NRL Rugby - Eels v Wests Tigers

15 June 2009

Preview By Tipster Jumbo (New Zealand)

The time is now for both Parramatta and the Wests Tigers as the the top eight starts to take shape without them in it.

Parramatta surprised plenty by knocking off the Knights in Newcastle last week,but not me as I had them to win, but they are still well off with their points to make a charge for eighth place.They must win this match heading into the bye, as their next five games coming off the break are against teams currently in the top eight.Thank goodness then as they face an out-of-form Wests Tigers, a side they have a massive edge against having beaten them eight times straight, Krisnan Inu returns from suspension, moving Jonathan Wright back to the bench which has been extended with the addition of Etu Uaisele.

The Wests Tigers have lost five matches on the trot and have been in camp in Kiama in a bid to get their season back on track before a fourth straight year without a finals appearance becomes a foregone conclusion.The Tigers are three wins back from the top eight and know they need to get a run going soon; at the very least they must win against teams outside the top eight.The Tigers have a hard run ahead and need to win here to get momentum before they play the Storm (in Melbourne) and the Dragons in Sydney, the Tigers simply can�t let the Eels become loss number six in a row.Chris Lawrence returns from injury, which sees Dene Halatau move to the bench.Which is great for their chances even though Halatau has been in good formThe Tigers will be excited about the return of Chris Lawrence, with the young centre in line for a New South Wales Origin berth before an ankle injury curbed his chances. That injury took took him out for Game One but with Panthers centre Michael Jennings still out injured since the first state encounter, . He has six line breaks from eight matches so far and has scored five tries and added two line-break assists.

Defence wins games and so the Tigers need to stand up tonight, only two Tigers are effective in making tackles over 90 per cent of the time ,The rest of the Tigers� side are ineffective more than 10 per cent of the time, which is simply not good enough for an NRL Calibre side. If they do not steel themselves for a better performance in defence, even the Eels� one-dimensional offence will tear them apart.

Both sides are down on confidence and struggling to win games so a return to basics should normally get you the chances you need to post points. The Wests Tigers are an attack-driven team but they need to get themselves in good position to do so. That means reining it in a little and rolling up the sleeves to do the it hard in both attack and defence. Meanwhile the Eels did win last week they also need to stay focussed on the basics or risk returning to the error-riddled performances that have plagued their season. This is a night game and as such the ball will be slippery, so handling could be a worry, The forwards in both teams need to run hard pushing themselves to the limit, instead of expecting someone else to get the job done.

The Eels love playing the Tigers ...The Eels have won eight in a row against the Tigers and hold a massive edge having not tasted defeat at their hands since 2004. And at Parramatta Stadium the ledger is 7-2 to the Eels.

This match could go either way. The Tigers have some sort of block against the Eels but must break it if they are to stay in this match. They are maybe the better team when Farah and Marshall play well, but how can you have faith in them based on the past five matches?The Eels won against the odds last weekend so they come into the game with momentum. With that in mind maybe the Eels are the best pick,but it is still hard to call.

Look for the Tigers to be right in this match but for the home side to come through at the death...Good Luck.