2020 NRL – St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles taking place? Sunday 12th July, 2020 – 09:30 (UK)
Where is St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles taking place? Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Sydney
What is the expected weather for St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles? 13c, light rain
What channel is St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
Where can I get tickets for St. George Illawarra Dragons vs Manly Sea Eagles? Click here for ticket information on 2020 NRL matches
THE TEAM NEWS
ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
Starting 13: Dufty, Pereira, Aitken, Lomax, Ravalawa, Norman, Clune, Lawrie, Hunt, Vaughan, Frizell, T. Sims, McInnes – Interchanges: Merrin, Kerr, Fuimaono, Ford – Reserves: Lafai, Sailor
Unavailable: Jack de Belin (Disciplinary), Brayden Wiliame (Injured)
- St. George Illawarra Dragons produced a valiant late fightback against Canberra Raiders last week but ultimately fell short with the 22-0 scoreline they trailed by with 20 minutes remaining proving too much to come back from.
- The Dragons failed to take their chances until late in the game despite spending 54% of the game in possession and completing at 80% which resulted in them spending over five minutes more with the ball than the Raiders.
- Tariq Sims will make a welcome return for the Dragons and he slots straight back into the starting XIII in the second row with brother Korbin dropping out of the 17 while Jordan Pereira returns on the wing following a ban at the expense of Jason Saab.
MANLY SEA EAGLES
Starting 13: Garrick, Taufua, Parker, Suli, Funa, Croker, Cherry-Evans, Paseka, Levi, Taupau, Thompson, Sironen, J. Trbojevic – Interchanges: Cust, Gosiewski, Keppie, Boyle – Reserves: Waddell, Elliot
Unavailable: Manase Fainu (Disciplinary), Albert Hopoate (Injured), Tom Trbojevic (Injured), Dylan Walker (Injured), Addin Fonua-Blake (Suspended)
- Manly Sea Eagles were involved in another controversial contest last week as they were edged out by Newcastle Knights to make it back-to-back losses and they must improve with the ball if they are to avoid a third straight loss.
- Manly enjoyed 53% possession while they also completed at 88% but they wasted a lot of good chances in dangerous areas of the field with the Sea Eagles only managing to score 12 points.
- They are completing at 82.6% which is higher than any other side but they have only averaged 16.1 points per game which is the 11th best in the league and to compound matters for the Sea Eagles, they have lost prop Addin Fonua-Blake to a two-week ban after he was sent off after the hooter last week for abusing the referee.
THE PREDICTION
St. George Illawarra Dragons and Manly Sea Eagles were both on the end of losses last week but one side will be happier with their efforts than the other. The Dragons put in a gutsy display on the road and just fell short in their attempt to overturn a 22-point deficit while the Sea Eagles suffered from poor execution as they failed to come out on top of a narrow contest. The Sea Eagles are missing some key players and with Addin Fonua-Blake joining that list, the Dragons can cause an upset in this one to make it five wins from their last six games with Manly.
