Wests Tigers v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Wests Tigers v Rabbitohs preview
105 mins ago | Lachlan McIntyre
Wests Tigers v Rabbitohs preview
10th meets 11th in battle of finals hopefuls
Sunday night will see round eleven brought to a close with the Wests Tigers hosting the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Souths will be aiming to build on their close win last week, continuing in their efforts to get their season back on track following four straight losses. The Tigers have been brought back to reality thanks to a Storm thumping and will be aiming to be much more competitive back at home this week.
Travelling south to Melbourne is difficult for any team, but a young Wests Tigers outfit looked to simply be lacking effort throughout their 64-0 loss to the Storm. Their goal line defence, which up to this point had been sound, was torn apart by Ryan Papenhuyzen - in attack, final passes weren't sticking and dumb decisions were being made. The loss has opened the door to media criticism, with a social media post from Jarome Luai's dad keeping Wests in the headlines. It's important that, instead of wallowing in their defeat, the Tigers can learn from the past week, in order to avoid replicating it.
Starford To'a will return from a neck injury this week, slotting back into the centres. It's Brent Naden who's forced out of his spot, somewhat surprisingly being named on the bench instead. Fonua Pole has gone down with a knee injury, seeing Royce Hunt elevated to the starting side and Jack Bird joining the bench. Tallyn Da Silva is a surprise omission from the 17, with the young hooker seemingly making way to allow Api to play 80 minutes.
Trailing 14-0 at the break, a colossal effort was demanded of the Rabbitohs to turn the tides against Brisbane last week. But turn they did, with a stunning Latrell Mitchell two point field goal completing the comeback in the 77th minute. The 22-14 win, which broke a four game losing streak, didn't stop Mitchell from receiving criticism over his controversial try on the last play of the game. Regardless, South Sydney have signalled that they are well and truly back, and will want to dispose of the Tigers who currently sit just one place above them on the ladder.
Alex Johnston returns on the wing for the Rabbitohs, having been on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Fletcher Myers makes way, dropping back to the reserves. Josh Schuster, Lewis Dodd, Tevita Tatola, and Jacob Host are also among the reserves, arguably the strongest cohort of players left out of the top 17 in the NRL.
The Bunnies have won four of their past five games against the Tigers, but it was Wests who came out on top in their last meeting - a game that was also played at Campbelltown.
Last meeting: Round 24 2024 - Wests Tigers 18 Rabbitohs 16
Who to watch: Jahream Bula has had a cracking start to the season at fullback for the Tigers. After bursting onto the scene in 2023, the 23 year old has international experience for Fiji and 48 NRL appearances to his name. Bula has been named Wests Tigers Players' Player, Rookie of the Year, and Player of the Year so far in his career, and it's clear that he still has room for more improvement. Signed until the end of 2027, Wests Tigers fans are definitely hoping that he is the club's long term fullback as he continues to develop as a player.
Alex Johnston is rapidly closing in on the NRL's all-time try scoring record. The South Sydney winger has been known as a prolific try-scorer throughout his career and appears set to etch himself further into the history books in the very near future. On 196 career tries and currently ranked second of all-time, he is also the first player to score 30 tries in consecutive seasons. At just 30 years of age, the Kumul and Kangaroo seemingly has plenty of time to chase down Ken Irvine's record of 212 career tries. A sneaky few 4-pointers on his return from injury this weekend is definitely not unlikely.
Favourite: Most bookies can't split the two teams. After all, the only differentiating factor on the ladder is the Tigers having an 18 points higher for and against.
My tip: The Bunnies might enter this game a little bit more relaxed than they should, and the Tigers will definitely be ready to make up for last week.
1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Adam Doueihi 4. Starford To'a 5. Charlie Staines 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Jarome Luai 8. Terrell May 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Royce Hunt 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Alex Seyfarth 13. Alex Twal 14. Brent Naden 15. Tony Sukkar 16. Jack Bird 17. Sione Fainu 18. Heath Mason 19. Tallyn Da Silva 20. Solomona Faataape 21. Reuben Porter 22. Tristan Hope
1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Campbell Graham 5. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape 6. Jayden Sullivan 7. Jamie Humphreys 8. Jai Arrow 9. Siliva Havili 10. Keaon Koloamatangi 11. Euan Aitken 12. Tallis Duncan 13. Lachlan Hubner 14. Jye Gray 15. Sean Keppie 16. Davvy Moale 17. Liam Le Blanc 18. Tevita Tatola 19. Lewis Dodd 20. Joshua Schuster 21. Fletcher Myers 22. Jacob Host
Referees: Wyatt Raymond; Sideline Officials: Daniel Luttringer, Jarrod Cole; Video Referees: Chris Butler;