Friday Night Football Tonight - NRL News Guide to Rugby League Rnd 2
St George Illawarra Dragons v Newcastle Knights
The Dragons demonstrated last Sunday that there is life after Mark Gasnier, and rallied to post a commendable victory under pressure to the competition newcomers. Boom youngster Richard Williams certainly looked impressive at five-eighth for the Dragons, scoring two tries and demonstrating plenty of composure in the absence of Gasnier, and co-captain Jason Ryles has signalled plenty of faith in his young side.
Meanwhile, the Knights showed tremendous character to bounce back from 24-8 down and proved they are a team that can win without Andrew Johns. However facing a nearly full-strength Dragons outfit without Johns away from home will definitely give the Knights a big challenge. Newcastle are also still without Test hooker Danny Buderus, but Terrence Seu Seu's display against the Bulldogs was more than promising.
Line Ups
Bench - Adam Peek, Danny Wicks, Corey Payne, Tony Caine
Newcastle - Kurt Gidley, James McManus, George Carmont, Brad Tighe, Adam MacDougall, Daniel Abraham, Jarrod Mullen, Josh Perry, Terence Seu Seu, Adam Woolnough, Steve Simpson ©, Clint Newton, Kirk Reynoldson
Bench - Todd Polglase, Cory Paterson, Matthew White, Daniel Tolar
Missing Players (Injured/Suspended)
St George-Illawarra Dragons -
Matt Head - knee - Round 6
Sam Isemonger - knee - Round 4
Mark Gasnier- pectoral - Season
Brett Morris - broken finger - Round 5
Justin Poore – suspended – Round 3
Dean Young - knee - Round 6
Newcastle Knights -
Andrew Johns - recovery / concussion - Round 3
Paul Franze - jaw - Indefinite
David Seage – knee - Season
Penrith Panthers v The Bulldogs
The Panthers will hope that the return of Frank Pritchard to the starting line-up will give them the added spark they missed last weekend in Cronulla. Matthew Elliott's experience from coaching the Raiders will have taught him to put the result out of the players' minds as they prepare for a visiting Bulldogs side minus Sonny Bill Williams.
Williams will miss two weeks after entering an early guilty plea to a reckless high tackle charge over the Johns incident but the Bulldogs still boast plenty of firepower. Brent Sherwin's half-back replacement Ben Roberts played a mature hand under pressure last weekend and his combination with Daniel Holdsworth will be key on Friday night, and the Bulldogs should cause the Panthers plenty of problems.
Line Ups
Penrith – Rhys Wesser, Luke Rooney, Luke Lewis, Michael Gordon, Nick Youngquest, Peter Wallace, Craig Gower ©, Frank Puletua, Luke Priddis, Joel Clinton, Frank Pritchard, Tony Puletua, trent Waterhouse
Bench – Junior Moors, Nathan Smith, Paul Aiton, Matthew Cross, Brendan Worth
Bulldogs – Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Daryl Millard, Willie Tonga, Trent Cutler, Daniel Holdsworth, Ben Roberts, Mark O'Meley, Adam Perry, Willie Mason, Nick Kouparitsas, Andrew Ryan ©, Reni Maitua
Bench - Dallas McIlwain, Chris Armit, Kane Cleal, Jarrad Hickey
Missing Players (Suspension / Injury)
Penrith Panthers -
Shane Rodney - Shoulder - Indefinite
Bulldogs-
Sonny Bill-Williams - high tackle / suspended – Round 4
Brent Sherwin - Ankle - Round 3
Matt Utai- Ankle - Round 3
Corey Hughes - Ankle - Round 5
Brad Morrin - Knee - Round 3
