Can Scott Sattler lead the Tigers to a victory over the Roosters

Andrew Johns. For a week, the back page has followed the saga of arguably the best player ever to play the game. The rumour mill has been churning with talk of shady back room deals and post career sponsorship endorsements to go with seven figure deals. At the end of the day should Union win out, Johns will be a great player and league will get along without him. There will be another superstar to take his place somewhere because without Johns another hopeful moves up into the top grade to take his place and get his shot at greatness. Personally, I’d like to see Johns go to union and excel. Newcastle is a strong club with deeply passionate supporters and a big junior base … and more than one local junior who wouldn’t mind coming back to the place. And the Knights could easily re-sign him and find that he sits on the sideline for another year through injury.

The kid who got his nickname from the Cessnock soccer club, St Jospeh’s, where he began his organised sporting life, would make a fine fist of the fifteen-a-side game, as he did with soccer and would with almost anything he turned his hand to. With his vision, ball skills and freakish kicking ability, attack will be his forte. And there is no doubt that being tackles has caused most of his injuries in recent years. In Union he will avoid being tackled due to the nature of the position he would play. But he can tackle which adds defensive substance to his attacking prowess. Good luck to you Joey and may the fates of fortune smile upon you where ever you should go.

After last weeks thumping at the hands of the Dragons, you could be forgiven for expecting the Tigers to cop more of the same against the league leading Roosters. Last time the teams met the score ended at 22-0 in Sydney’s favour. And in that game, as was the case last week, the Tigers did little wrong but ended up well on the wrong side of the scoreboard. Scott Sattler is listed to return for the third week in a row and should make it on to the park this time around. Ricky Stuart has named a six man bench casting doubt over the fitness of his forward pack. Watch for Dene Halatau to test the weakness of Chris Walker and Gavin Lester on the Rooster left hand side defence. Prediction: Roosters by 18.

After trying to lose the game several times in the last couple of minutes against the Raiders, the Bulldogs should have a slightly easier time against the poorly performing Cowboys. North Queensland weren’t spectacular in defeating the Warriors in golden point extra time although the match shouldn’t have gone that far. Graham Murray named an unchanged line up having plenty faith in the side that has now won three in a row. Canterbury should have received some coaching on the fine art of closing out a game during the week so as not to repeat the tactics that almost cost them victory after the siren in Gosford. The Cowboys have the capacity to stand up and be counted, but I wouldn’t expect it to happen. Prediction: Bulldogs by 12.

A few days ago, the Melbourne administration would have been nervous. After letting their halfback negotiate with other clubs, Andrew Johns’ potential move to Rugby Union many predicted Matt Orford would head north towards his Central Coast home. But the Storm playmaker signed on the dotted line clearing the way for the club to tie-up up to seven more players who wanted to know Orford would remain with the league’s southern most entity. So back to concentrating on the football, Melbourne shouldn’t have to worry too much as the terrible Warriors brave the Tasman crossing to contest a battle at one of league’s true strongholds. An Olympic Park night game resulting in a Storm loss is a very infrequent event. After the bye the niggling injuries will be gone and Melbourne will be fresh and ready to reap carnage. Prediction: Storm by 32.

After a couple of wins, the Eels find themselves in equal 8th position on the table. But without Adam Dykes Parramatta will struggle against the Panthers at Penrith Stadium. An extra week of rest and Craig Gower returns to push his claims for the Blues number seven jersey in origin III. Michael Witt’s return from suspension fills the Eels halfback vacancy nicely. Wade McKinnon’s battle with Rhys Wesser will be a highlight of the match. Both players have been in great touch of late and should provide plenty of reasons for the crowd to leave their seats. With the home ground advantage, it’s hard to tip against the Premiers. Prediction: Panthers by 14.

At the beginning of the year, I honestly thought the Broncos would struggle. But their 9-4 record speaks volumes for the south Queenslanders ability to overcome. The hardworking Brisbane pack will enjoy not having to face Ruben Wiki who was again suspended for two matches. Darren Lockyer and Casey McGuire are finding plenty of takers outside them when points are needed which will mean Matt Gafa and Mark McLinden have to lift a level if they hope to contain the Broncos duo. With no origin hangover, Brisbane at Suncorp seems like an insurmountable task. Prediction: Broncos by 12.

With so much controversy surrounding Andrew Johns’ possible departure to the Waratahs, the Knights players have a chance to take some of the huge salary that the world’s best player commands. And the best way to ask for that cash is to perform. Ben Kennedy ironically returns from injury to take on his future club in a game that can right the ship for his current employer. Four losses in a row isn’t a pattern we associate with the Novocastrians, and Manly will be out to make it five. They need to quell the run of losses inflicted by Souths and Parramatta in recent weeks to make sure they avoid the wooden spoon, a dubious distinction that the club is yet to receive. It seems unlikely that this is the match to change their fortunes however. Prediction: Knights by 6

History repeats … well sort of … at the SCG as the “Match of the Day” is between the Rabbitohs and the Dragons. While it’s not the match that will get free to air coverage, rugby league attempts to go back to the days when these two proud clubs battled at the head of the ladder. The Rabbitohs lay claim to the most premiership victories and the Dragons have the longest winning streak (11 premierships in a row) so nostalgia comes to the fore. But on the scoreboard, unless we get torrential rain reducing the fabled football arena to a quagmire a la the same fixture last year, the Dragons should be too classy. Already three of the joint venture’s best are moving on at season’s end because of the salary cap. For the Bunnies, Arthur Kitinas can only dream of a fourth straight week of claiming two points. But the Jekyll and Hyde act that the “Red V” can produce gives Souths a chance. Prediction: Dragons by 28.

This week gives the biggest average start on FootyTab for the year. Eleven and a half point means that the week is supposed to be predictable. But like last week when Souths provided it, there is always an upset to be had. Good luck.

E-mail the author
source: MasterTips