NSWRL Premier
League: Round 15 preview

Round 15 kicks off at Energy Australia stadium. Newcastle managed to produce the upset of Round 14 which will give them plenty of confidence when they return home to face the Cougars. St Marys-Penrith find themselves in trouble of falling back to the pack after last weeks loss so a spirited performance will be needed to keep their season on track.

Newcastle Knights v St Marys-Penrith Cougars Friday 18 July, 5:30pm at Energy Australia Stadium Referee: Jason Weinstein Touch Judges: David Abood and George Jankowski

Newcastle Knights ? Michael Young, Michael Fortier, Gavin Quinn, Jared Taylor, Joshua Smith, Bradley Wallace, Chris Tyrie, Tim Maddison, Michael Ennis, Reegan Tanner, Blake Mueller, Matthew Bartlett, Todd Lowrie, Interchange: Daniel Tolar, Brendan Worth, Riley Brown, Matthew White, Chris Nolan, Todd Bates, Mark Jaques (Three to be omitted).

St Marys-Penrith Cougars ? Steve Turner, Chris Hicks, Shane Elford, Shaun Ata, Luke Dyer, Daniel Russell, Ben Reynolds, Anthony Armour, Shannon Donato, Peter Lewis, Richard Fa?aoso, Matthew Pow, David McLean, Interchange: Garret Crossman, George Rose, Danny Galea, Tim Maccan.

North Sydney Oval could throw up one of the more one sided affairs of the round with both teams on opposite ends of the table. The Dragons went down narrowly last week to competition leaders Canberra while the Bears were humiliated by 50 points.

Central Coast Bears v St George-Illawara Dragons Saturday 19 July, 2:00pm at North Sydney Oval Referee: Michael Harradine Touch Judges: Alan Fallah and Luke Bugden

Central Coast Bears ? Team Unannounced

St George-Illawara Dragons ? Lee Bennett, Ben Creagh, Chris Nero, David Howell, Shane Laloata, Matthew Head, Dean Byrne, Justin Poore, Damien Bower, Steven Southern, Nathan Tutt, Gary McBride, Ryan Powell, Interchange: Jason Ellem, Mark Dalle Cort, Brendan Wall, Josh Essex, Bryan Norrie (One to be omitted).

In the next match Canberra now finds themselves 4 points clear at the top of the table and a cut above the rest. Their chances go up a notch this week with speedster Phil Graham being dropped back to the Premier League squad. It makes it tough for the travelling Magpies but they will value 2 competition points highly as teams jockey for position down the home straight.

Canberra Raiders v Western Suburbs Magpies Saturday 19 July, 3:00pm at Canberra Stadium Referee: Rod Lawrence Touch Judges: John McCormack and Peter Castle

Canberra Raiders ? Phil Graham, Adrian Purtell, James Evans, Matthew Gafa, Nathan Smith, Mark Simon, Jace Van Dijk, Darren Porter, Matt Doeg, Mark Bryant, Kris Kahler, Josh Miller, Simon Friend, Interchange: Nick Kouparitsas, Jarred Lawrence, Blake Hinschen, Jack Pearson, Josh Blatch (One to be omitted).

Western Suburbs Magpies ? Luke Duffy, Jordan Macey, John Olzard, Ken McGuinness, Leo Clarke, Clint Greenshields, John Peterson, Brett O?Farrell, Isaac Dregois, Tere Glassie, Nigel Plum, Wes Hallam-mann, Liam Fulton, Interchange: Brad Eisenhuth, Michael Papa, David Djukich, Ray Cashmere, Jamie Szczerbank, Chris Levy, Bryce Gibbs, Clint Hill (Four to be omitted).

At Leichhardt Oval Neither side may be in the top grade but when they line up on the weekend they?ll show they?re still alive and kicking. Balmain recorded a victory over the Eels while the Jets were no match for the Roosters. This one points to a Balmain win but expect plenty of fight from Newtown.

Balmain Tigers v Newtown Jets Saturday 19 July, 3:00pm at Leichhardt Oval Referee: Tony De Las Heras Touch Judges: Glenn Jackson and Mario Cafarelli

Balmain Tigers ? Balin Cupples, Joel Caine, Luke Milton, Mark Luland, Ben Carney, Daniel Harris, Adam Tippett, Jaime Small, Leigh Bowman, Mick Hawkins, Joel Attenborough, Jeff Lima, Chris Heighington, Interchange: Sam Obst, Charlie Farah, Jamie Nowland.

Newtown Jets ? Team Unannounced

For the fifth match of the round Canterbury will be fielding a very strong side, one of the advantages of your first grade team having the bye. With the advantage on paper the Bulldogs will be looking to cement their place in the top 4 and peg back the run away Raiders. Cronulla on the other hand found themselves in free fall last week and are in danger of slipping back even further in the coming weeks.

Cronulla Sharks v Canberbury Bulldogs Saturday 19 July, 5:30pm at Toyota Park Referee: Tony Archer Touch Judges: Darren Alchin and Wayne Loveday

Cronulla Sharks ? Dave Simmons, Nick Youngquest, Andrew Emelio, Stephen Ross, Ben Yelavich, Jye Mullane, Joel Penny, Dale Newton, Pat Gibson, Shaun Wessell, Daniel Dumas, Reece Williams, Cameron Ciraldo, Interchange: Roy Friend, Keith Galloway, Jnr Paulo, Kevin Kingston.

Canterbury Bulldogs ? Trent Cutler, Gavin Lester, Steven Huges, Willie Talau, Shane Marteene, Jonathan Thurston, Brett Oliver, Glenn Hall, Adam Brideson, Roy Asotasi, Glen Hughes, Steve Reardon, Reni Matua, Interchange: Justin Holbrook, Adrian Rainey, Trevor Thurling, Hutch Maiava, Dayne Neininckx (Two to be omitted).

These next two sides found themselves on opposite ends of the scale last round with the Roosters scoring 46 points and Manly conceding that many. The Roosters therefore come in as strong favourites to beat the bottom of the table Sea Eagles. Manly will be hoping the Brookvale faithful can provide some support in getting them home.

Manly Sea Eagles v Sydney Roosters Sunday 20 July, 12:45pm at Brookvale Oval Referee: Gavin Badger Touch Judges: Doug Keen and Gerald Bailey

Manly Sea Eagles ? Matt Hill, Sean Meaney, Brad Dempsey, Michael Bostick, Ryan Scott, Michael Gill, Alex Moore, Phil Morwood, Craig Hayne, Gray Winter, Glenn Stewart, Ben Ellis, Mark Shipway, Interchange: Pat Foran, Adam Cutherbertson, Brad McLean, Daniel Watkins, Scott Kenna, Mailangi (Two to be omitted).

Sydney Roosters ? Henari Veratau, Steve Skinnon, Lelea Paea, Lopini Paea, Aaron Mercer, Aaron Lewis, Grant Rovelli, David Shillington, Wade Humphreys, Todd Ollivier, Luke Fatnowna, Josh Cale, Ben Wellington, Interchange: Ned Catic, Shawn Mackay, Tyrone Smith, Willie Bishop.

In the final match of the round both these sides will be fielding strong line-ups with plenty of first grade experience. It all points to a tight affair at Aussie Stadium and on the points table with both teams looking for a top 4 spot.

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Parramatta Eels Sunday 20 July, 1:00pm at Aussie Stadium Referee: Ben Cummins Touch Judges: Steve Chiddy and Steve Clapson

South Sydney Rabbitohs ? Wade McKinnon, Joven Clarke, Kevin Henderson, Russell Richardson, Nathan Merritt, Jamie Russo, Willie Peters, Mark Meredith, Shane Walker, Brian Siemson, Stacey Katu, Duncan McGillvray, Jamie Fitzgerald, Interchange: James Storer, Lincoln Higgins, Fuifui Moi Moi, Clint Cooke.

Parramatta Eels ? Ronald Prince, Pat Richards, Willie Tonga, Chad Halliday, John Williams, Steve Witt, Jeff Robson, Kyle Leuluai, Nathan Hollingsworth, Adam Wheeler, Steve Crouch, Anthony Boyd, Ryan Hinchcliffe, Interchange: Daniel Irvine, Sean L?Estrance, Nathan McMillan, Josh Dillon, Josh Cordoba, Tim Smith, Brett Delaney, Kane Cleal (Four to be omitted).