There may just be the four matches on offer due to State of Origin, but NRL team selection has generated just as many headlines in Round 12.
Parramatta coach Brad Arthur has put his squad on notice following Thursday’s disappointing loss to Penrith, relegating Tim Mannah, Brad Takairangi, Daniel Alvaro and George Jennings from the 17. Michael Jennings and Tepai Moeroa are among the replacements.
South Sydney have been buoyed by the return of Adam Douheihi from an ACL injury last year, while Adam Reynolds has been named to start at halfback despite fears last weekend he may have fractured his leg.
Cody Walker’s Origin selection, however, has forced them to name the uncapped Connor Tracey at five-eighth.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary has been forced to make do without halfback Nathan Cleary thanks to his Origin selection, while injuries to Waqa Blake and Dean Whare – as well as Dallin Watene-Zelezniak’s impending exit – have seen Penrith name an understrength side for their clash with Manly.
While their opponents, Manly, will be without Daly Cherry-Evans on Origin duty, he hadn’t actually played for the Sea Eagles for some time. They will, however, sorely miss Jake Trbojevic. Joel Thompson has been named as stand-in skipper.
CHECK OUT THE FULL TEAMS
Thursday, 7:50pm at Panthers Stadium
Panthers
1. Dylan Edwards, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Isaah Yeo, 4. Brent Naden, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. James Maloney, 8. James Tamou (c), 9. Sione Katoa, 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Frank Winterstein, 13. James Fisher-Harris
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Mitch Kenny, 15. Tyrell Fuimaono, 16. Moses Leota, 17. Tim Grant, 18. Hame Sele, 19. Kaide Ellis, 20. Caleb Aekins, 21. Liam Martin
Sea Eagles
1. Brendan Elliott, 2. Jorge Taufua, 3. Dylan Walker, 4. Reuben Garrick, 5. Abbas Miski, 6. Cade Cust, 7. Kane Elgey, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Joel Thompson (c), 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Corey Waddell
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Manase Fainu, 15. Jack Gosiewski, 16. Morgan Boyle, 17. Taniela Paseka, 18. Zach Dockar-Clay, 19. Jade Anderson, 20. Haumole Olakauatu, 21. Lloyd Perrett
Friday, 7:55pm at Bankwest Stadium
Eels
1. Clint Gutherson, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Josh Hoffman, 5. Blake Ferguson, 6. Will Smith, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Kane Evans, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Manu Ma’u, 13. Tepai Moeroa
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Peni Terepo, 15. Ray Stone, 16. David Gower, 17. Marata Niukore, 18. Brad Takairangi, 19. George Jennings, 20. Tim Mannah, 21. Daniel Alvaro
Rabbitohs
1. Corey Allan, 2. Mawene Hiroti, 3. Ethan Lowe, 4. Adam Douheihi, 5. Campbell Graham, 6. Connor Tracey, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. George Burgess, 9. Billy Brittain, 10. Tom Burgess, 11. John Sutton, 12. Sam Burgess (c), 13. Junior Tatola
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Bayley Sironen, 15. Mark Nicholls, 16. Dean Britt, 17. Liam Knight, 18. Keaon Koloamatangi, 19. Jacob Gagan, 20. Dean Hawkins
Saturday, 7:35pm at ANZ Stadium
Bulldogs
1. Nick Meaney, 2. Christian Crichton, 3. Marcelo Montoya, 4. Will Hopoate, 5. Reimis Smith, 6. Kieran Foran, 7. Jack Cogger, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Ofahiki Ogden, 11. Josh Jackson (c), 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Chris Smith
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Rhyse Martin, 15. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 16. Danny Fualalo, 17. Sauaso Sue, 19. Michael Lichaa, 20. Lachlan Lewis, 21. Kerrod Holland, 23. Adam Elliott
Raiders
1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Michael Oldfield, 6. Aiden Sezer, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Corey Horsburgh, 9. Siliva Havili, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Hudson Young
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Ryan Sutton, 18. Ata Hingano, 19. Royce Hunt, 20. Andre Niko, 21. John Bateman
Sunday, 4:05pm at Cbus Super Stadium
Titans
1. AJ Brimson, 2. Anthony Don, 3. Jesse Arthars, 4. Brian Kelly, 5. Dale Copley, 6. Tyrone Roberts (c), 7. Ash Taylor, 8. Jarrod Wallace, 9. Mitch Rein, 10. Moeaki Fotuaika, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. Keegan Hipgrave, 13. Jai Arrow
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Tyrone Peachey, 15. Shannon Boyd, 16. Bryce Cartwright, 17. Jack Stockwell, 18. Max King, 19. Will Matthews, 20. Ryley Jacks, 21. Leilani Latu
Cowboys
1. Jordan Kahu, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Mitch Dunn, 4. Tom Opacic, 5. Gideon Gela-Mosby, 6. John Asiata, 7. Jake Clifford, 8. Scott Bolton, 9. Jake Granville, 10. Jordan McLean (c), 11. Gavin Cooper (c), 12. Coen Hess, 13. Jason Taumalolo
Interchange/Reserves: 14. Kurt Baptiste, 15. Shane Wright, 16. Corey Jensen, 17. Francis Molo, 18. Peter Hola, 19. Enari Tuala, 20. Emry Pere, 21. Javid Bowen
All times AEST (Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne).
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
The end of Round 11 might not seem the obvious place to stop and take stock of the rugby league world, but it is…
He shouldn't go so far as to put a broom through the squad and pick a team full of debutants, but the composition of the sq will make or break Madge in his first series as coach.
It’s Wayne’s world and the Rabbitohs are living in it. Again. The sequel is rarely as good as the original and that was definitely…
No other forward in his time came close to his dominance as a ball distributor, and his all-round influence on a game.
Parramatta dropped a bombshell by sacking Brad Arthur, effective immediately, and have conceded they have been trying for weeks to get Wayne Bennett to…
Wests Tigers duo Brent Naden and Justin Olam have been slapped with dangerous contact charges and face missing one week of action with early…
