Round 6: Roosters v Eels preview
Back to back premiers clash with undefeated heavyweights in match of the round.
In a contender for the game of 2020 so far, it's Easts hosting Parramatta, however due to the NRL's strict biosecurity measures the game will be played at BankWest Stadium. The Roosters are coming off a convincing win over the Bulldogs while the Eels dug deep last week to finish well against a strong Penrith outfit.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has been named to make his return after being a late scratching due to injury against the Bulldogs. The move pushes Lindsay Collins back to the bench, which sees back rower Sitili Tupouniua drop out of the 17. Trent Robinson has also named Sam Verrills in the number 14 jumper; however he was swapped with veteran Mitchell Aubusson last week at the 11th hour and Robinson could do the same.
The Eels haven't made any unforced changes, but former Rooster Kane Evans will miss the clash with his former club after taking the early guilty plea during the week resulting in a one-week suspension. Oregon Kaufusi will replace him on the bench.
Parramatta have turned in inconsistent performances over the last 2 weeks, fading in and out of games much too regularly. Against Manly, they scored all their tries over a 10-minute period while the span narrowed to 6 minutes against the Panthers. Their performance this week is going to have to be one where they apply themselves over the 80 minutes and attempt to grind their way to victory, as the Roosters are unlikely to allow the Eels to run in short bursts of tries as they have become accustomed to doing.
The Tricolours have been simply flawless since the competition resumed. They have won their 3 games by a combined margin of 129-18 and with the exception of a short lapse to begin the second half last week have looked streets better than their opposition.
Having said that, Parramatta will be a different beast to the teams they have easily dispatched of in 2020. The Roosters have yet to beat a team currently sitting in the top 8, losing to both Penrith and Manly before the season went on hiatus. Many have pencilled the Roosters in as premiership favourites after their strong resumption, whether that is warranted or not will be revealed on Saturday night.
Last meeting: Round 3 2019 - Eels 18 Roosters 32
Who to watch: Roosters custodian James Tedesco turned in one of the great performances against the Bulldogs, scoring a hat-trick of tries and setting up 2 more as well as running for 231 metres and breaking 10 tackles. No disrespect to the Bulldogs but the Eels are much more staunch opposition, and if they can limit Teddy's impact like they did Tom Trbojevic a couple of weeks ago they'll go a long way to winning this game.
From one former Wests Tiger to another, Eels halfback Mitchell Moses has been in scintillating form that has seen him mentioned in the origin selection discussion. One of the common criticisms of him is that he is flying when his team is on the front foot but goes missing when his team is losing the battle of momentum. Last week, his side was down 10-0 with 20 to go. The Eels persisted and got it back to 10 apiece. Enter Mitch Moses, who put in a grubber that sat up perfectly for Ryan Matterson to score the try to put the Eels ahead and ultimately give them the win. Moses will need to be at his best and play a controlling role against the Roosters to give them the best chance of continuing their undefeated run.
The favourite: The Roosters are clear favourites to continue their strong run.
My tip: There's a reason this is being touted as the game of the season so far and come 7:30pm on Saturday you won't want to be anywhere else. The Eels turned in arguably their most impressive performance of 2020 last week and will have 3 extra days than their opposition to prepare. I think they've come a long way since last year and will be by far the toughest opposition for the Bondi boys, but I honestly cannot see anyone beating the Roosters at the moment. Roosters by 4
