Wests Tigers v Rabbitohs preview

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Old rivals fight for desperate two points

This one will get interesting. The home side the Wests Tigers were downright awful in periods of their loss against the Roosters last week and will need to improve ten fold against a Souths side that lost momentum big time last week with their surprise lost to the Gold Coast Titans in Perth. Both these have untapped ability and talent but consistency is hurting them. The Tigers are walking the finals tightrope at the moment and with just 5 wins from 13 starts, there needs to be a shift in mentality. The constant talk around Robbie Farah's position within the team is unsettling all at the club and it appears this talk isn't going anywhere soon. Will it affect this young Tigers side on Friday night?

Souths need consistency badly. Following on from their performance in the latter half of 2015. The Rabbitohs have only won 5 out of last 17 games after they ended 2015 with 5 defeats out of 6. This has morphed into this season where they sit in 10th place with 12 points. Lapses in focus has been the major issue so far in 2016 with the Rabbits turning off at pivotal moments in games, that said they still have the ability all throughout their squad to put any team in the NRL under pressure and their average of 22 points a game is anything but poor. Can they focus for 80 minutes in this vital game against the Tigers on Friday?

Last meeting: Round 9 2016 - Rabbitohs 22 Wests Tigers 30

The Tigers have won the past two and three of the last 5 against Souths, all these matches have been at ANZ Stadium. There has been 27 meetings between these two clubs since the Bunnies were readmitted in 2002, with Souths leading the all time series 15-12. ANZ Stadium has not been kind to the Tigers throughout the years however, as they have recorded just 26 wins from 64 games with a win ratio of just 40%.

Who to watch: For the home side its hard to go past the ultra talented James Tedesco. Pushing hard for a NSW origin jumper, Tedesco knows how important this game is for that and also to keep the Tigers 2016 hopes in tact. If he can get one over QLD representative Greg Inglis it may just twist the arms of the NSW selectors to picking him for game two at Suncorp Stadium. Tedesco is blessed with pace, a brilliant change of direction and classy footwork. His ability to break the first tackle is uncanny and opens up space and second phase play for his Tigers team mates, his stats in 2016 tell the story of this talented Fullback: 10 tries, 9 try assists, 9 line breaks and 1286 metres at an average of 128 metres a game. The guy is a freak of nature. 

Souths need an inspired effort by Bryson Goodwin in the centres. Goodwin has been consistent this year and has benefited from Greg Inglis's move to the halves which has allowed Bryson to get his hands on the ball and do so in space. Still with above average speed and a tough fend Goodwin is a great finisher and look for him to try and damage that right hand edge of the Tigers. Goodwin is having a career year with 9 tries (from just 11 games), 10 goals, 4 try assists, 7 line breaks and is averaging a very handy 102 metres a game. The Tigers can't afford to sleep on Goodwin on Friday evening.

The favourite: Souths are favourites for this game with the Tigers outsiders.

My tip: If this was at Leichardt or Campbelltown I would tip the Tigers but with the home advantage gone I'm leaning with Souths who have a lot of points in them. The Tigers defence is a real worry. Souths by 12.

1. James Tedesco 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Tim Simona 4. Kevin Naiqama 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Mitchell Moses 7. Luke Brooks 8. Aaron Woods 15. Dene Halatau 14. Sauaso Sue 11. Josh Aloiai 12. Chris Lawrence 13. Elijah Taylor
Interchange: 10. Ava Seumanufagai 9. Robbie Farah 16. Tim Grant 17. Kyle Lovett

1. Cody Walker 2. Alex Johnston 3. Kirisome Auva'a 5. Dane Nielsen 19. Aaron Gray 6. Greg Inglis 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Cameron McInnes 17. David Tyrrell 11. Paul Carter 4. Bryson Goodwin 13. Sam Burgess
Interchange: 12. Kyle Turner 15. Jason Clark 16. Siosifa Talakai 10. Nathan Brown

Referees: Matt Cecchin, Matt Noyen; Sideline Officials: Jason Walsh, Adam Reid; Video Referees: Bernard Sutton, Jared Maxwell, Ben Galea