5 Things To Watch: Everything to keep an eye on in NRL Round 8

This upcoming round of football offers fans a collection of mouth-watering clashes, as the top-eight begins taking shape and pressure continues to mount on under-fire coaches. Here are 5 Things to Watch in Round 8.

Staggs vs. Talakai

Thursday night’s Broncos-Sharks clash has many points of emphasis to keep a keen eye on but perhaps none more so than the battle between two of the game’s most destructive centres Kotoni Staggs and Siosifa Talakai. Talakai has been close to the premiership’s most in-form player over the past month, producing at a level we have rarely seen from a centre, whilst Staggs has shaken off a quiet start to the season to emerge as a State of Origin smokey. Both players rank in the top 10 in tackle busts and have each made numerous opposing centres look out of their depth defensively. If either player receives some quality ball on Thursday night, expect fireworks. The Sharks are flying at the moment and find themselves as genuine top-four contenders, whilst the Broncos have managed to keep in touch with the top-eight and will be eager to continue making strides towards it.

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May’s try-scoring hot-streak

Panthers’ ace Taylan May has crossed the stripe in every game he has appeared in this season and trails only Ryan Papenhuyzen on the try-scorer leaderboard with eight tries in just five outings. Meanwhile, their opponent on Friday evening – the Gold Coast Titans – have conceded 82 points over their past three matches and have allowed six tries to left wingers this season. After a failed David Fifita at centre experiment against North Queensland, Phillip Sami returns onto the wing and pushes Patrick Herbert back in one. Given how potent Penrith’s left-edge has been, expect the likes of May, Izack Tago, and Viliame Kikau to see plenty of football. The Panthers have scored 134 points in the four games Nathan Cleary has appeared in this season and should have no issues piling them on against a Titans outfit that has proven itself to be raggedy at best.

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Abysmal Warriors vs. under siege Raiders

Following a hapless ANZAC Night display in which they let a brilliant Storm side run in 13 tries en route to a 70-10 victory, the Warriors find themselves up against a Raiders side that sit second-last on the competition ladder with just a pair of wins from their first seven. With Josh Curran, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, and Aaron Pene all joining a lengthy list of casualties for the Warriors, they find themselves facing a tall task after a second-half in which they conceded 54 points. The Raiders, meanwhile, are in a pickle of their own, having won just one of their past six. The Raiders are currently ranked last in the premiership in run metres by a comfortable margin, second-last in kick metres, and third-worst in points conceded. Both teams should view this one as a must-win, with the loser surely set to face a raft of scrutiny in the days following.

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Roosters winning-run against Dogs

The Sydney Roosters have come out victors in their past eight clashes against the Bulldogs and look to continue that streak this Saturday evening at Homebush. In seven of those outings, the Roosters hit the 20-point mark. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have lost their past six and have conceded over 29 points per game over that period. Roosters centre Joseph Manu has scored six tries over his past five games and will look to continue that streak against a Bulldogs side that has conceded 146 points over their past four matches. The Bulldogs have also allowed five hooker tries over their past three games. Roosters hooker Sam Verrills played 64 minutes on ANZAC Day and took six carries for 53 runs, including a first-half barge-over attempt that was thwarted by a desperate Josh McGuire.

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Sunday afternoon showdown

A fortnight ago, the Wests Tigers and the Dragons were sitting at last and second-last respectively on the competition ladder and whatever preseason optimism was left was evaporating quickly. Fast forward to this Sunday afternoon in Wollongong, however, and fans will be treated to a clash between two sides in the midst of a winning streak, albeit two games. The Wests Tigers are fresh off a pair of unlikely one-point victories over the Eels and Rabbitohs, whilst the Dragons followed up their breakthrough win over the Knights with a courageous ANZAC Day victory over the Roosters. Both teams will be desperate to continue their hot run of form, with halfbacks Jackson Hastings and Ben Hunt set to be at the centre of proceedings. Both coming off Man of the Match performances, the diminutive number-sevens have been crucial in the resurgence of their respective teams and will undoubtedly play a major role on Sunday.

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