{"id":308515,"date":"2023-06-16T00:58:36","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T00:58:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=308515"},"modified":"2023-06-16T01:58:38","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T01:58:38","slug":"tips-joey-backs-eels-experiment-with-giant-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=308515","title":{"rendered":"Tips: Joey backs Eels' experiment with giant half"},"content":{"rendered":"

Andrew Johns is backing the Eels<\/a> to continue their winning ways, even without both star halves, when they face Manly in an intriguing clash on Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The heart has been ripped out of both sides due to a range of factors, with Origin<\/a> selection playing a huge role, but suspension and injuries also playing their part.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Parramatta can normally rely on their gun halves combination of Mitchell Moses and Dylan Brown to navigate them through the Origin period, but that's not the case this time around with Moses called up to take the NSW No.7 jersey<\/a> and Brown sidelined after being stood down by \ufeffthe NRL<\/a> as he fights sexual touching allegations.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Socceroos go down as fan invades pitch, hugs Messi<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE: <\/strong>Aussie records tumble as stars shine in Europe<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The absence of those two stars will likely increase the influence of the always busy Clint Gutherson but speaking on Wide World of Sports' Freddy and the Eighth's Tips<\/em><\/a>, Johns said he liked the look of the Eels' stand-in halves combination of Daejarn Asi\ufeff and giant five-eighth Ryan Matterson.<\/p>\n

\"Ryan<\/p>\n

"I really like Parra," Johns said. "I think Ryan Matterson at five-eighth will do a really good job, \ufeffyeah, I like Parra."<\/p>\n

Johns was also full of praise for Asi, recalling his first thoughts about him when he saw him debut for the Cowboys in 2020, a match in which Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow also announced himself.<\/p>\n

"Hamiso scored a ripping try and \ufeffDaejarn Asi I remember walking away going, 'Gee, this young bloke's got something'."<\/p>\n

Stream the NRL premiership 2023 live and free on <\/strong><\/em>9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Johns<\/p>\n

Still just 22, Asi has become a journeyman early in his career, playing 10 NRL matches as a back-up at the Cowboys, then eight at the Warriors last season, before landing at the Eels to play the back-up role to Moses and Brown in the off-season.<\/p>\n

Asi was outstanding in Monday's big win against the Bulldogs and Johns is backing him to deliver again, this time as the main playmaker, with Matterson to play a bash and barge role.<\/p>\n

That pair will clash with makeshift Manly halves combination Jake Arthur and Josh Schuster, with Daly Cherry-Evans out of the side due to Origin duties. Tom Trbojevic (NSW) is also missing, while older brother Jake is still on the sidelines due to a calf injury.<\/p>\n

Arthur will play just his second match for the Sea Eagles since coming across in a mid-season transfer from the Eels, with his first ever clash with his father and former coach dominating headlines.\ufeff<\/p>\n

Scroll below for the current leaderboard and Round 16 tips by all Nine's expert tipsters!\ufeff<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nine's<\/p>\n

Andrew Johns:<\/strong> Cowboys, Knights, Eels, Storm, Sharks<\/p>\n

Brad Fittler:<\/strong> Cowboys, \ufeffKnights, Eels, Storm, Sharks<\/p>\n

Paul Gallen:<\/strong> Cowboys, Knights, Eels, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Peter Psaltis: <\/strong>Cowboys, Knights, Sea Eagles, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Allana Ferguson:<\/strong> Panthers, Knights, Eels, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Danika Mason:<\/strong> Panthers, Roosters, Sea Eagles, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Darren Lockyer:<\/strong> Cowboys, Knights, Sea Eagles, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Mat Thompson:<\/strong> Cowboys, Roosters, Eels, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

David Middleton: <\/strong>Panthers, Knights, Eels, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

The Mole:<\/strong> Panthers, Knights, Sea Eagles, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

Ben Glover:<\/strong> Cowboys, Knights, Sea Eagles, Storm, Sharks\ufeff<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Andrew Johns is backing the Eels to continue their winning ways, even without both star halves, when they face Manly in an intriguing clash on […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":308517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308515"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=308515"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308515\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":308520,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308515\/revisions\/308520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/308517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=308515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=308515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=308515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}