides - Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Daniel Tupou for the Roosters; Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran from Manly.
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