Match Preview: Eels v Warriors, Round 11

The Parramatta Eels take on the New Zealand Warriors at ANZ Stadium on Friday 18 May in Round 11 of the NRL Telstra Premiership.

After suffering a 20-12 defeat to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs last week, Blue & Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur has made a handful of changes to his line up with Cameron King named at hooker and a reshuffled forward pack with Daniel Alvaro and Peni Terepo starting props, Beau Scott and Tepai Moeroa in the back row and Manu Ma’u at lock.

Back rower Marata Niukore is set to make his NRL debut named on the bench alongside Will Smith, Suaia Matagi and David Gower.

Siosaia Vave, Josh Hoffman, Jaeman Salmon and Ray Stone form the extended bench.

For the Warriors, Head Coach Stephen Kearney has named hooker Issac Luke to return from injury with Karl Lawton dropping to the reserves.

Mason Lino has been named at halfback despite injuring an ankle last week, with Shaun Johnston still missing from the squad. Chris Satae replaces Sam Lisone on the bench.

The Eels are coming off two defeats and sit at the bottom of the table with just 2 wins from the opening ten rounds. The Blue & Gold will be desperate to return to the winners circle as their hopes of finals contention continue to slip further away.

The Eels have had to do more defensive work than any other team this season, making 3477 total tackles, with their ill-discipline proving crucial the last few weeks.

The Warriors have seven wins this season and currently sit third on the NRL Telstra Premiership ladder heading into the clash. They are however coming off a 32-0 defeat to the Sydney Roosters last week.

They were off their game at home last week, making zero line breaks and running for 240m less than the Roosters who dominated the middle third of the field and they will be looking to bounce back with a strong performance against the Blue & Gold.

Earlier this season, when they suffered a 50-10 flogging to the Melbourne Storm, they bounced back with a 26-4 victory the following week and will be looking to repeat the same.

Historically, the Eels hold a slight head to head advantage over the Warriors with 21 wins from their 38 clashes. The two sides have only had one clash at ANZ Stadium, where the Eels came away victors. That clash was the last time these two sides met, when the Eels claimed a 32-24 victory in Round 13 of the 2017 season.

Kick off is at 6pm. Click through to purchase your tickets to the clash.

Match Details: Parramatta Eels v New Zealand Warriors, ANZ Stadium, Friday 18 May. Kick off at 6pm.
Head-to-head: Played 38; Eels 21 wins, Warriors 17 wins
Matches at venue: Played 1; Eels 1 win
2017 results: Warriors won 22-10 at Mt Smart Stadium in round 6; Eels won 32-24 at ANZ Stadium in round 13
Points per game: Eels 14.6; Warriors 19.8
Points conceded per game: Eels 22.6; Warriors 19
Televised: Live on Fox League from 5:30pm
Live Radio: Triple M, ABC, Crocmedia

Parramatta Eels

1 Clint Gutherson (c), 2 Bevan French, 3 Michael Jennings, 4 Brad Takairangi, 5 George Jennings, 6 Corey Norman, 7 Mitchell Moses, 8 Daniel Alvaro, 9 Cameron King, 10 Peni Terepo, 11 Beau Scott (c), 12 Tepai Moeroa, 13 Manu Ma'u

Interchange: 14 Will Smith, 15 Suaia Matagi, 16 David Gower, 17 Marata Niukore 18 Josh Hoffman, 19 Siosaia Vave, 20 Jaeman Salmon, 21 Raymond Stone

New Zealand Warriors

1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c), 2 David Fusitu'a, 3 Peta Hiku, 4 Solomone Kata, 5 Ken Maumalo, 6 Blake Green, 7 Mason Lino, 8 Bunty Afoa, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Agnatius Paasi, 16 Isaiah Papali'i, 12 Tohu Harris, 13 Adam Blair

Interchange: 14 Jazz Tevaga, 15 Chris Satae, 16 James Gavet, 17 Simon Mannering 18 Gerard Beale, 19 Karl Lawton, 20 Albert Vete, 21 Anthony Gelling 

Match Officials: Referee: Adam Gee & Gavin Reynolds; Touch Judges: Brett Suttor & Belinda Sleeman; Review Officials: Steve Chiddy & Luke Patten.