The Parramatta Eels visit Wests Tigers tonight in a match which has been billed as an individual duel between Jarryd Hayne and Benji Marshall. "The best thing about Benji is his second-phase play and the way he keeps the defensive line guessing all the time," Hayne, the Eels full-back, told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Obviously, our line defence and line speed will be important and we'll need to try to pressure him, but we can't let him play much because when he's in the zone he's hard to stop."
In turn, Marshall, the New Zealand half-back, was effusive in his praise for Hayne, the Eels full-back. "Everyone knows how much of a freak he is, and how talented he is," Marshall said of Hayne. "He's just one of those players that people want to play with and are scared to play against." "There's everything to fear when it comes to Jarryd. Just the stuff he can do with the ball. "There's a lot of things you've got to shut down, giving him less time with the ball and trying to shut him down earlier, but it's hard to shut a player down when they have so many good qualities and Jarryd's just one of those guys where you've got to be on the balls of your feet every time."
The Eels will go into the game at Sydney Football Stadium as strong favourites, despite the fact both teams have won one and lost one game this season. They have won 14 of their 20 games with the Tigers, including the last three, in which they have scored at least 38 points. In today's other match, centre Matt Cooper will play his first game of the season as the St George-Illawarra Dragons look to extend their 100 per cent record by beating the North Queensland Cowboys. @Email:akunawicz@thenational.ae Tigers v Eels, 12.35pm, Showsports 2, Dragons v Cowboys, 1.35pm, Showsports 1
