NRL Team List
While he might not actually moonlight as J-Lo (or maybe he does?), the Eels have superstar expectations for Junior Paulo as the bootalicious bookend makes his return for the Blue & Gold against one of their bitter rivals in the Canterbury Bulldogs. His return from a hamstring niggle could not be more timely after the loss of both Nathan Brown and Will Smith in Parramatta’s 20-12 triumph over the Penrith Panthers on Sunday. The carnage didn’t end there for Brad Arthur with Michael Jennings suspended for one game following his high-shot on Isaah Yeo.
Fortunately, while we are starting to run desperately short of options in the forwards the Eels received a dual boost in the backline with George Jennings (injury) and Jaeman Salmon (suspension) both cleared to return to action this week. Even so Josh Hoffman is the bolter that has pipped both of them to Michael’s vacant centre position, although Salmon does claim a spot on the bench as the utility.
A week after a sterling showing at prop in Round 1, Tepai Moeroa slips back to lock-forward for the presumable future as he replaces Nathan Brown. That rounds out all the enforced changes with Arthur unsurprisingly electing to reward a team that showed equal parts grit and composure to see off Penrith in testing conditions.
Regardless of what you think of Canterbury’s form and roster, Sunday manifests as a huge opportunity for the Eels to bank an important win before they enter a treacherous stretch of their draw with showdowns against the Roosters and Sharks lurking around the corner. Still, they can’t lose sight of the present for the bigger picture here as the Bulldogs will undoubtedly be looking for redemption after getting thoroughly trounced by the New Zealand Warriors in Round 1.
| Parramatta Eels | Canterbury Bulldogs | ||
| 1 | Clinton Gutherson © | 1 | Will Hopoate |
| 2 | Maika Sivo | 2 | Christian Chricton |
| 3 | Josh Hoffman | 3 | Kerrod Holland |
| 4 | Brad Takairangi | 4 | Marcelo Montoya |
| 5 | Blake Ferguson | 5 | Reimis Smith |
| 6 | Dylan Brown | 6 | Kieran Foran |
| 7 | Mitchell Moses | 7 | Lachlan Lewis |
| 8 | Daniel Alvaro | 8 | Aiden Tolman |
| 9 | Reed Mahoney | 9 | Michael Lichaa |
| 10 | Junior Paulo | 10 | Dylan Napa |
| 11 | Shaun Lane | 11 | Josh Jackson |
| 12 | Marata Niukore | 12 | Raymond Faitala-Mariner |
| 13 | Tepai Moeroa | 13 | Adam Elliot |
| 14 | Jaeman Salmon | 14 | Jeremy Marshall-King |
| 15 | Tim Mannah © | 15 | Danny Fualalo |
| 16 | Kane Evans | 16 | Corey Harawira-Naera |
| 17 | David Gower | 17 | Sausao Sue |
| 18 | Bevan French | 19 | Jack Cogger |
| 19 | Oregon Kaufusi | 20 | Nick Meaney |
| 20 | George Jennings | 21 | Chris Smith |
| 21 | Andrew Davey | 22 | Ofahiki Ogden |
Injury & Suspension Report
| Nathan Brown | Pectoral | Round 14 |
| Will Smith | Arm | Round 8 |
| Michael Jennings | Suspension | Round 3 |
| Manu Ma’u | Knee | Round 6 |
| Stefano Utoikamanu | Ankle | Round 9 |
| Peni Terepo | Stood down | Indefinite |
Canterbury Cup Team List
It was far from an ideal start for the Wentworthville Magpies as they were the only Parramatta team (from Tarsha Gale through to NRL) to register a loss on the weekend with a 22-12 defeat to the Panthers. Dreary weather made for an even drearier game, which honestly was to be expected given that the Magpies were probably lacking somewhat in their spine.
I don’t think it gets much easier for Wenty this week with the Eels forced to draw deeper upon their reserves following a raft of injuries and suspensions to key personnel. You can follow the plight of the Magpies live on Channel 9 on Sunday as they are featured Canterbury Cup game of the day. If I am not mistaken the coverage should start at 1:15PM.
| Wentworthville Magpies | Canterbury Bulldogs | ||
| 1 | Josh Bergamin | 1 | Nick Meaney |
| 2 | Josh Minhinnick | 2 | Tui Katoa |
| 3 | Damon Goolagong | 3 | Morgan Harper |
| 4 | Ethan Parry | 4 | John Olive |
| 5 | Greg Leleusiuao | 5 | Jayden Okunbor |
| 6 | Dylan Izzard | 6 | Jesse Marschke |
| 7 | Henry Raiwalui | 7 | Jack Cogger |
| 8 | Mitch Butfield | 8 | Francis Tualau |
| 9 | Brad Keighran | 9 | Ben Marschke |
| 10 | Tekina Vailea | 10 | Ofahiki Ogden |
| 11 | Haimona Hiroti | 11 | Bronson Garlick |
| 12 | Salesi Faingaa | 12 | Rhyse Martin |
| 13 | Ray Stone | 13 | James Roumanos |
| 14 | Piki Rogers | 14 | Jack Nelson |
| 15 | Jacob Esau | 15 | Sam Radovu |
| 16 | D’Rhys Miller | 16 | Tony Matautia |
| 17 | Charlton Schaafhausen | 17 | Austin Dias |
Jersey Flegg Team List
Parramatta kickoff their season in the Flegg with a rivalry match against the Bulldogs. There are few, if any, surprises for Round 1 following what I saw and covered in their preseason trials. Sione Fonua and Jesse Cronin will co-captain the team and both are deserved selections for the honour. Kyle Schneider will be one of the must-watch players as he begins his journey towards a potential 2020 NRL campaign while the co-captains as well as players like JP Nohra, Bailey Biondi-Odo and Charbel Tasipale headline a core of young and talented prospects in the team.
The Baby Eels are perhaps a game-breaker or two short of being a pretty good roster but that is to be expected to be quite honest when you have the likes of Dylan Brown, Jaeman Salmon, Ethan Parry, Haze Dunster, Joe Taipari and Noel Aukafolau all unavailable for selection. Look for them to be a damn competitive outfit in spite of that though – hopefully they can bring home the first up win on the back of that spirit.
| Wentworthville Magpies | Canterbury Bulldogs | ||
| 1 | Sione Fonua © | 1 | Declan Casey |
| 2 | Taufa Afu | 2 | Frank Kuresa |
| 3 | Tuimavave Afualo | 3 | Jake Averiillo |
| 4 | JP Nohra | 4 | Isiaah Tass |
| 5 | William Kei | 5 | Blake Clayton |
| 6 | Nick Tillburg | 6 | Alex Seve |
| 7 | Bailey Biondi-Odo | 7 | Paul Karitiana |
| 8 | James Porter | 8 | Daniel Sakisi |
| 9 | Kyle Schneider | 9 | Zac Hetherington |
| 10 | Aitasi James | 10 | Penisiami Teaupa |
| 11 | Charbel Tasipale | 11 | Matthew Doorey |
| 12 | Arron Shelford | 12 | Javvier Pitavao |
| 13 | Jesse Cronin © | 13 | Deontai Seumanutafa |
| 14 | Joey Small | 14 | Ryan Gray |
| 15 | Bruce Ward | 15 | Brock Hamill |
| 16 | Vea Tapatoutai | 16 | Iverson Fuatimau |
| 17 | Harry Duggan | 17 | Sua Aiiloilo |
| 18 | Jack Jordan | 19 | Justin Filo |
| 20 | Murray Sua | ||
| 21 | Sebastian Winters-Chang |
There is a genuine challenge emerging after only one round. There are six players in the top 30 – read that as Top 29 – who are currently unavailable to play. To clarify, that’s Including Kaysa Pritchard, not Stefano, as Stefano is outside the Top 30.
That means that the NRL squad is down to 23 players and it’s only round 2. With only Jennings to be available from that list next week, the Eels depth is being tested incredibly early in the season. We do not need that trend continuing.
Sixties. Those stats are damming. We all know you need a healthy squad throughout the year to win a comp. How devastated was NB when walking off the field. Hopefully we are in a competitive position when he returns.
One can understand his disappointment, after all he lost a fair bit of game time last year, and he likely sees this year as being a high one after the lows of last, to be injured in his first game and to be out for a long period is no doubt devastating for and more importantly to him and he should be showing it.
Sixties when can we promote players up who are not in top 30? June?
Forty the selection of Sivo on the wing with Jennings available is a bit of a surprise for me.
Don’t get me wrong I thought Sivo had a good game on Sunday but I presumed that Jennings would take back his spot once available. I think that this is putting all players on notice that they either fire or introduce themselves to the Wenty coach Rip Taylor.
I am a little concerned by Will Smith as I understand he also broke his arm during the pre season. Unaware if it is the same arm.
Certainly a testing weekend for the teams, news out there has us signing the Scotsman from Souths as backup 9, don’t know much, well really nothing about him but could not expect him to jump over into the squad.
The testing for the team is starting a bit earlier than I had hoped, still I think we will win in a tough encounter.
This game is very important to us for our season. We have not been good at winning the games we are expected to win. A win here and even better a good win, will show that the discipline is back.
How good was Lane in his first game in the B&G? I really was impressed with him last year playing for Manly, I think we have stuck gold with this kid. He is special. We are starting to recruit Orign type talent, Paulo, Lane (believe me), Fergo and then the upcoming lads in our team and Eminem (if he can keep up the temperment from this first game, the world is in his hands, he was a different person, those 2 saved tries were unbeliveable. well done lad, you done the jersey proud). Happy days are here again.
Great read Forty, gives me plenty to consider. Not the least of which the return of Peni which I see as vital to our being able to field 17 top flight NRL quality players. I understand that Peni was obnoxious in his drunken spray at a flight attendant but no-one ever got sacked for being “drunk and obnoxious”. Apparently his biggest crime was to conceal the misdemeanor from BA and the CEO? If he was so embarrassed by his actions he probably rightly saw his foolishness as not something he should boast about. If Peni was neither refused entry onto the plane or arrested upon touchdown in NZ there is a strong case to offer an apology and seek forgiveness rather than anything more serious being considered.
I did notice him in the stands on Sunday, which would suggest the club haven’t dropped him entirely – i wonder when we’ll hear a return date from the club. Also, why isn’t Ray Stone mentioned in this weeks team list? I see him as a suitable replacement for Browny
Rowdy there is nothing to be gained by us sacking him for some other club to pick up.Best we can do is have him play out his contract for the rest of the season and reassess his options at that point.
Agreed John Eel.
You never know what their contracts say. How is bad behaviour dealt with? Does Peni get paid for sitting in the stands? If he is being paid, then, in this case, better off setting a fine, issuing an apology to all those inconvenienced, placing him on notice for repeat behaviour and getting him back to work. Any repeat, up the heat ( has to comply with contract).
BDon, nothing will happen until the club & NRL integrity unit get reports from the NZ airport security people along with any witness statements, when that happens they will make a call on any punishment, while he is stood down from playing he will most likely getting his wages, but any match suspension would/should take into account already missed matches.
The apology aspect should already have been carried out by Peni to the air hostess and the others caught up in it, likewise to the club as he kept the drama seemingly to himself and not owning up to it before it was out in the media, if that is real. I say IF as the club has not said anything further than the short statement.
Col, I reckon everything you’ve speculated on needing to be done before…..has more than likely already transpired. IMO, not humble but speculative also, both the club and NRL are waiting for the right time to announce his punishment having it already agreed to by both parties. 3 weeks and a substantial fine should see Peni back on deck right when we need him.
No disagreements there Rowdy, I guess I get surprised but I know I shouldn’t as I don’t like repeating the realities in this area in particular. In defence of others though its understandable for concern owing to the injury situation we have with forwards.
Not withstanding the injuries, not sure about sticking with Evans? Acknowledging limited game time last week but his contribution is limited. In 2018 and BA was criticised for loyalty to players when they weren’t performing…alternatively maybe Kaufusi, Davey and Stone didn’t perform for Wenty to warrant selection?
Looks like a smart move to promote safe Hoffman to replace Mennings and utilise Salmon’s utility in the #14. Looking forward to seeing Junior back.
Yes not sure what to make of Salmon on the bench; not sure how much dummy half he has played? or is this a smokescreen of some type. Our forwards look ok and the bench is the only issue for me with the injury toll as is. Must win this one, as it is one of those ‘ we should win games’ which often proves harder. Each early win is vital!! No more injuries pleeeeeze.