NRL ROUND 16 TIPPING PREVIEW
By W D Nicolson
Okay first the good news -
NOT The Footy Show Episode 112 is a cracker with
SMH journo Brad Walter mapping out what's next for Fairfax and Football after the news of job cuts at the media giant. Plus
Maria Tsialis talks Women in League Round,
Matt Duncan previews Round 16 and
DC Chapman waffles on like a good Belgian. Plus it is only 70 minutes long so it's worth a trying out at least once in your lifetime.
The bad news is - time has once again not been kind here at
www.wdnicolson.com and you have to settle for the reduced Round 16 Preview article for the second straight week.
My apologies.
So if you want the reason we we've tipped who we have -
please listen to the Podcast and get yourself a dose of prognostications from the
NOT The Footy Show tipping panel.
As for my tipping - I tempted fate last weekend by writing this - (my tipping)
it's going ok (in fact a little better than that but let's not tempt fate) - and after writing that you'll see that my picks are slightly more adventurous than normal.
Well I was a goose and didn't stick to the 'pick favourites' formula that had been good to me for the previous six weeks before that and was left clinging to life with a 2 from 7 week.
So hopefully by going favourite central for Round 16 - we'll all be better off for it this week.
Full Round 16 Tips are Broncos by 14, Dragons by 7, Cowboys by 12, Panthers by 2, Storm by 10, Sea Eagles by 4 and Tigers by 4.
My
'Locks' are the Broncos, Cowboys and Storm. My
'Less than Confidents' are Dragons and Sea Eagles, while my
'Don't put the house on Its' are the Eels could beat the Panthers and the Knights upset the Tigers. But at the same time can't actually bring myself to tip them... not after last week's 'too much faith in outsiders' week.
All the panel's picks are below with their Special Fried Rice selections. I
have updated the NRL Injured List with all of this week's Late Mail as well as below in streamlined form.
Round 16 Late Mail...
Broncos v Rabbitohs
Corey Parker will play with a protective shin guard, but Ben Hannant has a quad strain and is out. Dunamis Lui or Mitchell Dodds will be 17th man. Greg Inglis should play, while Justin Hunt should keep Shaune Corrigan out of the starting team. Nathan Peats is favoured to also win the final bench spot ahead of Corrigan and George Burgess.
Dragons v Titans
Beau Champion and Matthew White are out, replaced by Steve Michaels and probably Michael Henderson. William Zillman and Jamal Idris are also questionable, with Dominique Peyroux and Phil Graham flying to Sydney as cover. The Dragons should be 1-17.
Cowboys v Raiders
Cory Paterson will be 18th man for the Cowboys, unless Ricky Thorby is a late omission. Canberra will choose between Trevor Thurling and Sam Mataora on gameday.
Panthers v Eels
Luke Lewis should play, while there are a host of first grade Panthers from the start of the season in NSW Cup. Blake Austin will likely relegate Arana Taumata back to Windsor, and Austin could start for Harry Siejka. Parramatta could omit Ryan Morgan again, but having lost Reni Maitua to another suspension, he might get a reprieve and either Taulima Tautai or Taniela Lasalo will be 18th man.
Bulldogs v Storm
The Dogs expect Luke MacDougall to play with Brett Lane named in the NSW Cup, where he is likely to be joined by Martin Taupau which means either Dale Finucane or Josh Jackson will make the bench. The Storm have trained lightly due to playing on Monday but their only change on gameday might be Kevin Proctor to start for Sika Manu.
Roosters v Sea Eagles
Sam Perrett is set to play at least one more game with the Roosters, and Mose Masoe is the only bench player under threat from Tom Symonds, Tinirau Arona or Daniel Mortimer. The Sea Eagles might spring a surprise and include Tony Williams at the last minute with Vic Mauro likely to make way.
Knights v Tigers
Robbie Farah is expected to play after the tragedy last weekend, while Gareth Ellis is unlikely to make an early return from injury. Liam Fulton will not play with a rib injury and Tom Humble and Junior Moors look set to miss out to Ray Cashmere for the final bench spot. The Knights have the option of bringing in either Zane Tetevano for Chris Adams, while Dane Gagai is expected to overcome a thigh strain and play.
Normal Preview Service Resumes Next Week,,, although I would like some feedback if this is actually not that bad a format from time to time? Let me know via @NRLTweet
For more on how we see the Weekend unfolding, check out the Podcast and Preview below.
