Super League Round 7 Preview

Liverpool lead Bonnyrigg by a point with both sides facing dangerous missions this weekend at home to Sydney Uni and Rockdale (who both won last week).
St George and the Northern Tigers also have tough assignments against a rejuvenated Fraser Park and a wounded Parramatta. In the other matches, Granville play a luckless Mount Druitt while Central Coast tackle Fairfield with a maiden victory dangling as a great incentive.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles host Rockdale City Suns at Bonnyrigg Sports Club on Saturday night (7.30pm kick-off) with the visitors still searching for their first Super League win over the reigning champions. The Suns may have risen into the top-five on the back of last week?s solid 2-0 win over Granville, the White Eagles can revel in the fact they have won all three previous encounters ? 2-1 at the sports club in 2006, followed by consecutive 2-0 shut-outs both home and away last year.
Third-placed St George Saints won?t take their game against Fraser Park Dragons easy, at Belmore Sports Ground on Saturday night (7.30pm). The Saints edged out Parramatta in a vital clash at Melita Stadium last week, while the Dragons crept into sixth spot courtesy of a 3-0 scoreline over Central Coast. But St George have only beaten Fraser Park twice in Super League (a 4-1 win last April), with Fraser Park winning 1-0 (in 2006) and holding the eventual semi-finalists to a 1-1 draw late in the season.
Granville Rage will be preparing for a tough outing ahead of their Saturday night clash with Mount Druitt Rangers at Garside Park (7.30pm). Both Granville and Mount Druitt were well beaten in their last starts, with the Rage banking two wins from the year with the Rangers accounting for three draws. The two combatants traded blows in 2007 with Granville winning the first encounter 3-1 at Popondetta Park, only to go down to the Rangers 4-1 in a miserable Saturday night for the Rage at Garside.
Central Coast Lightning and Fairfield City Lions will engage in a battle royale at Pluim Park on Saturday night (7.30pm) with the spoils being a first-up victory to kickstart the season. Fairfield have a point more than Central Coast?s duck, and little else separates the two sides over the past two years. The Lightning beat the Lions 2-0 at Pluim when the Coasters entered Super League in 2006, and won again 2-1 at Norford Park early last year, only for Fairfield to turn the tables later at Pluim with a tight 1-0 win.
Sunday afternoon features two rippers with competition leaders Bossy Liverpool tackling a revved up Sydney University at Ernie Smith Reserve (3pm kick-off). Uni shocked the Northern Tigers 2-0 last weekend to climb off the bottom of the table and generate some confidence in their step. Liverpool and Uni share three years of Super League matches (only the Tigers, Uni and Fraser Park go back to 2004 and beyond), and Uni will be primed for this Sunday?s clash having won last year?s corresponding fixture at Moorebank 1-0.
Two teams with only a brief history, and not a very decisive one at that, the Northern Tigers and PCYC Parramatta Eagles face-up in an absolute blockbuster at Mills Park on Sunday afternoon (3pm). Both sides were defeated last weekend. However, two draws, 2-2 and 0-0 (at Mills) in 2007, means neither side has been able to outwit the other since Parramatta joined the league at the beginning of last year. They avoided each other in last year?s finals series and it should make for an intriguing match this Sunday.
-By Daniel De Nardi