Sea Eagles v Eels: Paseka sidelined; Lussick new No.9, rookie to debut
Manly missed out on a share of fourth place when they fumbled the chance to topple Melbourne on Saturday but they have the perfect chance to atone this week against arch-rivals Parramatta.
The Sea Eagles pushed the competition leaders well into the second half but their hopes of snapping Melbourne's 16-game winning streak were cruelled by untimely errors.
Des Hasler's men defended well and unveiled an attacking approach that troubled the Storm but their inability to hold on to the ball opened the door to Melbourne stars Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes to engineer a tight but convincing victory.
But with Parramatta and the Roosters both losing in round 21 the Sea Eagles sit just two points off fourth place and they will be confident they can get the better of the Eels who have lost form at the worst possible time.
Parramatta have lost three in a row and conceding 40 points to the high-scoring Rabbitohs is poor preparation for an equally lethal Sea Eagles attack that carried Manly to a 28-6 win over the Eels in round 11.
Match: Sea Eagles v Eels
Round 22 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
5th Position
away Team
Eels
6th Position
Venue: Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
The rundown
Team news
Sea Eagles: Kurt De Luis has been promoted to the starting side an hour before kick-off with Josh Aloiai going to the bench.
Taniela Paseka (ankle) has been ruled out for up to a month and Toafofoa Sipley is sidelined through suspension.
Cade Cust and Ben Trbojevic were left out 24 hours before the match. Jack Gosiewski was the last man cut on game day and Moses Suli is 18th man.
The Sea Eagles are chasing two wins in a season against the Eels for the first time since 2013.
Eels: The Eels will line up 1-17 with Haze Dunster the last man cut and Ray Stone 18th man.
The loss of hooker Reed Mahoney for the rest of the season with a shoulder injury sees Joey Lussick join the side for his first game since round 16.
Lussick and Will Smith are expected to share the dummy-half duties for the remainder of the year.
Late bloomer Makahesi Makatoa will make his NRL debut off the bench while veteran winger Michael Oldfield has been named to play his first game of the season.
Will Penisini and Jake Arthur were omitted on the eve of the game.
The Eels have lost six of their past seven games against top-eight opposition.
Match: Sea Eagles v Eels
Round 22 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
away Team
Eels
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Sea Eagles is number 1 Tom TrbojevicFullback for Eels is number 1 Clinton Gutherson
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 2 Jason SaabWinger for Eels is number 2 Maika Sivo
-
Centre for Sea Eagles is number 3 Brad ParkerCentre for Eels is number 3 Tom Opacic
-
Centre for Sea Eagles is number 4 Morgan HarperCentre for Eels is number 4 Waqa Blake
-
Winger for Sea Eagles is number 5 Reuben GarrickWinger for Eels is number 5 Michael Oldfield
-
Five-Eighth for Sea Eagles is number 6 Kieran ForanFive-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Dylan Brown
-
Halfback for Sea Eagles is number 7 Daly Cherry-EvansHalfback for Eels is number 7 Mitchell Moses
Forwards
-
Prop for Sea Eagles is number 10 Martin TaupauProp for Eels is number 8 Isaiah Papali'i
-
Hooker for Sea Eagles is number 9 Lachlan CrokerHooker for Eels is number 9 Joey Lussick
-
Prop for Sea Eagles is number 17 Kurt De LuisProp for Eels is number 10 Junior Paulo
-
2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 11 Haumole Olakau'atu2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Shaun Lane
-
2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 12 Josh Schuster2nd Row for Eels is number 12 Ryan Matterson
-
Lock for Sea Eagles is number 13 Jake TrbojevicLock for Eels is number 13 Nathan Brown
Interchange
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 8 Josh AloiaiInterchange for Eels is number 14 Will Smith
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 14 Dylan WalkerInterchange for Eels is number 15 Bryce Cartwright
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 15 Karl LawtonInterchange for Eels is number 16 Marata Niukore
-
Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 16 Curtis SironenInterchange for Eels is number 17 Makahesi Makatoa
Reserves
-
Reserve for Sea Eagles is number 18 Mosese SuliReserve for Eels is number 18 Ray Stone
Match Officials
- Referee: Grant Atkins
- Touch Judge: Matt Noyen
- Touch Judge: Jon Stone
- Senior Review Official: Ashley Klein
Last updated:
Key match-up
Tom Trbojevic v Clint Gutherson: Having been kept relatively quiet by the Storm Tommy Turbo will be keen to get back to his dominating ways against Parramatta. Former Sea Eagle Gutherson has been among Parramatta's leading performers but has rarely played his best against the top sides. It is imperative he brings his A game this weekend because you can be sure Trbojevic will. The Sea Eagles star outperforms his Eels counterpart in tries, try assists, line breaks and average run metres with Gutherson only able to finish on top in the tackle bust category.
Stat attack
It's gotten a little lost amongst Tom Trbojevic's heroics but winger Reuben Garrick is quietly having a stellar season. Garrick is the leading point-scorer, second on the goal-kicking table and equal fifth for tries. He and Trbojevic have formed a lethal partnership on the left which the Eels better have a plan to stymie.
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