The NRL Round 20 teams have been revealed.
There’s a difference in tactics at the top of the NRL ladder, with the Penrith Panthers, Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders all electing to rest several stars ahead of their final home-and-away matches, whereas the Parramatta Eels go in relatively unchanged and the Sydney Roosters have brought in reinforcements.
The Chooks will welcome back James Tedesco, Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend ahead of their Friday night clash with archrivals South Sydney, in stark contrast to some of their fellow top four sides.
The Storm have given Cameron Munster, Josh Addo-Carr, Jahrome Hughes, Suliasi Vunivalu, Justin Olam and Brenko Lee the week off, the Raiders have afforded the same courtesy to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Jack Wighton, George Williams, Jarrod Croker and Jordan Rapana, while the Panthers will rest Dylan Edwards, Villame Kikau and Stephen Crichton.
CHECK OUT THE FULL TEAMS
Thursday, 7:50pm at Suncorp Stadium
Broncos
1. Darius Boyd, 2. Xavier Coates, 3. Jesse Arthars, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Richard Kennar, 6. Kotoni Staggs, 7. Tom Dearden, 8. Joe Ofahengaue, 9. Isaac Luke, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Jordan Riki, 12. Alex Glenn, 13. Patrick Carrigan
Bench/Reserves: 14. Cory Paix, 15. Ben Te’o, 16. Corey Oates, 17. Jamil Hopoate, 18. Rhys Kennedy, 19. Ethan Bullemor, 20. Sean O’Sullivan, 21. Brodie Croft
Cowboys
1. Valentine Holmes, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Murray Taulagi, 4. Daejarn Asi, 5. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 6. Scott Drinkwater, 7. Jake Clifford, 8. Josh McGuire, 9. Gavin Cooper, 10. Jordan McLEan, 11. Gavin Cooper, 12. Mitchell Dunn, 13. Jason Taumalolo
Bench/Reserves: 14. John Asiata, 15. Tom Gilbert, 16. Corey Jensen, 17. Francis Molo, 18. Emry Pere, 19. Jake Graville, 20. Ben Condon, 21. Justin O’Neill
Friday, 6pm at Cbus Super Stadium
Titans
1. AJ Brimson, 2. Anthony Don, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. Young Tonumaipea, 5. Treymain Spry, 6. Ashley Taylor, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Jarrod Wallace, 9. Mitch Rein, 10. Moeaki Fotuaika, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. Sam Stone, 13. Tyrone Peachey
Bench/Reserves: 14. Tanah Boyd, 15. Sam Lisone, 16. Jai Arrow, 17. Jai Whitbread, 18. Darius Farmer, 19. Corey Thompson, 20. Phillip Sami, 21. Nathan Peats
Knights
1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Enari Tuala, 4. Bradman Best, 5. Hymel Hunt, 6. Mason Lino, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Kurt Mann, 10. Daniel Saifiti, 11. Sione Mata’utia, 12. Aidan Guerra, 13. Mitchell Barnett
Bench/Reserves: 14. Chris Randall, 15. Jacob Saifiti, 16. Herman Ese’se, 17. Brodie Jones, 18. Josh King, 19. Gehamat Shibasaki, 20. Starford To’a, 21. Jirah Momoisea
Friday, 7:55pm at ANZ Stadium
Rabbitohs
1. Corey Allan, 2. Alex Johnston, 3. Campbell Graham, 4. Dane Gagai, 5. Jaxson Paulo, 6. Cody Walker, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. Liam Knight, 9. Damien Cook, 10. Tom Burgess, 11. Jed Cartwright, 12. Bayley Sironen, 13. Cameron Murray
Bench/Reserves: 14. Mark Nicholls, 15. Hame Sele, 16. Patrick Mago, 17. Keaon Koloamatangi, 18. Tevita Tavola, 19. Jack Johns, 20. Troy Dargan, 21. Cory Denniss
Roosters
1. James Tedesco, 2. Daniel Tupou, 3. Josh Morris, 4. Mitchell Aubusson, 5. Brett Morris, 6. Luke Keary, 7. Kyle Flanagan, 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9. Jake Friend, 10. Sio Siua Taukeiaho, 11. Boyd Cordner, 12. Sitili Tupouniua, 13. Angus Crichton
Bench/Reserves: 14. Lachlan Lam, 15. Poasa Faamausili, 16. Nat Butcher, 17. Sonny Bill Williams, 18. Matt Ikuvalu, 19. Daniel Fifita, 20. Freddy Lussick, 21. Ryan Hall
Saturday, 3pm at ANZ Stadium
Bulldogs
1. Will Hopoate, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Reimis Smith, 4. Tim Lafai, 5. Jayden Okunbor, 6. Jake Averillo, 7. Lachlan Lewis, 8. Aiden Tolman, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Luke Thompson, 11. Chris Smith, 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 13. Josh Jackson
Bench/Reserves: 14. Brandon Wakeham, 15. Renouf To’omaga, 16. Sione Katoa, 17. Sauaso Sue, 19. Dean Britt, 20. Jack Cogger, 21. Tuipuoltu Katoa, 22. Kerrod Holland
Panthers
1. Daine Laurie, 2. Josh Mansour, 3. Tyrone May, 4. Brent Naden, 5. Brian To’o, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Nathan Cleary, 8. James Tamou, 9. Apisai Koroisau, 10. James Fisher-Harris, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Liam Martin, 13. Isaah Yeo
Bench/Reserves: 14. Matt Burton, 15. Spencer Leniu, 16. Moses Leota, 17. Zane Tetevano, 18. Mitch Kenny, 19. Dean Whare, 20. Jack Hetherington, 21. Billy Burns
Saturday, 5:30pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Sharks
1. Will Kennedy, 2. Nene Macdonald, 3. Mawene Hiroti, 4. Jesse Ramien, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Wade Graham, 7. Connor Tracey, 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 9. Blayke Brailey, 10. Aaron Woods, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Siosifa Talakai, 13. Toby Rudolf
Bench/Reserves: 14. Scott Sorensen, 15. Jack Williams, 16. Andrew Fifita, 17. Teig Wilton, 18. Billy Magoulias, 19. Braydon Trindall, 20. Bryson Goodwin, 21. Daniel Vasquez
Raiders
1. Adam Cook, 2. Semi Valemei, 3. Matthew Timoko, 4. Harley Smith-Shields, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Dunamis Lui, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Iosia Soliola, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Corey Harawira-Naera, 13. Siliva Havili
Bench/Reserves: 14. Kai O’Donnell, 15. Ryan Sutton, 16. Darby Medlyn, 17. Jarrett Subloo, 18. Ata Mariota, 19. Joseph Tapine, 20. Jack Wighton, 21. Elliott Whitehead
Saturday, 7:35pm at Bankwest Stadium
Tigers
1. Adam Doueihi, 2. David Nofoaluma, 3. Tommy Talau, 4. Chris Lawrence, 5. Asu Kepaoa, 6. Benji Marshall, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. Zane Musgrove, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Thomas Mikaele, 11. Luke Garner, 12. Luciano Leilua, 13. Alex Twal
Bench/Reserves: 14. Matthew Eisenhuth, 15. Elijah Taylor, 16. Shawn Blore, 17. Michael Chee-Kam, 18. Alex Seyfarth, 19. Jacob Liddle, 20. Josh Reynolds, 21. Joseph Leilua
Eels
1. Clint Gutherson, 2. Maika Sivo, 3. Michael Jennings, 4. Waqa Blake, 5. Blake Ferguson, 6. Jai Field, 7. Mitchell Moses, 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Junior Paulo, 11. Shaun Lane, 12. Ryan Matterson, 13. Nathan Brown
Bench/Reserves: 14. Will Smith, 15. Andrew Davey, 16. Kane Evans, 17. Oregon Kaufusi, 18. Haze Dunster, 19. Brad Takairangi, 20. George Jennings, 21. Daniel Alvaro
Sunday, 2pm at Central Coast Stadium
Warriors
1. Peta Hiku, 2. Adam Pompey, 3. Adam Keighran, 4. Hayze Perham, 5. Patrick Herbert, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 8. Lachlan Burr, 9. Karl Lawton, 10. Isaiah Papali’i, 11. Eliesa Katoa, 12. Tohu Harris, 13. Jazz Tevaga
Bench/Reserves: 14. Wayde Egan, 15. Adam Blair, 16. Jack Murchie, 17. Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, 18. Josh Curran, 20. Paul Turner, 21. Gerard Beale, 22. Tom Ale
Sea Eagles
1. Tevita Funa, 2. Abbas Miski, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Morgan Harper, 5. Reuben Garrick, 6. Lachlan Croker, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Taniela Paseka, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Martin Taupau, 11. Corey Waddell, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Jake Trbojevic
Bench/Reserves: 14. Albert Hopoate, 15. Morgan Boyle, 16. Sean Keppie, 17. Haumole Olakau’atu, 18. Ben Trbojevic, 19. Luke Metcalf, 20. Toafofoa Sipley, 21. Sione Fainu
Sunday, 4:05pm at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Dragons
1. Matt Dufty, 2. Max Feagai, 3. Euan Aitken, 4. Zac Lomax, 5. Cody Ramsey, 6. Jayden Sullivan, 7. Adam Clune, 8. Blake Lawrie, 9. Cameron McInnes, 10. Paul Vaughan, 11. Tyson Frizell, 12. Jacob Host, 13. Jackson Ford
Bench/Reserves: 14. Tariq Sims, 15. Kaide Ellis, 16. Josh Kerr, 17. Eddie Blacker, 18. Brayden Williame, 19. Corey Norman, 20. Jordan Pereira, 21. Tyrell Fuimaono
Storm
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2. Sandor Earl, 3. Ricky Leutele, 4. Paul Momirovski, 5. Isaac Lumelume, 6. Ryley Jacks, 7. Cooper Johns, 8. Tui Kamikamica, 9. Brandon Smith, 10. Christian Welch, 11. Tom Eisenhuth, 12. Chris Lewis, 13. Max King
Bench/Reserves: 14. Nicho Hynes, 15. Darryn Schonig, 16. Albert Vete, 17. Aaron Pene, 18. Aaron Booth, 19. Dean Ieremia, 20. Trent Loiero, 21. Judda Turahui
All times AEST (Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne).
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Think I've wasted enough of my day on you Mushi
mushi
Roar Guru
Give me the probability against the other 7 finals teams and I'll disprove your statement in black and white
mushi
Roar Guru
Quote: "If the Raiders finished 4th and lost to the Panthers in week one they would probably have to play 4 finals in a row to win the flag anyway – so what’s the diff?" This is the ramblings of person who doesn't understand really basic mathematics.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Half the Raiders team has had a week off this week Mushi - and they can still make 4th if they beat the Sharks on Saturday and the Tigers win against the Eels. It could happen. And if the Raiders beat Penrith in the first week of the finals - which is a possibility - half the team will have had two weeks off if they go all the way to the GF and the other half will have had one week off. There is no guarantee of making 4th if they played the full squad this week anyway - it still depends on the Tigers beating the Eels. The Raiders could have bashed their way to a win against the Sharks and still finished 5th and faced the same team the following week. I reckon they are a reasonable chance of beating the Sharks this Saturday and the Tigers could send off Benji a winner. So the Raiders could well finish 4th with half the squad rested for the week. As a Raiders supporter I'm OK with Ricky's decision to rest a bunch of players as most Raiders supporters appear to be. I'm certainly not angry about it. And I reckon the team that plays the Sharks will giv e a good account of themselves. They will be busting out of their skins to play well. Some haven't had an NRL game this yrear (Frawley and Sam Williams) and there are a heap of energetic young blokes. It only seems to be opposition supporters that think its a bad decision who obviously haven't thought too deeply about it. And I think my maths will stack up thanks very much.
mushi
Roar Guru
Play four, if they lose, sure. But they get the opportunity to win and make it 3 oh and they get to survive if they lose. None of those two apply at 5th.
mushi
Roar Guru
Do the math. Assign probabilities to winning against each opponent and then come back and tell me having to win 4 straight is better than 3/4.
Renegade
Roar Guru
You’re a raiders fan so I like the optimism but sorry, not buying it. There’s no way finishing 5th is better than 4th
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
Ooohh yea, then Storm or chooks who might still be battered from their major semi. Raiders actually have a decent chance from 5th.
Akin
Guest
I’m surprised no one has mentioned that if the sharkys do beat the Raiders Parra don’t have to beat the tigers cause they still stay on 4th The eels should just rest players or take it easy They will have nothing to play for and with Chris Lawrence And Benji Last game the tigers should get up And at $3.60 that looks like a punters dream bet Tigers odds are already dropping Already laid a few grand onem Only thing left is cronulla have to get up GO THE Sharkiezzzzz!
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
No. I'm saying the Raiders can still finish 4th if they knock off the Sharks and the Tigers get up - it's possible. I'm also saying that if they finished 4th and lost to the Panthers in week one they would have to play 4 finals to make the GF - the same as if they finished 5th.
Sam
Guest
So you're admitting that the Raiders can't beat Penrith and are trying to hide from them? And trying to spin it to say finishing outside the top 4 where no team has ever won it from is actually better than finishing in the top 4 where every premiership winner in NRL history has finished? All you have to do is look back at last season where the Raiders finished 4th, knocked over the minor premiers then found themselves a win away from the GF.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Hope Matt Frawley goes all right - he and Sam Williams gave a couple of great speeches to the squad about how much this means to him to play in green. I think its a great decision by Ricky to give all those blokes who've been busting their guts in training all year a chance to represent the club.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
If the Raiders finished 4th and lost to the Panthers in week one they would probably have to play 4 finals in a row to win the flag anyway - so what's the diff? Why not rest half the team? You never know - what's left of the top 17 plus the rookies could end up beating the Sharks - and there is a slim chance that the Tigers could send Benji out a winner against the Eels - so they could still finish 4th with many players having a much needed week's rest. Or if they finish 5th - they bring back half the team to play the Sharks in week one. Can't see the down side.
Harry
Guest
Last sentence should read “for what it’s worth”!! :)
Harry
Guest
No team’s ever won from outside the top 4 because in a normal season they’d be coming into finals on the back of 25 rounds plus most likely Origin or Internationals for their best players. This season it’s been only 18 rounds since resumption, no Origin, no Internationals. It’s not a normal season. For what until last year everyone was saying it’s impossible to win back-to-back grand finals, too.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
I've been on about that too. As well as Frizell. Maybe Dragons aren't worried if they get injured? Rather than use up their future talent on nothing games they'll get the last $$ worth from these blokes jumping ship?
Sam
Guest
And if the Raiders had of made the Top 4 and won the first week they'd be one game away from the GF. Now they'll probably have 4 sudden death games to win the GF, something no team has ever done. Raiders are gone.
Tony
Roar Guru
Storm by 20+
Tony
Roar Guru
Can't see why Aitken has been selected?
Tony
Roar Guru
And will hardly notice that they're absent