The Cumberland Throw

Match Preview – Eels vs Raiders (Round 11)

 

Date: Saturday 20th May

Venue: ANZ Stadium

Gates Open: 5:00pm

Kick off: 7:30 pm (NYC 5:15)

Head Referee: Ben Cummins

Assistant Referee: Chris Sutton

Head to head: Played 54, Eels 26, Raiders 28

Head to head odds: Raiders ($ 1.60), Eels ($ 2.40)  

Broadcast: Live Fox Sports (Broadcast kick off: 7:30pm)

 

Last four encounters:

 

  1. Raiders 30, Eels 18 at GIO Stadium (2017)
  2. Raiders 28, Eels 18 at GIO Stadium (2016)
  3. Eels 36, Raiders 6 at Pirtek Stadium (2016)
  4. Raiders 28, Eels 24 at Pirtek Stadium (2015)

 

Preview:

This weekend’s Saturday night round eleven encounter will feature the ninth placed Parramatta Eels up against the tenth placed Canberra Raiders. Both teams enter this one off the back of a loss. The Raiders were upset in Newcastle by competition cellar dwellers the Newcastle Knights, whilst the Parramatta Eels they were absolutely decimated by the Sydney Roosters, 48 points to 10.

Now without their superstar playmaker, the Eels must prepare to take on a potentially dangerous Canberra Raiders outfit that have had a fairly mixed season. The loss of Norman is a massive blow for the Eels though it is softened by the mid season acquisition of boom young (former) Tigers half Mitchell Moses. All eyes will be on Moses as he takes to the field with his new club.

 

Value Bet:

The Canberra Raiders are the favourites with the bookies but don’t be surprised to see the Eels cause an upset here, after all they do have the better form out of both teams over the course of the past month.

My money is with an Eels victory at Eels at $2.40 in the head to head market (all odds via Sportsbet). In the first try scorers market, the Eels have Semi Radradra at $9.50 and Josh Hoffman out at $12 whereas the Raiders have Jordan Rapana at $7.50 and Nick Cotric at $11.

 

Interesting fact: Eels utility back Clinton Gutherson has scored 3 tries from his last two games.

 

 

It will be a big game for:

Eels utility back Clinton Gutherson Is a crucial player this week. Eels half Corey Norman suffered a knee injury In the Eels last start loss to the Sydney Roosters and is set to miss the next four to six weeks of football for the Eels. Fortunately for the Eels they still have Clinton Gutherson on deck to play in the halves and the return of Eels fullback Bevan French from injury helps Gutherson shift from fullback back to the halves. Also giving the Eels a slight boost is the recent mid season signing of Mitchell Moses.

Gutherson has been a bit of a Mr fix it type player for the Eels over the past couple of years. He is a very talented young player and can play a wide variety of positions throughout the backline.  Before the start of this season Gutherson was named as the Eels five eighth for the 2017 season by Eels coach Brad Arthur. This became a short lived role for Gutherson following the injury to Bevan French?

Even though Gutherson has been named to play five eighth for the Eels this weekend it may again prove to be short term when Norman does return.

The dynamic in the halves will prove to be interesting. With Guthersone more familiar with the Eels structures and plays, you could expect him to play a dominant role. However, Moses is a confident player who would want to assume ownership of his role as soon as possible. It all comes down to how quickly he’s fitted in.

 

 

Danger man:

This weekends danger man is Raiders five eighth Blake Austin. Just like most of the Raiders line up, Austin has had a fairly quiet season. The Raiders currently sit tenth on the competition ladder and desperately need a win to keep their title hopes alive. The average NRL punter would have expected them to be firmly sitting in the top 4.

It’s hard to say exactly why the Raiders haven’t been able to reclaim the form that saw them almost take the 2016 NRL premiership. An integral part of that run to the 2016 NRL semi final last season was Raiders five eighth Blake Austin.

Austin has been quite the player for the Raiders since the joining the club from the Wests Tigers at the start of the 2015 season. His impact at the Raiders was immediate and he almost made the New South Wales Blues team in his first year. and maintained that form during 2016.

The Eels will no doubt be aware of his running game and his propensity to throw the dummy. It’s amazing how often the defence falls for that. His strength is a competitiveness akin to the Bulldogs Josh Reynolds.

A return to his best may be just around the corner.

Team lists:

 

Parramatta Eels (9th coming into the round)

 

  1. Bevan French
  2. Semi Radradra
  3. Michael Jennings
  4. Kirisome Auva’a
  5. Josh Hoffman
  6. Clint Gutherson
  7. Will Smith
  8. Suaia Matagi
  9. Kaysa Pritchard
  10. Tim Mannah (C)
  11. Manu Ma’u
  12. Tepai Moeroa
  13. Nathan Brown

 

  1. Beau Scott (C)
  2. Daniel Alvaro
  3. Kenny Edwards
  4. Siosaia Vave

 

  1. David Gower
  2. Rory O’ Brien
  3. Brad Takairangi
  4. Mitchell Moses

 

Coach: Brad Arthur

 

Late mail: Mitchell Moses has been declared a certain starter by Eels coach Brad Arthur earlier this week, expect him to come in at halfback for Will Smith.

 

Canberra Raiders (10th place coming into the round)

 

  1. Jack Wighton
  2. Nick Cotric
  3. Jarrod Crocker (C)
  4. Joey Leilua
  5. Jordan Rapana
  6. Blake Austin
  7. Aiden Sezer
  8. Junior Paulo
  9. Josh Hodgson
  10. Shannon Boyd
  11. Josh Papalii
  12. Elliot Whitehead
  13. Joseph Tapine

 

  1. Adam Clydesdale
  2. Luke Bateman
  3. Clay Priest
  4. Iosia Soliola

 

  1. Dunamis Lui
  2. Jordan Turner
  3. Dave Taylor
  4. Scott Sorenson

 

Coach: Ricky Stuart

 

Late mail: Expect no late changes for the Raiders. They should line up 1 through 17.

  

Two key match ups:

 

 

Mitchell Moses vs Aiden Sezer:

The first key matchup is a battle between the halves as new Eels recruit Mitchell Moses squares off against Raiders cool hand Aiden Sezer.

This time last week Moses was a West Tiger and was fresh off the back of a big loss to the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs. Now an Eel Moses seems to much happier from all reports and Eels fans will be hoping Moses can have an immediate positive impact at the club.

The question remains about whether he will play more of an organising role at the Eels as opposed to his off the cuff style of play at the Wests Tigers. Obviously Arthur sees Moses as more of a halfback and he’s not alone in that opinion as the immortal Andrew Johns declared earlier this season he would like to see Moses play as halfback opposed to five eighth.

In his favour is a strong kicking game and some sharp passing skills. Having good hands is the first key ingredient for a half, and when this is combined with a willingness to take on the line, you place the defence in two minds. How much Moses brings to the table in his first game remains to be seen.

Raiders halfback Aiden Sezer has had a fairly quiet year. Before the season started some experts predicted he might have come into contention for an Origin position for New South Wales.

Despite his mixed start to 2017, the Eels would be foolish to ignore Sezer’s credentials. He’s physically strong for a half back, and his organising skills compliment the running game of Austin. However, any team which underestimates his ability to take on the line dies so at their own peril. That strength with comes in handy in defence, also enables him to power through tackles. The Eels can’t afford to give him any latitude this week.

 

 

Bevan French vs Jack Wighton:

The second key match up is a battle between fullbacks as Eels young gun Bevan French prepares to face off with Raiders Mr Consistent, Jack Wighton.

Bevan French entered this season off the back of a stellar 2016. With 16 tries in just under half a season, he was a try scoring machine for the Eels.  French’s success came from playing on the wing so when 2017 came and the fullback jersey vacated by Michael Gordon was passed down to French, there were concerns about whether he would have the same impact at fullback as he did from the wing. However, with previous experience at junior and lower grade level, French obviously didn’t share those concerns.

French started this season in fairly impressive fashion but things took a turn of for the worst when he suffered a knee injury just over a month ago. Luckily for French the injury wasn’t too bad and he is set to return this Saturday night against the Canberra Raiders.

French is amongst the fastest players in the game and possesses an abundance of talent. However, what many underestimate is his game sense. He is constantly involved in the game. In attack, he regularly presents himself as available for the ball. And it’s not just his pace which causes problems for defences. French possesses a kit bag of skills that many halves would be envious of, so defences can be caught unawares by his play.

He’s sure to feature strongly on Raiders tip sheets.

Raiders fullback Jack Wighton is regarded as one of the most consistent performers at the Raiders. He entered the NRL as centre with plenty of wraps on him. As a fullback, those wraps have not disappeared.

Wighton is a confident player who enjoys running the football. Kicks which place him in open field only provide him with ample opportunity to show his wares. When he injects himself into the backline, or links up with either winger on kick returns, defences should be put on notice that trouble is on it’s way! The Eels halves will need to ensure that their kicks provide pressure and not opportunity this week.  

My tip: Given the fact this has been a lengthy preview I’ll keep my tip short and sweet, I see the Eels defeating the Raiders in a tight one. The home ground advantage will prove crucial for the Eels and the Raiders may struggle to click again. I’m tipping an Eels victory 28 points to 20.

 

Man of the match: Clinton Gutherson / Mitchell Moses

 

Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !!!

Nathan

 

If you liked this article, you might consider supporting The Cumberland Throw.

One thought on “Match Preview – Eels vs Raiders (Round 11)

  1. Colin Hussey

    The heavy track will be a big leveler methinks, it may curtail some of the runners. Beven coming back from the injury may need to be careful in that regard but, I think he would be used to that sort of track as many of the rural grounds are not the same as those the NRL are played on. Tingha as for his own training ground would certainly not be a great surface to say the least.

    I expect the Gutho and Moses combo to gel ok and they will go well.

    I too see the eels winning, it will be a good game and just hope the 27th man on the field shows fairness and has good eyesight on the night along with his helpers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

%d bloggers like this: