The Parramatta Eels take on the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday 24 August in Round 25 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.
For the clash, Blue & Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur has been forced to make a handful of changes to his side that came away with a 30-8 victory over the Gold Coast Titans last week with Bevan French ruled out through injury and Manu Ma'u unavailable after being charged with a Grade 1 Shoulder Charge following last week's clash.
Will Smith has been named at fullback whilst Kenny Edwards has been called into the starting side.
David Gower, Suaia Matagi, Frank Pritchard, Peni Terepo, Siosaia Vave, Josh Hoffman, Beau Scott and Kaysa Pritchard have been named on the extended bench.
For the Broncos, Head Coach Wayne Bennett has made one change to the side that defeated the St George-Illawarra Dragons by 12 points last week, with Tevita Pangai Junior ruled out with injury, replaced by Jaydn Su’a on the bench.
Heading into the clash, the Eels are coming off a 30-8 victory over the Gold Coast Titans last week, but suffered a loss to the Newcastle Knights the week before. The Eels have won seven of their eight nine games.
The Broncos last suffered a defeat in Round 21, when they went down to the Eels. However since then, they have come away with a 54-0 victory over the Titans, a 32-10 victory over the Sharks and a 24-12 victory over the Dragons.
The Broncos currently sit second on the ladder, two points ahead of the fifth placed Eels.
Historically, the Broncos have a strong record over the Eels with 31 victories from their 52 clashes. The Broncos have won the past two clashes against the Eels at Suncorp Stadium, however in the time these two sides met, the Eels came away 28-14 victors over the Broncos in Round 21, 2017.
Kick off is at 7:50pm.
Click here to hear from Head Coach Brad Arthur
Match Details: Parramatta Eels v Brisbane Broncos, Suncorp Stadium on Thursday 24 August in Round 25 of the NRL Telstra Premiership. Kick off at 7:50pm.
Televised: Channel 9 – Live coverage from 7:30PM; Fox League – Live coverage from 7:00PM.
The History: Played 52; Broncos 31; Eels 20; The two teams met in Round 21 and it was Parramatta who got the chocolates, running out 28-14 winners at ANZ Stadium. Despite this recent success, the Eels have struggled against Brisbane of late, losing three of their past four against Bennett's men. As well as this, the Broncos have won their past two matches against Parramatta at Suncorp Stadium.
Parramatta Eels squad: 1. Will Smith 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Kirisome Auva'a 6. Corey Norman 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Daniel Alvaro 9. Cameron King 10. Tim Mannah 11. Kenny Edwards 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. Nathan Brown
Interchange: 14. David Gower 15. Suaia Matagi 16. Frank Pritchard 17. Peni Terepo 18. Siosaia Vave 19. Josh Hoffman 20. Beau Scott 21. Kaysa Pritchard
Brisbane Broncos squad: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. James Roberts 4. Tautau Moga 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Kodi Nikorima 8. Korbin Sims 9. Ben Hunt 10. Adam Blair 11. Alex Glenn 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh Mcguire
Interchange: 14. Sam Thaiday 15. Jaydn Su'a 16. Jai Arrow 17. Herman Essese 18. Benji Marshall 19. David Mead 20. Salesi Funaki 21. Tom Opacic
Match officials: Referee: Ashley Klein; Assistant Referee: Adam Gee; Touch Judges: Belinda Sleeman & Tim Roby; Review Official: Luke Patten; Senior RO: Bernard Sutton.
