Parramatta roll into their heavyweight clash with the wounded Roosters in good form and determined to keep nipping at the heels of unbeaten competition leaders Penrith.
The Eels comfortably accounted for the last-placed Bulldogs on Saturday with skipper Clint Gutherson, winger Maika Sivo and a rejuvenated Bryce Cartwright starring in the 32-10 romp.
Lock Nathan Brown limped off with a suspected hip injury to put a slight dampener on proceedings but that was balanced out by the successful return from concussion of back-rower Ryan Matterson.
In contrast, injury bit the already hobbled Roosters hard in their otherwise highlight-packed 38-4 thrashing of the Knights later that evening in Newcastle.
Veteran winger Brett Morris, who was standing in as captain in James Tedesco's absence, and prop Lindsay Collins both suffered ACL injuries.
Match: Eels v Roosters
Round 9 -
home Team
Eels
2nd Position
away Team
Roosters
5th Position
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
The rundown
Team news
Eels: Nathan Brown (hip) is out of the Parramatta side, with Shaun Lane moving from the interchange to lock. Keegan Hipgrave comes onto the interchange bench and Wiremu Greig is the 18th man.
Junior Paulo has been restored as starting prop after a late switch with Oregon Kaufusi last week while centre Waqa Blake (calf) must wait at least one more week to make his comeback.
Joey Lussick and Jordan Rankin were omitted from the reserves 24 hours before kick-off.
Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored 27 tries in 26 games at Bankwest Stadium.
Roosters: Teen prodigy Joseph Suaalii is a chance of making his NRL debut after being named as 18th man. In a positional change announced an hour before kick-off, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves moves into the starting side with Siosiua Taukeiaho dropping back to the interchange bench.
Young Roosters forward Fletcher Baker is out of the 21-man squad after suffering an injury in the captain's run. The club has been granted an exemption by the NRL to replace him with Tuku Hau Tapuha, who has been assigned jersey No.24.
Lachlan Lam and Naufahu Whyte dropped off the extended bench on Thursday.
Roosters centre Joseph Manu will make his 100th NRL appearance.
Match: Eels v Roosters
Round 9 -
home Team
Eels
away Team
Roosters
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Eels is number 1 Clinton GuthersonFullback for Roosters is number 1 James Tedesco
-
Winger for Eels is number 2 Maika SivoWinger for Roosters is number 2 Daniel Tupou
-
Centre for Eels is number 3 Tom OpacicCentre for Roosters is number 3 Josh Morris
-
Centre for Eels is number 4 Marata NiukoreCentre for Roosters is number 4 Joseph Manu
-
Winger for Eels is number 5 Blake FergusonWinger for Roosters is number 5 Matt Ikuvalu
-
Five-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Dylan BrownFive-Eighth for Roosters is number 6 Drew Hutchison
-
Halfback for Eels is number 7 Mitchell MosesHalfback for Roosters is number 7 Sam Walker
Forwards
-
Prop for Eels is number 8 Reagan Campbell-GillardProp for Roosters is number 8 Isaac Liu
-
Hooker for Eels is number 9 Reed MahoneyHooker for Roosters is number 9 Ben Marschke
-
Prop for Eels is number 10 Junior PauloProp for Roosters is number 15 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
-
2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Isaiah Papali'i2nd Row for Roosters is number 11 Angus Crichton
-
2nd Row for Eels is number 12 Ryan Matterson2nd Row for Roosters is number 12 Nat Butcher
-
Lock for Eels is number 15 Shaun LaneLock for Roosters is number 13 Victor Radley
Interchange
-
Interchange for Eels is number 14 Oregon KaufusiInterchange for Roosters is number 10 Siosiua Taukeiaho
-
Interchange for Eels is number 16 Haze DunsterInterchange for Roosters is number 14 Adam Keighran
-
Interchange for Eels is number 17 Bryce CartwrightInterchange for Roosters is number 17 Daniel Suluka-Fifita
-
Interchange for Eels is number 18 Keegan HipgraveInterchange for Roosters is number 24 Tuku Hau Tapuha
Reserves
-
Reserve for Eels is number 20 Wiremu GreigReserve for Roosters is number 21 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii
Match Officials
- Referee: Matt Cecchin
- Touch Judge: Dave Munro
- Touch Judge: Todd Smith
- Senior Review Official: Steve Chiddy
Last updated:
Key match-up
Ryan Matterson v Angus Crichton: Two veteran back-rowers with an appetite for hard work and a talent for finding attacking stats.
Matterson made a very encouraging return from a five-game concussion-enforced absence, getting through 80 minutes unscathed, while Crichton monstered the Knights right edge and was duly rewarded with his second try of the season.
Stat attack
Parramatta haven't beaten the Roosters in almost five years, scoring no more than 18 points and twice conceding in excess of 40 their four-match losing streak against the Tricolours.
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