NRL Team List

Round 22, Friday 6:00PM, Go Media Stadium

Trent Barrett has dropped his Round 22 team sheet and it looks a whole lot like his Round 21 list – although Dan Keir gets an official First XVII jersey this week. The Eels travel to New Zealand this week to face the Warriors on Friday night and could be feisty underdogs if they can bring the same energy from last week’s clash against the Storm.

In classic Parramatta fashion however, the opposition get a timely boost with the return of a pair of core players in Charnze Nikoll-Klokstad and Shaun Johnson. They take their customary places at fullback and halfbacks respectively and very clearly improve a New Zealand, that like the Eels, has been struggling for consistency.

Bringing similar energy levels in consecutive games is only part of the formula for Parramatta in Round 22. Costly errors that gifted the Storm points and a rather general lack of direction in the red zone inhibited any real opportunity of stunning the competition leaders. They don’t need to be perfect in either regard on Friday but they certainly need to tidy both aspects up.

NRLW Team List

Round 2, Sunday 12:00PM, Allianz Stadium

Well it didn’t take long for the cursed luck to settle in for the NRLW. A genuinely outstanding season opening victory over the Broncos has been soured by season ending injuries to both Rueben Cherrington and Boss Kapua. Coach Steve Georgallis has promoted Taneka Todhunter to starting dummy-half in reply and it looks like she will platoon the role with Rosemarie Beckett. Chloe Jackson will start in the backrow in the other major enforced change.

Like the Eels, Cronulla were comprehensive winners in Round 1 following a 14-0 shutout of the Cowboys. Their line-up features plenty of familiar names including the likes of Penitani, Preston, Johnston, Anderson and Foliaki and it sets the table for a fierce clash at Allianz Stadium…a venue that has been badged a Parramatta home game for whatever reason.

NSW Cup Team List

Round 22, Friday 3:15PM, Go Media Stadium

The Eels sustained a hefty loss to the Newtown Jets but have little time to recover as they join the NRL in a trans-Tasman flight to the land of the long white cloud on Friday. While young centre Araz Nanva holds his spot in the backline, fellow Flegg prospects Mohamed Alameddine (dropped to Flegg) and Dom De Stradis (injured/suspended?) are absent. Mohamed has been replaced by Lorenzo Mulitalo following his return from a 1-game suspension while Morgan Harper has been named once again – although his exact status with a knee injury isn’t really known.

Harvey Normans Women’s Premiership Team List

Round 5, Monday 7:00PM, NSWRL Centre of Excellence

Parramatta got back on the right track in Round 4 with a hard fought 18-14 win over the Rabbitohs and now they turn it around into a match against the 1-win Sharks. This week shapes up as something of an oddity given both the time slot (a Monday night) and the location (NSWRL HQ) but Coach Fava is calling upon a fairly settled squad with one exception. Chloe Jackson is named in the starting pack but has also been named to the NRLW to expect a change there on game day.

Jersey Flegg Team List

Round 22, Saturday 10:00AM, North Harbour Stadium

Mohamed Alameddine drops back to Flegg this week in a dissapointing development while there is a Dom named to the backrow…just not of the De Stradis variety. Instead Dom Farrugia, a career winger through the Junior Representatives, makes his Flegg debut on the edge as part of an extremely young backrow that also features Jezaiah Funa-Iuta and Tyrese Lokeni. It is an extremely interesting selection decision given that Farrugia projected well to the flanks so is it simply a case of getting a talented young prospect into the team somehow in any position or is there a big positional transition taking place? Only time will tell. I guess the other option is that this is simply a clerical error and it really is Dom De Stradis! Again, time will tell.

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