Rev-up for Reynolds
CITY Origin coach Brad
Fittler has urged Adam
Reynolds to crank up the
pressure on NSW halfback
Mitchell Pearce by replicating his NRL form in Sunday’s
match against Country in
Coffs Harbour.
South Sydney’s Reynolds
will get his first taste of representative action after Pearce
was ruled out with a calf injury and Fittler is looking
SNAPSHOT
MAN OF THE ROUND:
Sonny Bill Williams. The
Rosters forward starred in
his much-hyped grudge
match against former club
Canterbury.
MAGIC MOMENT: Two
minutes from fulltime Jamie
Soward slots a field goal to
give St George Illawarra a
nailbiting 13-12 win over
Wests Tigers at the SCG.
STAT THAT MATTERS:
Melbourne’s 17-10 win over
South Sydney was their
14th NRL victory in a row,
their 15th straight including
their World Club Challenge
win over Leeds. The Storm
last tasted defeat against
St George Illawarra in round
21 last year, 261 days ago.
TALKING POINT: The
referees. Again.
Whistleblowers Ashley
Klein and Phil Haines
somehow allowed North
Queensland an eighttackle set in their 12-10
loss to Brisbane.
INJURY REPORT:
Roosters: Sonny Bill
Williams (knee), Issac Liu
(ankle), Mitchell Pearce
(calf); Penrith: Brad Tighe
(ankle), Wes Naiqama
(knee), Matt Robinson
(concussion), Cameron
Ciraldo (hamstring), Josh
Mansour (leg); Newcastle:
Danny Buderus (back),
Jarrod Mullen (knee); South
Sydney: John Sutton
(groin); Manly: David
Williams (back), Joe Galuvao
(achilles), Brett Stewart
(hamstring); Wests
Tigers: Ben MurdochMasila (concussion), Braith
Anasta (groin).
JUDICIARY WATCH:
Newcastle: Jeremy Smith
(head slam).
UNDER PRESSURE:
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler.
Last year’s grand finalists
have been the major
disappointments of the
season so far and they will
have to defy history if they
are to lift this year’s title.
No side in the 105-year
history of rugby league has
won the premiership after a
1-5 start.
forward to working with the
22-year-old, who has enjoyed
a superb first two seasons in
the NRL.
‘‘The important thing from
his point of view is that he
can come into a group of
strangers and be able to instil
what he wants out of the
team,’’ Fittler said after announcing the City team.
‘‘I think it’s a massive test
for him. We need blokes like
Adam and (Country halfback)
Josh McCrone to come good
and
put
pressure
on
Mitchell.’’
Out-of-form Tony Williams
was named in the City backrow after being axed from the
Test side following his belowpar start to the year with Canterbury. But, Fittler insists
the giant 24-year-old should
not be written off too soon
ahead of June’s State of Origin opener in Sydney.
Country coach Trent Barrett also has his share of injuries, with NSW incumbents
Todd Carney and Brett
Stewart unavailable. Stewart
damaged his hamstring in
Manly’s win over Cronulla
yesterday and Carney is still
recovering from a foot injury.
‘‘Todd is still not right, he
came out of a moonboot today
so he wouldn’t be able to train
at all this week,’’ Barrett said.
‘‘(Ryan) Hinchcliffe’s got a
knee injury and (Jarrod) Mullen’s got a knee injury and we
had four blokes in the Australian side. So it gives a lot of
blokes an opportunity, we’ve
got seven debutants so it’s going to be an exciting week for
a few young blokes.’’
Newcastle prop Willie
Mason will make his first representative side since 2010
when he runs out against City
and Barrett said the controversial former Test star
would be a welcome presence
around the camp.
Jamal Idris is recalled after
a disappointing two years
since his NSW debut in 2011.
CITY: Jarryd Hayne, Nathan
Merritt, Michael Jennings,
Chris Lawrence, Jorge Taufua,
Josh Reynolds, Adam
Reynolds, Aaron Woods,
Robbie Farah, Tim Mannah,
Tony Williams, Ryan
Hoffman, Feleti Mateo.
Interchange: Wade Graham,
Andrew Fifita, Tom Symonds,
Tim Grant.
COUNTRY: Michael Gordon,
Akuila Uate, Jamal Idris, Jack
Wighton, James McManus,
James Maloney, Josh
McCrone, Trent Merrin, Boyd
Cordner, Josh Jackson, Aiden
Tolman, Michael Ennis, Willie
Mason. Interchange: Sam
Williams, Tariq Sims, Ryan
James, Alex McKinnon.
Ball bounces for Titans in lucky escape
TITANS V EELS
Gold Coast playmaker Albert Kelly scored the match-winning try for the Titans last night
Picture: GETTY IMAGES
PARRAMATTA gave Gold
Coast an almighty scare in
the NRL clash at Skilled Park
on the Gold Coast last night.
The Titans escaped 28-22 after trailing 22-8 but they had
their fair share of luck, especially with halfback Albert
Kelly’s match-winning try in
the 72nd minute.
Kelly scored after his own
bomb took a deflection off
teammate Luke Douglas as
the Parramatta defence, including fullback Jarryd
Hayne, let the ball bounce.
Hayne had earlier pulled
off a spectacular AFL-like
leap to score a try in the 49th
minute that put the Eels out
to a 14-point lead.
Hayne also saved the day
when he took debutant
winger Anthony Don into
touch with Parramatta clinging to a 22-16 lead.
An average spectacle for
the first 40 minutes, the contest came alive after Titans
forward Ashley Harrison crashed over to make it 22-14
before five-eighth Beau
Henry kicked one of his six
goals to reduce the deficit to
six points.
Titans interchange forward Mark Minichiello levelled the scores after Kelly
put him through a narrow
gap 10 metres out.
Parramatta were hammered in the second half penalties 8-1, which helped the
Titans’ recovery mission.
But for a team beaten 50-0
three weeks ago, they took
the Titans to the wire.
The visitors, coming off a
confidence-boosting upset
over Cronulla last round, muscled up on their rivals.
They led 16-8 at half-time
and could have had a bigger
lead just after the break had
Kelepi Tanginoa not been called back for a forward pass
after he raced across the
Titans tryline.
The Titans were ordinary
at times while committing a
comedy of errors.
PUB:
By IAN McCULLOUGH
TEAMS
Sonny’s withdrawal takes further gloss off Anzac showdown
From page 24
Williams overlooked because
‘‘other guys are in better
form’’, according to Sheens;
■ Knights captain Kurt Gidley coming in to replace
Wests Tigers hooker Robbie
Farah on the bench — his
first appearance in the
www.ntnews.com.au
green and gold for three
years, despite playing only
a handful of matches in the
past two seasons;
■ The selection of just one
prop — Nate Myles — on the
bench with Paul Gallen and
Sam Thaiday to play plenty of
minutes in the front-row;
■ Josh Morris named as 18th
man to cover Justin Hodges,
who has concerns with his
hamstrings.
Apart from a four-day turnaround for both sides, there
are also concerns the ASADA
doping investigation could
also hinder preparations.
ASADA investigators are
due to start interviewing
players this week.
‘‘That’s the reality of life,’’
ARL Commission chairman
John Grant said.
‘‘If that’s the way the
ASADA investigation runs,
and we’re going to support
that, Tim and the team will
have to cope with that.’’
There are also questions
about the match’s relevancy
— the Kiwis have not won the
Anzac Test since 1998.
The game is locked in beyond this year but its timing
is not and it could be played
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after the Origin series. ‘‘I
think it is still relevant,’’
Sheens said.
Simon Mannering will captain New Zealand for the first
time, leading a team which
includes one of the NRL’s
youngest guns in Roger
Tuivasa-Sheck.
Monday, April 15, 2013. NT NEWS.
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