Parramatta Eels v St George Illawarra Dragons
ANZ Stadium, Olympic Park
Sunday, 4pm
The Eels and Dragons both have a point to prove in Round 15 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
The Dragons were widely tipped to get over the Bulldogs last weekend but were instead ambushed at every turn by the rejuvenated Belmore boys.
The Eels also had no answers to a Johnathan Thurston-led North Queensland outfit, going down by 26 points up in Darwin.
The Eels have made way with Nathan Davis on the wing with Kirisome Auva'a coming in as a replacement. Although Eels coach Brad Arthur has named Michael Jennings (quadriceps) in his reserves list.
The Dragons will play with a slightly different starting forward pack to the one they have played with every game so far in 2017. Tyson Frizell's Origin call-up means Tariq Sims will start in the back row and Jacob Host returns to the side on the bench.
Kalifa Faifai Loa steps in on the wing and Jason Nightingale shifts to fullback in Josh Dugan's absence.
Teams –
Eels: 1. Bevan French, 2. Semi Radradra, 3. Brad Takairangi, 4. Clint Gutherson, 5. Kirisome Auva'a, 6. Corey Norman, 7. Mitch Moses, 8. Daniel Alvaro, 9. Kaysa Pritchard, 10. Tim Mannah (c), 11. Manu Ma'u, 12. Tepai Moeroa, 13. Nathan Brown. Interchange: 14. Beau Scott (c), 15. Suaia Matagi, 16. Kenny Edwards, 17. Will Smith, 18. Marata Niukore, 19. Siosaia Vave, 20. Michael Jennings, 21. John Folau.
Dragons: 1. Jason Nightingale, 2. Nene Macdonald, 3. Kurt Mann, 4. Tim Lafai, 5. Kalifa Faifai Loa, 6. Gareth Widdop (c), 7. Josh McCrone, 8. Russell Packer, 9. Cameron McInnes, 10. Paul Vaughan, 11. Tariq Sims, 12. Joel Thompson, 13. Jack de Belin. Interchange: 14. Jacob Host, 15. Leeson Ah Mau, 16. Hame Sele, 17. Taane Milne, 18. Jai Field, 19. Tyrone McCarthy, 20. Blake Lawrie, 21. Will Matthews
Key Match-Up: Nathan Brown v Jack de Belin – The crucial factor to this upcoming battle is each man's offloading prowess. Eels workhorse Brown currently sits at eighth overall for most offloads (26) while de Belin pips him with 27 to sit at equal-sixth competition wide. They are also among their respective team's biggest metre-makers making for a crucial battle in the middle-third.
The History: Played 32; Eels 16, Dragons 14, Drawn 2. The Eels have won their past five matches against the Dragons. That includes earlier this season (in Round 2) when the Eels produced a whopping 34-16 win at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
Match Officials: Referee: Grant Atkins. Assistant Referee: Chris Sutton. Sideline Officials: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski and Dave Ryan.
Televised: Channel Nine – Live coverage from 3:30pm; Fox League – Live coverage from 3:30pm.
Radio: ABC, 2GB and Triple M
Social: Ensure you are across the Dragons' social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
