2021 NRL – Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? Sunday 25th April, 2021 – 07:05 (UK)
Where is Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons taking place? Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Where can I get tickets for Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons? Click here for ticket information on 2021 NRL matches
What channel is Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons 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 Sydney Roosters vs St. George Illawarra Dragons? 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
THE TEAM NEWS
SYDNEY ROOSTERS
Starting 13: Tedesco, Tupou, J. Morris, Manu, B. Morris, Hutchison, Walker, Liu, Verrills, Waerea-Hargreaves, Crichton, Tupouniua, Radley – Interchanges: B. Marschke, N. Butcher, Collins, Baker – Reserves: Ikuvalu, E. Butcher
Unavailable: Billy Smith (Injured), Boyd Cordner (Injured), Luke Keary (Injured), Lachlan Lam (Injured), Freddy Lussick (Injured), Siosiua Taukeiaho (Injured)
- Sydney Roosters battled well but they were ultimately outgunned by the impressive effort of premiers Melbourne Storm who were able to grind them down and keep the Tricolours scoreless until the final play of the game.
- That 20-4 loss saw the Roosters fail to make it three straight wins but in their bid to make an immediate response, Trent Robinson’s side are buoyed by the return of Sam Verrills at hooker as he makes his first appearance of the year following an ACL injury.
ST. GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS
Starting 13: Dufty, Ramsey, Bird, Lomax, Ravalawa, Norman, Clune, Lawrie, McCullough, Vaughan, Kerr, Sims, Fuimaono – Interchanges: Ellis, McGuire, Alvaro, Burns – Reserves: Faamausili, Pereira
Unavailable: Jack de Belin (Suspended), Cameron McInnes (Injured), Jayden Sullivan (Injured), Ben Hunt (Injured)
- St. George Illawarra Dragons produced arguably their worst performance of the season as they went down to New Zealand Warriors in what was a shock defeat last week with that defeat ending their four-match winning streak.
- The Dragons deployed their usual gameplan by looking to keep things simple and wear down the opposition but the Warriors beat them at their own game by completing at 98% compared to the Dragons’ 84% which proved to be vital.
THE PREDICTION
Sydney Roosters showed some great defensive resolve for much of their clash with Melbourne Storm last week but they fell short with the ball and that proved to be their downfall. They will now look to make an immediate return to winning ways as they host St. George Illawarra Dragons on Anzac Day and the away side arrive with the disappointment of last week’s defeat to New Zealand Warriors hanging over them. It was a shock loss for the in-form side and while they are capable of responding based on their earlier efforts this campaign, the return of Sam Verrills could prove to be pivotal for the Roosters’ attack and they can edge this.
