Date: Friday 12^th of August

Venue: Suncorp Stadium

Gates Open: 5:05pm

Kick off:  7:50pm (NYC U20s 5:10pm)

Head Referee: Grant Atkins

Assistant Referee: Alan Shortall

Head to head: Played 50, Broncos 30, Eels 19, drawn 1

Head to head odds: Broncos ($1.22), Eels ($ 4.25)

Broadcast: Live Channel 9: 7:30pm

Last four encounters:

1. Broncos 17, Eels 4 at Pirtek Stadium (2016)
2. Broncos 28, Eels 16 at Suncorp Stadium (2015)
3. Eels 18, Broncos 25 at Suncorp Stadium (2014)
4. Broncos 22, Eels 12 at McLean Park (2013)

Preview: This round twenty-three Friday night encounter is a battle between the states as Queensland’s Brisbane Broncos square off against NSW’s Parramatta Eels. Both the Broncos and Eels enter this match off the back of narrow wins. The Broncos scored a narrow win over the St George Illawarra Dragons whereas the Eels managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against the Sea Eagles in a 10 points to 9 result. The Broncos currently sit on the fringe of the NRL’s top eight which would be extremely displeasing to Broncos coach Wayne Bennett as the Broncos were so well placed earlier in the season. This is a potential danger game for the Broncos as a loss to the 13^th placed Eels could put real strain on the Broncos finals hopes. This is sure to be an interesting encounter.

Value Bet:

My value bet for this one is for Eels try scoring machine Bevan French to grab the first try at $7.50. In the first try market, the Eels have Bevan French at $7.50 and Vai Toutai out at $14 whereas the Broncos have Corey Oates at $6.50 and Lachlan Maranta at $9.50.

Interesting fact:

Despite making his debut for the Parramatta Eels, Daniel Alvaro spent time as a Brisbane Broncos youth player. Expect Alvaro to put in a strong performance against the club who let him walk away as a junior.  

It will be a big game for:

This game shapes as being a big one for Eels winger and perhaps future fullback Bevan French. Last Friday night the Eels rookie sensation received his first taste of playing fullback in the NRL’s top grade. Fullback is a position French knows all to well, a position he grew up playing and excelled at. Many expect he will become the Eels number one next season following the departure of current fullback Michael Gordon. Whilst Gordon still wears the Eels one jersey at this moment it is fairly obvious Eels coach Brad Arthur intends to have French as his long term number one. It has been quite some time since Eels fans have felt this way about a young player making his way in the NRL. French has already been earmarked by many as the next Billy Slater and a future rep player. In just nine appearances in the NRL’s top grade for the Eels French has managed to score eleven tries, an incredible feat in itself but considering French is just twenty years of age the feat seems even more impressive. On top of being earmarked as one the games brightest young talents he is also among the fastest players in the NRL, which is hard to argue given the speed and acceleration French has showed in open space. Although he has been named on the wing for this encounter, I believe you can expect French to spend at least half the game at fullback. For this reason, he is sure to feature in the Broncos tip sheets.

Danger man:

This week’s danger man is Broncos fullback Darius Boyd. Boyd is the current Queensland and Australian Kangaroos fullback and considered one of the best in the game. Whilst he currently holds those two positions, he is doing so because of an injury to usual Queensland and Australian fullback Billy Slater, an injury that could lead to Slater’s retirement and Boyd’s permanent elevation to the national team’s custodian role. Darius Boyd isn’t your flashiest fullback and won’t score plenty of tries in a season or cut teams to shreds with amazing speed. He is just one of these players who rarely play a bad game. He has a role in his team and always executes this to perfection. Players who rarely play bad games are among the most sort after in the NRL and it’s not hard to see why. If the Eels are to defeat the Broncos they must be able to shut down Boyd.

Team Lists:

Parramatta Eels (13^th coming into the round *12 points deducted)

1. Michael Gordon
2. Vai Toutai
3. Michael Jennings
4. Brad Takairangi
5. Bevan French
6. Clint Gutherson
7. Jeff Robson
8. Danny Wicks
9. Issac De Gois
10. Tim Mannah
11. Manu Ma’u
12. Tepai Moeroa
13. Peni Terepo

14. Kaysa Pritchard
15. David Gower
16. Kenny Edwards
17. Daniel Alvaro

18. Rory O’ Brien

Coach: Brad Arthur

Late mail: Semi Radradra is an outside chance of making a return from injury in this one. If Radradra returns expect him to come in as a direct swap for Vai Toutai. Apart from that expect the Eels to be 1 to 17.

Brisbane Broncos (6^th coming into the round)

1. Darius Boyd
2. Corey Oates
3. Tom Opacic
4. James Roberts
5. Lachlan Maranta
6. Anthony Milford
7. Ben Hunt
8. Josh McGuire
9. Andrew McCullough
10. Adam Blair
11. Sam Thaiday
12. Matt Gillett
13. Corey Parker

14. Jarrod Wallace
15. Tevita Pangai Junior
16. Jai Arrow
17. Alex Glenn

Coach: Wayne Bennett

Late mail: No late changes expected for the Broncos expect them to be 1 to 17.

Two key match ups:

1. James Roberts vs Michael Jennings:

The first key match up is a battle of the centres as Broncos speedster James Roberts squares off against Eels flash Michael Jennings. These blokes are two of the fastest players in the NRL, with Bevan French also in the mix. Last Friday night Jennings made his return from injury after a hamstring injury but he was not quite at his best. On his day he can be one of the game’s best outside backs and before his injury it really looked like he was starting to hit some form.

With so much Eels talent sidelined through injury and suspension, the inclusion of Jennings is a big plus for the Eels. Without the likes of Corey Norman, Semi Radradra and Beau Scott the Eels need all the talent they have on deck if they are to continue winning games. Even with Corey Norman on the sidelines the Eels have showed they still have the ability to score points. The new Eels makeshift halves may not exactly have the same skill as Corey Norman and Kieran Foran (now released) but they do have play making potential. Given the potential Gutherson has already shown there is no doubt that he will be able to use a weapon such as Michael Jennings in attack. Look for Gutherson and Robson to release Jennings with early ball and allow him the space to utilise his natural speed.

Broncos centre James Roberts had a very impressive start to the 2016 NRL season, but mid way through the year his form dropped and as a result he was overlooked for Origin selection. However, Roberts is a rising talent in the NRL right now and there is plenty of room to improve certain aspects of his game, and I regard him as a future star in the Origin arena. Roberts has been through a few NRL clubs since bursting onto the scene from the U20s a number of years ago. However, it seems he has found a home at the Brisbane Broncos under super coach Wayne Bennett and with Bennett nurturing Roberts’ game for the next few seasons to come it seems that the sky could be the limit for this extremely quick young outside back. The Eels must make shutting down Roberts a priority.

2. Sam Thaiday vs Tepai Moeroa:

The second key match up is a battle between the back rowers as Broncos bulldozer Sam Thaiday goes up against Eels young bull Tepai Moeroa.

Tepai Moeroa started the 2016 NRL season in the Eels thirteen jersey that was previously occupied by last year’s marquee signing Anthony Watmough. Watmough has since retired from the NRL and Moeroa looks like a fresh face heading towards the future.

When Moeroa burst onto the scene for the Eels in 2014 some went as far to suggest he could be the next Sonny Bill Williams, quite a remarkable proclamation considering the career Sonny Bill Williams has carved in the NRL, ARU and overseas. Whilst Moeroa may not have yet lived up to the hype of being next SBW he has shown great promise and at twenty years of age there is so much potential and time to improve his game.

Moeroa came into first grade as a player you would want to avoid running at and quickly earned the title as one of the biggest hitters the NRL. However, a niggling shoulder injury would hamper his ability to pull off these massive tackles and despite still being a very imposing figure in defence, Moeroa certainly had the edge taken out of him. Defence may not be his best quality as since moving back into the back row he has rediscovered his attacking mojo. The Eels now have the added bonus of hitting Moeroa on their edges, utilising his great lines and powerful running. The Eels will aim to unleash Tepai’s undoubted talent to make it two wins on the trot against the Brisbane Broncos.

Broncos back rower Sam Thaiday has had a quiet year by his previous high standards. Over the past decade he has been among the Broncos most consistent performers and though he’s been solid this year, we just haven’t seen the best of Thaiday. On his day he can be among the most damaging ball runners in the game, not to mention an equally as damaging defender. With the likes of Ben Hunt, Anthony Milford and Darius Boyd steering the ship Thaiday becomes even more of a potent attacking weapon which could most certainly spell danger signs for an Eels team a bit undermanned. Eels fringe defenders will do well to be wary of Thaiday who can pull out a man of the match performance at any time.

My Tip:

Despite being an avid Eels supporter, I just can’t see the Eels winning this one. They are missing some key personal and the Broncos are looking to make their charge towards the finals. Despite the fact the Eels have been quite courageous in previous week’s I believe that they will be simply outclassed by the Broncos in the end. I expect the Eels to be in this one for at least 50 or so minutes before the Broncos run away with the match.

Put me down for a Broncos win – Broncos 22, Eels 12.

Man of the match: Darius Boyd or Andrew McCullough

Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !!!

Nathan

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