Rabbitohs v Eels preview

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How desperate will the Rabbitohs get as cross town rivals come to play?

Two sides that are battling for positions within and outside the top 8 lock horns at ANZ Stadium on Friday night. South Sydney have been very underwhelming this season and have struggled to find form in 2016. This form (or lack of it) continued last week where they were out enthused and out muscled by a young Wests Tigers team. It's not panic stations yet for the Rabbitohs, but Michael Maguire needs to inspire something from his squad soon otherwise Finals football will drift off into oblivion for the 2014 premiers. 

Parramatta showed their most complete performance last week against the Titans and escaped with their 2nd win in a row after falling behind early on. With still a slim chance of making the finals (this is taking into calculations that the Eels have their 12 points stripped due to those well publicised cap breaches), Parramatta would love to bounce back and get revenge on the Rabbits for their last minute loss a few short weeks ago. 

Last meeting: Round 10 2016 - Eels 20 Rabbitohs 22

These two met in the aftermath of the Eels' salary cap drama just five rounds ago, where a fervent Pirtek Stadium home crowd inspired the Eels to a decent lead before the Bunnies chased them down and broke blue and gold hearts. The Eels' record at ANZ is not as good either, but current form is what matters here and the Eels are back on a hot run while the hosts are struggling.

Who to watch: Look for Alex Johnston to spark his side back into form with some inspired runs from the back. A classy runner who is blessed with speed, Johnston could have success against a Parramatta side that has given up a lot of metres to opposition's back three's. Johnston's returns will be vital for the attack of Souths and how they dominate the field position. 

For the Eels who are minus Michael Jennings, look for Semi Radradra to step up in his absence. Radradra's bulldozing running style and ability to break tackles will have Souths defensive line on their toes all evening. After scoring a hat trick in the last meeting between these two clubs, look for Semi to run riot if he is given any room by the Souths outside defenders. 

The favourite: The eels are favourites on the back on a two match winning streak - the opposite of the Bunnies' recent form.

My tip: I believe that Souths will struggle without Reynolds and Inglis. They lose a lot in the kicking department and have made some very costly errors in the early parts of matches of late. They need a really good opening 20 minutes to win this one. The Eels have some momentum and I expect this to assist them in winning a tight, grinding affair. Eels by 4.

1. Alex Johnston 2. Dane Nielsen 3. Kirisome Auva'a 4. Siosifa Talakai 5. Aaron Gray 6. Cody Walker 7. Luke Keary 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Cameron McInnes 10. David Tyrrell 18. John Sutton 12. Kyle Turner 13. Sam Burgess
Interchange: 14. Damien Cook 15. Jason Clark 11. Paul Carter 17. Nathan Brown

1. Michael Gordon 2. Semi Radradra 3. Clinton Gutherson 4. Vai Toutai 5. Bevan French 6. Ken Edwards 7. Corey Norman 8. Daniel Alvaro 9. Isaac De Gois 10. Danny Wicks 11. Manu Ma'u 12. Beau Scott 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14. Kaysa Pritchard 15. Peni Terepo 16. David Gower 17. Rory O'Brien

Referees: Ashley Klein, Gavin Badger; Sideline Officials: Jeff Younis, Ricky MacFarlane; Video Referees: Luke Patten, Steve Chiddy, Bryan Norrie