Photo – Carmel Potter-Green
By PETER ROWE
Fremantle Roosters will be hoping to get one over their local rivals on Saturday when they host the South Perth Lions at Treeby Oval in round two of the NRLWA Fuel to Go and Play Premiership.
Coming off a hard fought loss to North Beach in round one, the Roosters know they need to get a win under their belts before the premiership takes a three-week break for NRL and representative football.
But player-coach Duane Butler is still recovering from a shoulder injury and he will be missing several key forwards for the game.
Bjorn Crotty and Richie Hicks are both suspended and Fortez Williams is away working, so there will be a new faces in the forwards.
Ezra Taomia and Kerrod Hignett return, but Sony Kerr is still unavailable, as is Onissimo Tagicakibau, who suffered an HIA early in the round one game at Charles Riley Reserve.
Ezra Taomia returns for the Roosters / Photo – Liam Sallur
“It will be a very different pack,” Butler confirmed.
“And against South Perth it will be a battle in the forwards, that’s where they are traditionally very strong.
“Players like Mason (Hiko) and Greeny (Daniel Green) have big engines and in Soni (Samisoni Langi) and Eddie (Proudler) they have plenty of kicking options – and we can’t forget Harry Debique at fullback.”
Lions coach Duane Gwiazdzinski knows the game will be tough, “they always are against Freo”, he said.
“They are a good side, to be respected, regardless of the previous result. We have to be better internally, and get our processes right.
“We didn’t complete a lot last week, so we need to get our shape right, do the basics well and be ready for a tough game.”
Captain Ethan Gourgaud won’t be available this week / Photo – Carmel Potter-Green
Ethan Gourgaud will be missing and Gwiazdzinski expects to make a few other changes as he looks for another win.
“It’s only game two but looking after the football is key. It’s a big item, it’s not small like a golf ball,” he said.
“I know we can be better. Last week we didn’t really get going until the second half so we need to start the game well.”
Rockingham will travel to North Beach missing a few from last weekend’s big win over Joondalup, as coach Peter Worth will leave his team selection until the day of the game to give players a chance to recover from some minor knocks.
Rihare Te Rauna will be missing after sustaining an HIA on Saturday, with a handful of others carrying minor injuries.
Rihare Te Rauna will be missing this week from the sharks / Photo – Libby McMillan
“Saturday took a lot of out them all,” Worth said, referring to the 35 degree heat the players endured.
“So we’ve been concentrating early in the week on recovery sessions.
“I didn’t want to push them too much on Tuesday.”
Worth said he and several of his senior players had watched the North Beach game video and had identified a few things.
“They look very strong and well structured, but I think we have spotted a few things we might be able to exploit,” he said.
“They have a good half in Jeremy Wallace and Bailey Millar is a threat at fullback, and has added some ball skills to his game this season, so we will have to watch him.”
Weylan Antonelli takes a hit up / Photo – Libby McMillan
As for the Sharks, Worth was very happy with his side’s intent last week, but knows there is still room for improvement.
“There was a lot of positives to take from the game, but I’ve also identified a few little things we need to improve – and we will,” he said.
“The boys are upbeat after that win and I have a happy set of players, albeit a bit sore after round one – and they are all keen to improve.
“We will use the three week break after this game to put in sone hard work and fine tune our defensive shape and build on continuity when we have the ball.”
North Beach coach Phil Douche has a few missing as well.
Forwards Tom Fry and Shane Gillham are out, but Bowman Stein returns.
Shane Gillham is unavailable / Photo – Total Sports Photography
“We have a few with niggling injuries, nothing too serious,” Douche said.
“But we will have a few new faces in the side.”
Douche was happy with the performance against Fremantle and is likely to pick the same backline for this encounter.
“Bailey played well and offered another option with the ball, but this week I think defence will be the key, the Sharks scored plenty of points last weekend, so we need to be ready,” he said.
Nelson Davis will making a couple of forced changes to his Willagee Bears team as they travel north to face Joondalup.
Veteran speedster Robbie Smith will start and 17-year-old forward Maihi Cameron will debut off the bench after putting in a five-star performance for the reserves last weekend.
“He topped the tackle count and deserves his spot,” Davis said, adding he will be making a “few’” changes to the side that lost at South Perth in round one.
“A slightly different look to the side as Joondalup offer different challenges,” Davis added.
“And we have some players who are Fifo to juggle with as well.”
Robbie Smith will line up for the Bears
Davis was pleased with what he saw at South Perth, despite the loss and took his team through what he described as a ”brutal” video session on Tuesday evening before a 90 minute session on the field.
“You can’t hide from a video session. The players bought in 100 per cent – they have ownership and know what has to be done to improve,” he said.
“We have a few players with rugby backgrounds and it may take a while for them to adopt to league as the two codes are very different.
“I think South Perth spotted that and exploited it, so we have to adapt.
“They are all asking “what can I do to improve?”
The Giants, who may be without halfback Gus Marshall, are keen to turn around last week’s result.
Joondalup halfback Gus Marshall
Marshall will have a late fitness test before coach Darren Smith makes a call.
“We’ve got some options,” he said. “Tiger (Williams) and Davie (Martin) are two,” Smith said.
Skipper Joel Irvine could be out for up to 10 weeks after tearing his bicep in training, a big loss for the club, Smith said, as he looks to other senior players to lead.
“Gus and Taurean (Sheehan) are natural leaders and they are well respected throughout the club.
“We will also be missing JoJo Ranger (work), but Mitch Haggard is back and we have some good kids coming through who deserve a crack.”
Smith will rejig his side, knowing the threats Willagee will bring but he wants first and foremost to get the basics right.
“We need to execute better,” he said.
“Complete sets and cut out the errors.
“We still believe – everyone does and don’t forget … it’s a long season.”