Date: Saturday 25^th of March

Venue: ANZ Stadium

Gates Open: 4:30pm

Kick off: 7:00pm (U20s 4:45pm)

Head Referee: Matt Cecchin

Assistant Referee: Chris James

Head to head: Played 83, Eels 39, Sharks 43, drawn 0

Head to head odds: Eels ($ 1.92), Sharks ($ 1.92)

Broadcast: Live Fox Sports (Broadcast from: 7:00pm)

 

Last four encounters:

1. Sharks 34, Eels 24 at Southern Cross Group Stadium (2016)
2. Sharks 35, Eels 28 at Pirtek Stadium (2015)
3. Eels 32, Sharks 12 at Remondis Stadium (2014)
4. Eels 42, Sharks 24 at Pirtek Stadium (2014)

 

Preview: This round three Saturday night encounter will see the 4th placed Parramatta Eels face off against the 7th placed Cronulla Sharks. Both teams enter this match up off the back of shock losses. The Eels were expected to defeat the Gold Coast Titans in round two but were defeated in convincing fashion whereas the Sharks were defeated at their own home ground against the St George Illawarra Dragons.

The loss of Norman was key for the Eels. The star half has been one of the Eels best and the team looked a far less dangerous against the Titans without him.

Both the Eels and Sharks would be very keen to get the win this weekend. A loss here to Sharks may ring alarm bells as it would result in last year’s premiers starting the season only claiming 1 win from 4 games. Many pundits have described this game as the hardest to pick of the round.

 

Value Bet: This week’s value bet is for either the Parramatta Eels or the Cronulla Sharks to claim a victory by a margin of 1-12 points.

The Eels are at $3.30 to do this whereas the Sharks are at $3.10. As for the first try favourites, the Eels have Semi Radradra at $8.50 and Bevan French out at $9.50. On the other side of the coin the Sharks have Valentine Holmes at $9.50 and Sosaia Feki at $12.

 

Interesting fact: Cronulla Sharks utility back Jack Bird is off contract at the end of this season and the Parramatta Eels are one of the clubs favoured for his signature. The Eels would love nothing more than to impress Bird with a victory over his current team.

 

 

It will be a big game for: Eels superstar Halfback Corey Norman.

The Eels are a completely different team without Norman. He adds flair, structure and organisation to the Eels attack. Gutherson last round was tasked with leading the Eels around the park. He started off very well but failed to guide the Eels to victory against the lower placed Gold Coast Titans. But to say Gutherson was a major reason for the Eels loss would unfair as the Eels underperformed as a whole.

The Eels would be very pleased with Gutherson’s progress over the course of this season as he has not looked out of place at five eighth. Having Norman next to him in the halves undoubtedly takes a lot of pressure off Gutherson as Norman handles a very large portion of the primary playmaking duties such as the short and long kicking game. When opposition teams play the Eels, Norman would undoubtedly be marked down as a danger man.

Norman poses a threat both with his kicking and running game, the latter of which has come along in leaps and bounds over the past couple of seasons. When Norman started his career as a fullback at the Brisbane Broncos his running game was a feature. However, after moving to the halves early on in his career, this running game somewhat dissolved. It was only after a number of years playing in the halves at the Eels that Norman began to feel confident taking on the line. Fast forward to today and Norman’s running game is one of his greatest assets. His inclusion in this match is vital to the Eels’ chances.

 

 

Danger man: This week’s danger man is Cronulla Sharks five eighth James Maloney. Maloney possesses one of the best kicking and running games In the NRL. The talented pivot has been steering the Sharks around the park for over a year now and was integral in them claiming the 2016 Premiership. Despite this, teams seem to underestimate his running game. It’s a style reminiscent of Wally Lewis. There doesn’t seem to be much to his action, no big step, nothing too elusive or powerful, yet he finds himself in open spaces far more than expected. The Eels can’t allow him too much space.

  

Team lists:

 

 

Parramatta Eels (4^th coming into the round)

 

1. Bevan French
2. Semi Radradra
3. Michael Jennings
4. Brad Takairangi
5. Josh Hoffman
6. Clint Gutherson
7. Corey Norman
8. Suaia Matagi
9. Kaysa Pritchard
10. Tim Mannah (C)
11. Manu Ma’u
12. Frank Pritchard
13. Beau Scott

 

14. Nathan Brown
15. Daniel Alvaro
16. David Gower
17. Siosaia Vave

 

18. Rory O’ Brien
19. Cameron King
20. Kirisome Auva’a
21. Jeff Robson

 

Coach: Brad Arthur

 

Late mail: Kaysa Pritchard will play despite being in some doubt during the week, expect the Eels to be 1-17 come kick off.

 

Cronulla Sharks (7^th place coming into the round)

 

1. Jack Bird
2. Sosaia Feki
3. Kurt Capewell
4. Ricky Leutele
5. Valentine Holmes
6. James Maloney
7. Chad Townsend
8. Andrew Fifita
9. Jayden Brailey
10. Matt Prior
11. Luke Lewis
12. Wade Graham
13. Paul Gallen (C)

 

14. Jayson Bukuya
15. Chris Heighington
16. Jeremy Latimore
17. Joseph Paulo

 

18. Tony Williams
19. Gerard Beale
20. James Segayaro
21. Edrick Lee

 

Coach: Shane Flanagan

 

Late mail: James Segayaro has been named in the 21 man squad for the Sharks. I expect young rookie Jayden Brailey to retain his position.

  

2 key match ups:

 

 

 

Bevan French vs Jack Bird: The first key match up is a battle of the fullbacks as Parramatta Eels young gun Bevan French faces off against Cronulla Sharks superstar Jack Bird.

French’s development as an NRL fullback has already come a long way. 2016 was an excellent debut year for French and the departure of Michael Gordon almost guaranteed the young star the first opportunity to play fullback at the Eels. I believe teams who come up against Parramatta highlight two players in particular to try and shut down – French and Norman. French possesses one of the most valuable NRL commodities – speed. He only needs half a gap in a defensive line to create a try scoring opportunity. Yet to focus purely on his speed would be underplaying the football smarts and instinct that is becoming increasingly evident. The range of skills in his kit bag is now causing the opposition to second guess his play, and when that moment of indecisiveness happens – see you later!

The 2016 Rookie of the Year, Jack Bird, has not looked back since playing for the NSW blues last season. But whether Jack Bird’s future is at the Cronulla Sharks is up for debate as he comes off contract at the end of this season. Ironically, one of the clubs interested in the St George Illawarra Dragons junior is the Parramatta Eels.

It has been rumoured over the past couple of weeks that the Eels have been in contact with Bird’s management and see him as a real marquee signing for the future. It has also been rumored the Eels see him as a lock forward. However, in this match the Eels will have to contend with what he offers from the custodian role. As a player who revels in getting his hands on the ball as often as possible, we can expect Bird to take a prominent role in the outcome of the match. He’s a strong runner of the football and possesses the ability to set up his supports. Eels fans will be hoping to see little evidence of this on Saturday night.

 

 

 

Suaia Matagi vs Andrew Fifita: The second key match up is a battle of the prop forwards as Eels hard man Suaia Matagi squares off against Sharks man mountain Andrew Fifita.

The Eels are Matagi’s fourth NRL club after debuting for the Warriors back in 2013. Stints with the Roosters and Panthers followed before the rugged prop found his way to the blue and gold. And boy hasn’t he impressed! While players like Corey Norman, Bevan French and Clint Gutherson may get all the wraps for the Eels good start to the season it is players Suaia Matagi who lay the groundwork. He does the hard yards up front and possesses some silky hands, thereby creating second phase opportunities. Defensively, he’s very strong – who will forget that massive hit he put on in the latter stages of the Dragons match!

Sharks big man Andrew Fifita has been outstanding for the Sharks so far this season and really stands a chance of reclaiming his Australian jersey. His talent places him in the upper echelon of prop forwards. He scores more tries than his counterparts and has a very dangerous offload. If the Eels are to defeat the Sharks come Sunday night they may want to limit Fifita’s impact on the game, sonething easier said than done.

 

My tip: For me this is almost the hardest game of the round to tip. I was originally going to tip the Cronulla Sharks to defeat the Eels if Corey Norman had not been selected to play for the Eels. With his inclusion, I see the Eels just sneaking away with a victory. Put me down for an Eels win in a closely contested contest.

Eels 20, Sharks 18.

 

Man of the match: Corey Norman / Tim Mannah

 

Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !

Nathan