NRL coaches across the country are banking on their Origin stars to full up fit and fresh from Wednesday’s series opener, with just about every player playing in tomorrow night’s blockbuster named to back up for their clubs on the weekend.
Wayne Bennett is banking on all four of his Origin representatives to get up just two nights later for South Sydney’s round-opener with Newcastle, bringing Damien Cook, Cody Walker, Dane Gagai and Cameron Murray back into the side. Nathan Brown, his opposing coach, is also backing Kalyn Ponga and David Klemmer to slot back in – although he loses starting hooker Danny Levi to an ankle injury.
Canberra are another injury-smashed side, but Ricky Stuart has named Jack Wighton, Nick Cotric, Josh Papalii in his lineup for Friday night’s clash with the Tigers, but the biggest surprise is arguably the return of Jordan Rapana from the knee injury he suffered in Magic Round.
Cronulla veteran Josh Morris is the only Origin starter confirmed to be rested for the weekend, although Manly have named both Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic on the bench for Saturday night – but will be buoyed massively by the return of Tom Trbojevic.
The Dragons have named Ben Hunt and Tyson Frizell as reserves, while the Panthers have also named Nathan Cleary as a reserve.
Elsewhere, Parramatta have stuck with the side that got them a win over Souths last week, leaving previously dropped trio Tim Mannah, George Jennings and Brad Takairangi out of the side. The Sharks could be set to welcome back Wade Graham and Shaun Johnson from long injury layoffs – naming both as reserves – while Brisbane welcome back Andrew McCullough from the knee injury he suffered at training.
CHECK OUT THE FULL TEAMS
Friday, 6pm at ANZ Stadium
| Rabbitohs | Number | Knights |
|---|---|---|
| Corey Allan | 1 | Kalyn Ponga |
| Mawene Hiroti | 2 | Edrick Lee |
| James Roberts | 3 | Hymel Hunt |
| Dane Gagai | 4 | Jesse Ramien |
| Campbell Graham | 5 | Shaun Kenny-Dowall |
| Cody Walker | 6 | Kurt Mann |
| Adam Reynolds | 7 | Mitchell Pearce (c) |
| George Burgess | 8 | David Klemmer |
| Damien Cook | 9 | Connor Watson |
| Tom Burgess | 10 | Daniel Saifiti |
| John Sutton | 11 | Lachlan Fitzgibbon |
| Sam Burgess (c) | 12 | Mitchell Barnett |
| Cameron Murray | 13 | Tim Glasby |
| Bench | ||
| Tevita Tatola | 14 | Jamie Buhrer |
| Ethan Lowe | 15 | Herman Ese’ese |
| Liam Knight | 16 | James Gavet |
| Mark Nicholls | 17 | Sione Mata’utia |
| Reserves | ||
| Bayley Sironen | 18 | Josh King |
| Connor Tracey | 19 | Pasami Saulo |
| Adam Doueihi | 20 | Tautau Moga |
| Dean Britt | 21 | Mason Lino |
Friday, 7:55pm at Bankwest Stadium
| Tigers | Number | Raiders |
|---|---|---|
| Moses Mbye (c) | 1 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad |
| Robert Jennings | 2 | Bailey Simonsson |
| Paul Momirovski | 3 | Jarrod Croker (c) |
| Esan Marsters | 4 | Nick Cotric |
| Corey Thompson | 5 | Jordan Rapana |
| Benji Marshall | 6 | Jack Wighton |
| Luke Brooks | 7 | Sam Williams |
| Ben Matulino | 8 | Josh Papalii |
| Robbie Farah | 9 | Siliva Havili |
| Alex Twal | 10 | Dunamis Lui |
| Ryan Matterson | 11 | John Bateman |
| Chris McQueen | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| Matt Eisenhuth | 13 | Joseph Tapine |
| Bench | ||
| Jacob Liddle | 14 | Tom Starling |
| Thomas Mikaele | 15 | Emre Guler |
| Josh Aloiai | 16 | Iosia Soliola |
| Michael Chee-Kam | 17 | Ryan Sutton |
| Reserves | ||
| David Nofoaluma | 18 | Aidan Sezer |
| Elijah Taylor | 19 | Royce Hunt |
| Chris Lawrence | 20 | Michael Oldfield |
| Mahe Fonua | 21 | Sebastian Kris |
Saturday, 3pm at Mt Smart Stadium
| Warriors | Number | Storm |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c) | 1 | Jahrome Hughes |
| David Fusitu’a | 2 | Suliasi Vunivalu |
| Peta Hiku | 3 | Will Chambers |
| Patrick Herbert | 4 | Marion Seve |
| Ken Maumalo | 5 | Josh Addo-Carr |
| Kodi Nikorima | 6 | Cameron Munster |
| Blake Green | 7 | Brodie Croft |
| Agnastius Paasi | 8 | Jesse Bromwich |
| Isaac Luke | 9 | Cameron Smith (c) |
| Leeson Ah Mau | 10 | Nelson Asofa-Solomona |
| Isaiah Papali’i | 11 | Felise Kaufusi |
| Tohu Harris | 12 | Kenneath Bromwich |
| Adam Blair | 13 | Dale Finucane |
| Bench | ||
| Lachlan Burr | 14 | Brandon Smith |
| Bunty Afoa | 15 | Joe Stimson |
| Chris Satae | 16 | Tui Kamikamica |
| Karl Lawton | 17 | Ryan Papenhuyzen |
| Reserves | ||
| Gerard Beale | 18 | Justin Olam |
| Leivaha Pulu | 20/19 | Patrick Kaufusi |
| Jackson Frei | 21/20 | Albert Vete |
| Chanel Harris-Tavita | 22/21 | Sandor Earl |
Saturday, 5:30pm at PointsBet Stadium
| Sharks | Number | Eels |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Moylan | 1 | Clint Gutherson (c) |
| Sosaia Feki | 2 | Maika Sivo |
| Bronson Xerri | 3 | Michael Jennings |
| Josh Dugan | 4 | Josh Hoffman |
| Aaron Gray | 5 | Blake Ferguson |
| Kyle Flanagan | 6 | Will Smith |
| Chad Townsend | 7 | Mitchell Moses |
| Andrew Fifita | 8 | Kane Evans |
| Jayden Brailey | 9 | Reed Mahoney |
| Matt Prior | 10 | Junior Paulo |
| Briton Nikora | 11 | Shaun Lane |
| Kurt Capewell | 12 | Manu Ma’u |
| Paul Gallen (c) | 13 | Tepai Moeroa |
| Bench | ||
| Blayke Brailey | 14 | Peni Terepo |
| Jayson Bukuya | 15 | Ray Stone |
| Jack Williams | 16 | David Gower |
| Braden Hamlin-Uele | 17 | Marata Niukore |
| Reserves | ||
| Scott Sorensen | 18 | Brad Takairangi |
| Siona Katoa | 19 | George Jennings |
| Wade Graham | 20 | Tim Mannah |
| Shaun Johnson | 21 | Nathan Brown |
Saturday, 7:35pm at 1300SMILES Stadium
| Cowboys | Number | Sea Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Morgan (c) | 1 | Tom Trbojevic |
| Kyle Feldt | 2 | Jorge Taufua |
| Mitch Dunn | 3 | Dylan Walker |
| Tom Opacic | 4 | Moses Suli |
| Enari Tuala | 5 | Reuben Garrick |
| John Asiata | 6 | Cade Cust |
| Jake Clifford | 7 | Kane Elgey |
| Josh McGuire | 8 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| Jake Granville | 9 | Apisai Koroisau |
| Jordan McLean | 10 | Martin Taupau |
| Gavin Cooper | 11 | Joel Thompson |
| Coen Hess | 12 | Curtis Sironen |
| Jason Taumalolo | 13 | Jack Gosiewski |
| Bench | ||
| Reuben Cotter | 14 | Manase Fainu |
| Shane Wright | 15 | Brendan Elliot |
| Scott Bolton | 16 | Morgan Boyle |
| Francis Molo | 17 | Taniela Paseka |
| Reserves | ||
| Peter Hola | 18 | Jake Trbojevic |
| Javid Bowen | 19 | Daly Cherry-Evans (c) |
| Corey Jensen | 20 | Haumole Olakau’atu |
| Emry Pere | 21 | Lloyd Perrett |
Saturday, 2pm at Suncorp Stadium
| Broncos | Number | Titans |
|---|---|---|
| Darius Boyd (c) | 1 | AJ Brimson |
| Corey Oates | 2 | Anthony Don |
| Kotoni Staggs | 3 | Jesse Arthars |
| Gehamat Shibasaki | 4 | Brian Kelly |
| Jamayne Isaako | 5 | Dale Copley |
| Anthony Milford | 6 | Tyrone Roberts (c) |
| Tom Dearden | 7 | Ash Taylor |
| Matthew Lodge | 8 | Jarrod Wallace |
| Jake Turpin | 9 | Mitch Rein |
| Payne Haas | 10 | Moeaki Fotuaika |
| Alex Glenn | 11 | Kevin Proctor |
| Matt Gillett | 12 | Keegan Kipgrave |
| Tevita Pangai Jr. | 13 | Jai Arrow |
| Bench | ||
| Andrew McCullough | 14 | Tyrone Peachey |
| David Fifita | 15 | Shannon Boyd |
| Thomas Fleger | 16 | Bryce Cartwright |
| Joe Ofahengaue | 17 | Jai Whitbread |
| Reserves | ||
| Patrick Carrigan | 18 | Jack Stockwell |
| Jaydn Su’A | 19 | Max King |
| Richard Kennar | 20 | Ryley Jacks |
| Sean O’Sullivan | 21 | Nathan Peats |
Sunday, 4:05pm at Panthers Stadium
| Panthers | Number | Roosters |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan Edwards | 1 | James Tedesco |
| Josh Mansour | 2 | Daniel Tupou |
| Isaah Yeo | 3 | Latrell Mitchell |
| Brent Naden | 4 | Joseph Manu |
| Brian To’o | 5 | Matt Ikuvalu |
| Jarome Luai | 6 | Drew Hutchison |
| James Maloney | 7 | Cooper Cronk |
| James Tamou (c) | 8 | Jared Waerea-Hargreaves |
| Wayde Egan | 9 | Victor Radley |
| Reagan Campbell-Gillard | 10 | Siosiua Taukeiaho |
| Villame Kikau | 11 | Boyd Cordner (c) |
| Frank Winterstein | 12 | Angus Crichton |
| James Fisher-Harris | 13 | Isaac Liu |
| Bench | ||
| Siona Katoa | 14 | Nat Butcher |
| Liam Martin | 15 | Zane Tetevano |
| Moses Leota | 16 | Sitili Tupouniua |
| Hame Sele | 17 | Mitchell Aubusson |
| Reserves | ||
| Kaide Ellis | 18 | Poasa Faamausili |
| Caleb Aekins | 19 | Ryan Hall |
| Mitchell Kenny | 20 | Lindsay Collins |
| Nathan Cleary | 21 | Sam Verrills |
Monday, 4pm at ANZ Stadium
| Bulldogs | Number | Dragons |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Meaney | 1 | Matt Dufty |
| Christian Crichton | 2 | Jonus Pearson |
| Marcelo Montoya | 3 | Euan Aitken |
| Will Hopoate | 4 | Zac Lomax |
| Reimis Smith | 5 | Mikaele Ravalawa |
| Kieran Foran | 6 | Corey Norman |
| Jack Cogger | 7 | Jai Field |
| Aiden Tolman | 8 | Blake Lawrie |
| Jeremy Marshall-King | 9 | Cameron McInnes (c) |
| Ofahiki Ogden | 10 | Korbin Sims |
| Josh Jackson (c) | 11 | Jacob Host |
| Raymond Faitala-Mariner | 12 | Tariq Sims |
| Adam Elliott | 13 | Luciano Leilua |
| Bench | ||
| Rhyse Martin | 14 | Jeremy Latimore |
| Danny Fualalo | 15 | Reece Robson |
| Chris smith | 16 | Lachlan Timm |
| Sauaso Sue | 17 | Josh Kerr |
| Reserves | ||
| Lachlan Lewis | 19/18 | Jordan Pereira |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 20/19 | Mitch Allgood |
| Michael Lichaa | 21/20 | Ben Hunt |
| Dylan Napa | 23/21 | Tyson Frizell |
All times AEST (Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne).
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All the team list information for Round 8.
