NRL Round 12 Preview and Prediction - South Sydney Rabbitohs v Parramatta Eels @ ANZ Stadium

South Sydney Rabbitohs v Parramatta Eels @ ANZ Stadium

Preview - Both the Rabbitohs and Eels will be desperate to get back into the winners circle when they clash at ANZ Stadium on Friday night. The Rabbitohs went down narrowly 14-6 to the Storm as they took a home game to Perth last week. Like in most of their defeats this year, the Rabbitohs were competitive and willing for much of the 80 minutes, however their attack lacked cohesion and spark as they could manage just the 1 try. The Eels found themselves in a similar boat to the Rabbitohs as they went down narrowly 22-16 to the Canberra Raiders in a game which they lead 16-10 early in the 2nd half. The Eels now find themselves sitting at 5-6 after 11 rounds and outside the Top 8 as we reach the halfway mark of the competition this week. 

History - The Rabbitohs have dominated the Eels over the past 5 years, with 9 victories from their last 11 clashes between the teams. Last season the teams split victories with the Rabbitohs coming from behind to win narrowly 22-20 in Round 10, before the Eels extracted revenge with a convincing 30-12 victory in Round 15. Overall, the Rabbitohs have 67 wins to the Eels 52, with 5 draws. 

South Sydney Rabbitohs’ Scouting Report - The Rabbitohs welcome back Englishman George Burgess to the bench at the expense of Zane Musgrove. Burgess’ form has really dropped off the radar in the past 18 months with poor discipline and handling errors plaguing his performances. 

Parramatta Eels’ Scouting Report - A big blow for the Eels with Michael Jennings ruled out for a month with a calf injury.  In good timing for Parramatta, Brad Takairangi is fit to return and will take Jennings place in the centres. Nathan Brown has been named in the Eels’ side despite failing to the finish the game against the Raiders with a rib injury. 

Verdict - Souths by 6-14 in a low scoring game

I'll stick with the Bunnies here, given the fact that the Eels have lost Jennings and there are doubts surrounding the fitness of Nathan Brown. I just think without Norman and Jennings the Eels are going struggle to score points in this game. Mitchell Moses I thought had a pretty poor game last week and, whilst he came came up with one or two big plays, he seems to have far too many errors in his game at the moment. Souths’ last 2 performances have been pretty solid with a dominant win over the Tigers and a close loss to the Storm. Sam Burgess has been in pretty good form of late and, coupled with the leadership of Robbie Farah and Adam Reynolds, they should fancy themselves to get a win here and keep themselves in touch with the Top 8. I think this game will be very tight throughout the 80 minutes and I expect 20 points to be enough for either side to claim a victory, in a game where I think Souths might just sneak home.