Sterlo'a Parra Preview - Eels v Roosters, Round 25
The Parramatta Eels take on the Sydney Roosters at ANZ Stadium on Saturday 1 September from 7:45pm in Round 25 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
In the final round of the regular season, Blue & Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur recalls Bevan French to the wing.
Jarryd Hayne moves to fullback, Corey Norman slides to five-eighth and Jaeman Salmon has a spot on the bench.
Peni Terepo will miss the clash with a hamstring problem. A spot in the starting side subsequently opens for Brad Takairangi and Oregon Kaufusi gets on the bench.
The Roosters will be without Dylan Napa, who accepted a three-match ban for the contact he made with Brisbane Broncos dummy-half Andrew McCullough last week.
Head Coach Trent Robinson welcomes Jared Waerea-Hargreaves back into the team following a rib injury.
With three wins in their last six games, the Blue & Gold have plenty to play for again this week after the tough 44-6 loss in Townsville to the Cowboys on Friday night.
In the final 53 minutes of the game, North Queensland was held scoreless.
The Eels need a big win to avoid the wooden spoon and the Broncos to beat the Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday afternoon, or the Gold Coast Titans to beat the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday.
The Chooks have lost their last two matches to sit second on the ladder.
They were beaten by 14 points against the Broncos at home and by two points against the Canberra Raiders in the nation's capital.
Our last game of the season is Member Appreciation Round with giveaways happening throughout the night. Gates open at 6:15pm for a 7:45pm kick-off, get your tickets here!
Eels: 1 Jarryd Hayne, 2 Bevan French, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Clinton Gutherson (c), 5 George Jennings, 6 Corey Norman, 7 Mitchell Moses, 8 Siosaia Vave, 9 Reed Mahoney, 10 Tim Mannah, 11 Marata Niukore, 12 Brad Takairangi, 13 Tepai Moeroa
Interchange: 14 Jaeman Salmon, 15 Kane Evans, 16 David Gower, 17 Oregon Kaufusi
Reserves: 18 Ray Stone, 19 Cameron King, 20 Josh Hoffman, 21 Greg Leleisiuao
The Eels have again reshuffled their spine with Jaemon Salmon dropping to the bench, Corey Norman moving to five-eighth, Jarryd Hayne moving to fullback, Bevan French recalled on the wing, Reed Mahoney starting at hooker and Cameron King dropping to the reserves. Brad Takairangi moves to starting second row with Tepai Moeroa moving to lock and Peni Terepo out. Tim Mannah starts at prop with Kane Evans dropping to the bench.
Roosters: 1 James Tedesco, 2 Daniel Tupou, 3 Latrell Mitchell, 4 Joseph Manu, 5 Blake Ferguson, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9 Jake Friend, 10 Siosiua Taukeiaho, 11 Boyd Cordner, 12 Isaac Liu, 13 Victor Radley
Interchange: 14 Nat Butcher, 15 Zane Tetevano, 16 Mitchell Aubusson, 17 Ryan Matterson
Reserves: 18 Lindsay Collins, 19 Sean O'Sullivan, 20 Paul Momirovski, 21 Kurt Baptiste
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (ribs) returns to replace Dylan Napa (suspension) in the front row.
Head-to-head: Played 130; Roosters 63 wins, Eels 62 wins, 5 draws
Previous result: Roosters won 48-10 in Round 10, 2017 at Allianz Stadium
Points per game: Eels 15.8; Roosters 21.7
Points conceded per game: Eels 22; Roosters 15.3
Televised: Live on Nine, Fox League
