GAME THREE: South Sydney v St George Illawarra
Round 19 BIG LEAGUE 2019 41
ATTACK
DEFENCE
MATCH AVERAGES
HEAD-TO-HEAD
AT ANZ STADIUM
WINNING FORM
PAST8 CLASHES
2019 –
2018 –
2017 –
2016 –
2015 –
BIGGEST HEAD-TO-HEAD WINS
NEXTCLASH
CASUALTY WARD
DATE:FRIDAY,JULY 26
VENUE:ANZSTADIUM
KICK-OFF:7.55PM
REFEREE:GERARDSUTTON
ASSISTANTREFEREE:MATTNOYEN
TOUCHJUDGES:NICKBEASHEL& RICKEYMcFARLANE
SENIORREVIEWOFFICIAL:JAREDMAXWELL
REVIEWOFFICIAL:BENLOWE
CHANNEL9 & FOXLEAGUE: 7.30PM
LIVERADIO: ABC, 2GB
DRAGONS
14th(14 )
305
405
51
77%
37
8
6
71
45
18
8
3
4
18
24
172
359
1521
9
9
3
77%
RABBITOHS
2nd(26)
386
282
62
77%
43
12
7
47
31
12
4
4
3
23
17
182
326
1605
10
7
4
82%
HEAD-TO-HEADLEADERS
AVERAGE METRES
Paul Vaughan 139
Braidon Burns 132
AVERAGETACKLES
Cameron McInnes 48
James Graham 37
Cameron Murray 35
LINE-BREAKS
Cody Walker 9
Euan Aitken 6
STATS
ANZStadium
Friday7.55pm
Form:Afterslumpingtofour
successivelossesduringthe
demandingrepresentative
period,theRabbitohshave
recoveredoverthepastfortnight
torecordvictoriesovertheSea
EaglesandCowboys.Neither
winwasdecisivehoweverthe
positiveresultshaverestored
confidenceandensuredthe
Rabbitohsremainbound
fora placeinthetopfour.
Significantly,theywonboth
gameswithouttheinputofthe
Burgessbrothers(twoinjured,
onesuspended)andasthey
maketheirreturns,theimpetus
providedbytheRabbitohs’
forwardpackshouldincrease
accordingly.TheDragons
have been one of the major
disappointmentsofthe 2019
season,affecteddeeplybythe
JackdeBelinsagaandstruck
downbyinjuriestokeyplayers
GarethWiddopandJames
Graham.They’vesufferedheavy
defeatsintheirpasttwogames
andretainonlya mathematical
chanceofplayingfinalsfootball.
History:TheDragons
dominatedtheearlyyearsof
thisfixture,winning 10 ofthe
first 11 encountershowever
recentsuccesshasbelonged
totheRabbitohs,whohave
won 12 ofthepast 15 clashes.
Thebottomlinefavoursthe
Dragons 17 winsto 15 butit
is sixyearssinceStGeorge
IllawarralasthadtheRabbitohs’
measureatANZStadium.
TheRabbitohsweredecisive
winnerswhentheseteamsmet
at Kogarah earlier in the season,
claimingtheresult34-18.
It wasnotapparentatthetime,
butthegamegrewinhistorical
significancethreeweekslater
whenRabbitohscaptainGreg
Inglisannouncedhisretirement.
TheRound2 clashturnedout
tobethefinalgameofhis
glitteringcareer.
Dangersign:Originstars
DamienCookandCameron
Murrayhavecontinuedtoplay
compellingfootballforthe
Rabbitohsandareexpected
toplaykeyrolesfortheir
teamagainthisweek.
BestBet?Lookforthe
Rabbitohstoinflictanother
heavydefeatontheDragons.
Money-spinner:Options
forFirstTryscorer
includeDaneGagaiand
ZacLomax,orforvalue
considerCameronMurray.
byDAVIDMIDDLETON
@Middleton_David
NRLPreview
Rabbitohs on-song for top four
DANE GAGAI
164
metresin
Round 18