Who's Playing Who?

Origin week usually means there is less attention paid to the weekend of NRL matches, but we’ve got all the teams here, plus our insight into each side named. Who do we think will back up from Origin? Who will miss out? Read on to find out…

FRIDAY:  

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles v Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, 7pm
Sea Eagles: Brett Stewart, David Williams, Jamie Lyon (c), Steve Matai, Will Hopoate, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Jason King (capt), Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Joe Galuvao, Glenn Stewart. Interchange (from): Vic Mauro, Jamie Buhrer, George Rose, Tony Williams, Tim Robinson, Michael Oldfield.
Ins: Brett Stewart, Jason King, Michael Oldfield
Outs: Michael Robertson (knee, round 13)

Broncos: Gerard Beale, Dane Gagai, Dale Copley, Jack Reed, Shea Moylan, Corey Norman, Peter Wallace, Mitchell Dodds, Andrew McCullough, Nick Kenny, Domanis Lui, Alex Glenn , Ben Te’o. Interchange (from): Kurt Baptiste, Scott Anderson, Dane Carlaw, David Hala, Corey Parker, Jharal Yow Yeh.
Ins: Dane Gagai, Shea Moylan, Dunamis Lui, Ben Te’o, Kurt Baptiste, Dane Carlaw
Outs: Sam Thaiday (Queensland), Ben Hannant (Queensland), Darren Lockyer (Queensland), Justin Hodges (hamstring, round 15)

Adrian Considers: A couple of handy inclusions for the Manly side, with Brett Stewart and Jason King named. Michael Oldfield is on an extended bench as cover for Stewart, while Tim Robinson will cover King if he doesn’t back up from Origin. The biggest story here is Michael Robertson- the streak of 139 consecutive games is over, unfortunately! That is a fair effort, so hopefully he does return next week. Meanwhile, the Broncos are not rushing Thaiday, Hannant or Lockyer back into the side, as all three have niggling injuries (Lockyer wasn’t going to back up regardless). Parker and Yow Yeh are on an extended bench, so expect plenty of late changes. Probably the most interesting selection is Ben Te’o at Lock, so we’ll have to wait and see how that turns out.

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs v Gold Coast Titans at Suncorp Stadium, 8:45pm.
Bulldogs: Ben Barba, Steve Turner, Josh Morris, Jamal Idris, Bryson Goodwin, Kris Keating, Trent Hodkinson, Andrew Ryan (c), Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard, Jake Foster, David Stagg. Interchange: Greg Eastwood, Corey Payne, Dene Halatau, Michael Hodgson.
Ins: Michael Ennis, Michael Hodgson
Outs: Aiden Tolman (knee, round 15), Josh Reynolds (NSW Cup)

Titans: Preston Campbell, Steve Michaels, Esi Tonga, Bodene Thompson, David Mead, William Zillman, (c) Scott Prince, Luke Bailey, Riley Brown, Michael Henderson, Greg Bird, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matt White, Ryan James, Sam Tagataese, Luke O’Dwyer.
Ins: Bodene Thompson
Outs: Joseph Tomane

Adrian Considers: Righto, a few positional changes for the Dogs. Andrew Ryan takes Tolman’s front row spot, while Jake Foster is named in the 2nd Row. Michael Hodgson is on an extended bench, and Ennis also returns. Two scenarios here- either they want him to play closer in field now, or they’re just lying to everyone, and either Eastwood or Hodgson will start in the front row, pushing Ryan back to his usual spot. Not sure which they’re going with, but it could certainly be a case of smoke and mirrors with this team named. For the Titans, a straight swap sees Bodene Thompson come in for Tomane in the centres. Bird and Harrison are both named, but that will depend on how they back up after Origin.

SATURDAY: 

Newcastle Knights v Parramatta Eels at Ausgrid Stadium, 5:30pm
Knights:  Shannon McDonnell, James McManus, Junior Sa’u, Wes Naiqama, Akuila Uate, Beau Henry, Jarrod Mullen (c), Richie Fa’aoso, Matt Hilder, Evarn Tuimavave, Chris Houston, Neville Costigan, Joel Edwards. Interchange (from): Isaac De Gois, Mark Taufua, Cameron Ciraldo, Dan Tolar, Antonio Kaufusi.
Ins: Junior Sa’u, Akuila Uate, Cameron Ciraldo, Richie Fa’aoso
Outs: Keith Lulia (dropped), Peter Mata’utia (dropped), Marvin Filipo (dropped)

Eels: Jarryd Hayne, Luke Burt , Chris Walker, Jacob Loko, Jordan Atkins, Casey McGuire, Jeff Robson, Tim Mannah, Matt Keating, Fuifui Moimoi, Nathan Hindmarsh (C), Taniela Lasalo, Ben Smith. Interchange: Anthony Mitchell, Shane Shackleton, Mitchell Allgood, Justin Horo.
Ins: Tim Mannah
Outs:Carl Webb (dropped)

Matt Considers: This clash is shaping as probably the most interesting of the weekend. The Knights are coming off a close loss to the Roosters, but do welcome back Junior Sau and Akuila Uate to the back-line, both of whom have been key to their attack so far this year. Ritchie Fa’aoso and Cameron Ciraldo also come back to bolster the pack, which gives them a very strong side. For the Eels, they are coming off a massive 40-6 win over the Sharks, and they welcome back Tim Mannah from Origin duty, which will bolster their forwards who dominated Cronulla last week. For the Knights, De Gois could be a good DT pick up about now, with a cheaper price and his workload likely to be increased, while for the Eels, time to offload Casey McGuire as he looks to have moved to the halves.

North Queensland Cowboys v Sydney Roosters at Dairy Farmers Stadium, 7.30pm
Cowboys: Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Antonio Winterstein, Willie Tonga, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matthew Scott (c), Aaron Payne, James Tamou, Gavin Cooper, Glenn Hall, Dallas Johnson. Interchange (from): James Segeyaro, Scott Bolton, Tariq Sims, Ashton Sims, Leeson Ah Mau.

Ins: Leeson Ah Mau
Outs: None

Roosters: Anthony Minichiello, Steve Naughton, Justin Carney, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Joseph ‘BJ’ Leilua, Todd Carney, Mitchell Pearce, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend, Nate Myles, Braith Anasta, Frank Paul Nuuausala, Aidan Guerra. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Mose Masoe, Mark Riddell, Tom Symonds.
Ins: Mitchell Pearce, Nate Myles, Tom Symonds
Outs:Lama Tasi (broken ankle, round 18), Willie Mataka (dropped), Tinirau Arona (dropped)

Matt Considers: One side with plenty of changes, the other win none. The Roosters have Mitchell Pearce and Nate Myles returning from injury, while Tom Symonds returns from his finger injury. Mataka and Arona make way, with Anasta pushed back into the back-row to accommodate Pearce’s return. The Cowboys are unchanged from two weeks ago, with only Lesson Ah Mau coming onto an extended bench for what shapes to be an emotional night for the home side.

SUNDAY: 

Melbourne Storm v Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at AAMI Park, 2pm.
Storm: Billy Slater, Anthony Quinn, Dane Nielsen, Maurice Blair, Matt Duffie, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Adam Blair, Kevin Proctor, Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Ryan Hinchcliffe, Sika Manu, Adam Woolnough, Jaiman Lowe.
Ins: Anthony Quinn
Outs: Dane Chisholm

Sharks: Isaac Gordon, Matthew Wright, Ben Pomeroy, Colin Best, Stewart Mills, Wade Graham,Scott Porter, Kade Snowden, John Morris, Luke Douglas, Jayson Bukuya, Anthony Tupou, Paul Gallen. Interchange (from): Josh Cordoba, Taulima Tautai, Johnny Mannah, Stuart Flanagan, Broderick Wright, Siosaia Vave.
Ins: Kade Snowden, Paul Gallen
Outs: None

Adrian Considers: There’s a handy inclusion for the Storm, who welcome back Anthony Quinn on the wing. Smith, Slater and Cronk have all been named. Storm Assistant Coach Kevin Walters has said the side have trained as if the trio are not playing, and if they do play, then it will be a bonus. Again, late mail will be crucial here. Assuming there are no injuries, I’d expect Smith to play but with reduced game time, as there’s a fairly handy back up in the form of Hinchcliffe on the bench. I’d speculate that Cronk would play the full 80, and Slater would also. Sharks fans will hope Origin is injury free, as two of their best are named to return. Gallen and Snowden were sorely missed in their last game.

St. George Illawarra Dragons v Wests Tigers at WIN Jubilee Oval, 3pm.
Dragons: Darius Boyd, Brett Morris, Mark Gasnier, Matt Cooper, Jason Nightingale, Jamie Soward, Ben Hornby (c), Dan Hunt, Dean Young, Michael Weyman, Beau Scott, Ben Creagh, Matt Prior. Interchange (from): Jon Green, Nathan Fien, Adam Cuthbertson, Trent Merrin, Kyle Stanley, Jack Bosden, Mitch Rein.
Ins: Mark Gasnier, Nathan Fien, Jack Bosden
Outs: None

Tigers: Wade McKinnon, Mitch Brown, Blake Ayshford, Tim Moltzen, Matt Utai, Benji Marshall, Robert Lui, Bryce Gibbs, (c) Robbie Farah, Keith Galloway, Simon Dwyer, Liam Fulton, Chris Heighington. Interchange (from): Beau Ryan, Andrew Fifita, Ben Murdoch-Masila, Aaron Woods, Alan Schirnack.
Ins: Beau Ryan
Outs: None

Matt Considers: The Dragons come back after an Origin bye, and with many players named to back up from Wednesday night. The expectation is that, barring injury, Soward, Gasnier, Morris, Boyd and Merrin will all back up. Scott and Creagh will be 50/50 chances, although Scott will be pushing to play, while Dean Young is almost definitely not going to back-up.  For the Tigers, Beau Ryan has been named on an extended bench after missing out last week, but expect either Shirnack or Woods to drop off to bench if Ryan plays. The return of Bryce Gibbs could see him as a good DT pick up, while don’t count out a return from Gareth Ellis, another value pick for DT.

MONDAY: 
Penrith Panthers v South Sydney Rabbitohs at Centrebet Stadium, 7pm.

Panthers: Lachlan Coote, David Simmons, Michael Jennings, Brad Tighe, Adrian Purtell, Travis Burns, Luke Walsh, Sam McKendry, Kevin Kingston, Petero Civoniceva (c), Nigel Plum, Trent Waterhouse, Luke Lewis. Interchange (from): Masada Iosefa, Nathan Smith, Tim Grant, Matthew Bell, Dayne Weston, Sandor Earl, Yileen Gordon.
Ins: Travis Burns
Outs: None

Rabbitohs: Rhys Wesser, Nathan Merritt, Dylan Farrell, Shaun Corrigan, Fetuli Talanoa, John Sutton, Chris Sandow, Ben Ross, Issac Luke, Shannan McPherson, David Tyrrell, David Taylor, (c) Michael Crocker. Interchange: Eddy Pettybourne, Jason Clark, Chris McQueen, Nathan Peats.
Ins: Fetuli Talanoa
Outs: James Roberts

Adrian Considers: Travis Burns returns for Penrith, slotting back into 5/8. Luke Lewis should play, as will Civoniceva and Jennings depending on how they come through Origin. For Souths, only the one change- Talanoa comes back in for Roberts after his bout of pneumonia. Young forwards Dave Tyrrell and Jason Clark both picked up injuries in the loss to the Warriors, and will be monitored during the week. Here’s hoping they pull through OK, especially considering I just drafted Clark into my Dream Team last week!

BYE:
Canberra Raiders
New Zealand Warriors