NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS v SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Round 20, 2015 NRL Premiership
Date: Saturday July 25, 7.30pm
Venue: ANZ Stadium
Referee: Henry Perenara
Last time they met:
The Rabbitohs thumped the Knights 50-10 in the Round 21 fixture in Cairns last year.
Head-to-Head:
The Knights have the upper hand here, having won 25 of the last 36 match-ups. That said, the Rabbitohs have won the last four meetings.
Teams:
NEWCASTLE
1. Kurt Gidley (c), 2. Jake Mamo, 3. James McManus, 4. Dane Gagai, 5. Akuila Uate, 6. Jarrod Mullen, 7. Tyrone Roberts, 8. Kade Snowden, 9. Adam Clydsdale, 10. Korbin Sims, 11. Beau Scott, 12. Tariq Sims, 13. Jeremy Smith. Bench: 14. Danny Levi, 15. Dave Fa’alogo, 16. Chris Houston, 17. Clint Newton.
SOUTH SYDNEY
1. Greg Inglis (c), 2. Alex Johnston, 3. Dylan Walker, 4. Bryson Goodwin, 5. Aaron Gray, 6. Luke Keary, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. George Burgess, 9. Isaac Luke, 10. Tim Grant, 11. Glenn Stewart, 12. John Sutton, 13. Chris McQueen. Bench: 14. Ben Lowe, 15. Chris Grevsmuhl, 16. David Tyrrell, 17. Thomas Burgess.
Match Analysis:
The Knights put in a good showing against the Titans last weekend but they’ll need to go up another gear if they want to get the two points against the Rabbitohs.
“It was probably our best performance for a long while, it was full of energy and defensively was a lot better,” Director of Football Michael Hagan says of the Round 19 win.
“I think it was really important to have some experience in the middle part of the field defensively to get the ruck under control.
“Beau Scott and Jeremy Smith made a big difference there, and then I thought our bench of Danny Levi, David Fa’alogo, Chris Houston and Clint Newton were all really good.”
While it was a good team performance it is about improvement this week and minimising errors, such as giving away four penalties inside the first 20 minutes of last weekend's match.
“Even though it was a good performance against the Titans, we still made mistakes,” Hagan notes.
“You need to be a lot more disciplined against Souths so I’m sure that’s been highlighted and talked about this week.”
Leading the charge this Saturday will be Korbin Sims and Kade Snowden, both of whom were close to unstoppable last week.
Snowden broke out of a staggering ten tackles while Sims almost reached the 200 mark in metres run.
“I thought Korbin and Kade were really strong up front, which is what you need,” Hagan agrees.
“They were both carrying the ball strongly and getting the team going forward.
“Korbin was Player’s Player, so that’s two in the last four games for him.”
Equally impressive were Jarrod Mullen and Tyrone Roberts, who seem to be back up to speed despite only being two games back from extended injury lay-offs.
Both players finished Round 19 with a try-assist while Mullen also grabbed his first four-pointer of 2015.
Just as important was Mullen’s kicking game, from which he made almost 400 metres.
The entire opposition team made less than half the metres Mullen did from the boot, and that was a big reason why the Knights dominated the game to such an extent.
“Our kicking game was a lot better and our chasing game was also good, which was great to see,” Hagan says.
This facet will be even more important against the Rabbitohs with Greg Inglis playing at fullback ready to collect any bombs Mullen sends his way.
“Greg Inglis is a big challenge but up front you know there’s the real challenge of George Burgess, Isaac Luke and Tim Grant,” Hagan explains.
“They’ve got some guys like Glenn Stewart on the edge who are talented and Adam Reynold’s kicking game will always put you under pressure.”
Luckily for the Knights the left side defence has seen some big improvements when Jake Mamo and James McManus have combined.
They provide a strong mix of youthful exuberance and unflappable experience that repelled every attack thrown their way last week.
“I thought James was one of our best players last week, defensively he was really good on that left-hand side,” Hagan says.
“He and Jake worked well together and James had an enormous say in Jarrod Mullen’s try.
“James is maybe looking forward to that role in the centres now in trying to help that left-side defence.”
Where it will be won:
The kick-chase.
Inglis is the most dangerous player in the competition when it comes to returning kicks.
When Mullen or Roberts punts it up the field the team has to chase it down as fast as possible.
“I think the energy to put pressure on the kick receiver will be a big part of the plan this week,” Hagan agrees.
The Final Word:
“After doing some contact yesterday and today, Adam’s confident that he’s going to get to the posts this week which is good,” Rick Stone said at a press conference on Wednesday morning about Clydsdale's return from a shoulder injury.
