Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Vale: Terry Hill
8 hours ago | National Rugby League
Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs preview
Bounce back factor on the cards for underwhelming Sea Eagles and Rabbitohs
The Manly Sea Eagles and South Sydney Rabbitohs both fell short of expectations in disappointing losses to open the 2021 season.
The reaction from their respective coaches though was quite different.
Des Hasler opted to make minimal changes considering the scale of his side's 46-4 thumping of the Sydney Roosters.
Andrew Davey starts with Jack Gosiewski back to the bench while Cade Cust comes onto the pine with Tevita Funa dropping out.
There were calls though for Cust to start and Lachlan Croker to miss out entirely with Kieran Foran shifting to hooker as Hasler looks to solve his headache in the No. 9 jumper.
Cust made a statement in Manly feeder club Blacktown Worker's dominant win over North Sydney with three tries, try assists and linebreak assists.
He may still force his way into the starting side but for the time being he has been named on the bench.
Although Souths also started slow against Melbourne, they pegged their way back to finish on the wrong end of a 26-18 scoreline.
Wayne Bennett though has been quick to take action, dropping Josh Mansour and Jacob Host for poor performances, setting clear standards as South Sydney look to bounce back.
Widely touted as strong premiership contenders, the Rabbitohs will be looking to go close to matching the Roosters' rout of Manly after last week's underwhelming opening.
Last meeting: Round 15 2020 - Rabbitohs 56 Sea Eagles 16
Who to watch: Looking through both team's line-ups for this weekend, it is clear that the Sea Eagles will need more from Dylan Walker and Lachlan Croker in attack.
They face off with Latrell Mitchell and Damien Cook, who both possess a lethal running game off the back of South Sydney's forward pack.
Cook was uncharacteristically sloppy in his execution out of dummy-half last week and will be keen to rediscover his best against a Manly outfit that struggled to contain the Roosters' go-forward last week.
Mitchell though had no such problems in a beaten side with an explosive display from the back and he appears to be in prime fitness to be a constant threat trailing in support if Cook makes breaks.
Walker is currently a stop-gap until Tom Trbojevic returns but he needs to be far more than that while Croker also struggled to pose any real threat out of dummy-half against the Roosters.
Without Trbojevic, the Sea Eagles lack potency in attack and his absence does not even account for the side's defensive woes which were exposed last weekend.
The favourite: Even allowing for last week's loss to the Storm, the Rabbitohs are comfortable favourites against a listless Sea Eagles outfit.
My tip: The Sea Eagles should respond after last week's embarrassing loss but the problem for them is the fact the Rabbitohs will want to do the exact same. South Sydney by 20.
1. Dylan Walker 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 17. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Martin Taupau 11. Andrew Davey 15. Jack Gosiewski 13. Jake Trbojevic 8. Josh Aloiai 14. Cade Cust 16. Sean Keppie 18. Josh Schuster
1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dane Gagai 4. Campbell Graham 5. Jaxson Paulo 6. Cody Walker 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Damien Cook 10. Tevita Tatola 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jaydn Su'A 13. Cameron Murray 14. Benji Marshall 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Patrick Mago 17. Jai Arrow
Referees: Gerard Sutton; Sideline Officials: Liam Kennedy, Nick Beashel; Video Referees: Ashley Klein;