The NRL Round 4 teams have been revealed, with the Roosters new-look halves pairing one of the biggest talking points.
With Luke Keary and Lachlan Lam both out through injury, Trent Robinson has named a new pairing of Sam Walker and Drew Hutchison, as expected. He’s resisted the temptation to pull the trigger on a Suaalii debut, however, naming the 17-year-old sensation among the reserves for now. The Roosters do welcome Victor Radley back from injury, however.
In other news, Todd Payten has finally swung the axe on his misfiring Cowboys outfit, booting Jake Clifford, Esan Marsters and Mitchell Dunn from the 17, while also shifting Justin O’Neill to the centres and bringing up Connelly Lemuelu for his season debut to pair him.
Trent Barrett has also moved the magnets at Canterbury a bit, bringing Sione Katoa on at hooker to replace the injured Jeremy Marshall-King, giving Renouf Atoni the suspended Josh Jackson’s spot and swapping Nick Meaney and Corey Allan at fullback and wing.
CHECK OUT THE FULL TEAMS
Thursday, 8:05pm at Lottoland
| Sea Eagles | No. | Panthers |
|---|---|---|
| Dylan Walker | 1 | Stephen Crichton |
| Jason Saab | 2 | Charlie Staines |
| Brad Parker | 3 | Paul Momirovski |
| Moses Suli | 4 | Matt Burton |
| Reuben Garrick | 5 | Brian To’o |
| Kieran Foran | 6 | Jarome Luai |
| Daly Cherry-Evans | 7 | Nathan Cleary |
| Taniela Paseka | 8 | Moses Leota |
| Lachlan Croker | 9 | Mitch Kenny |
| Martin Taupau | 10 | James Fisher-Harris |
| Jack Gosiewski | 11 | Villame Kikau |
| Josh Schuster | 12 | Kurt Capewell |
| Jake Trbojevic | 13 | Isaah Yeo |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Cade Cust | 14 | Tyrone May |
| Morgan Boyle | 15 | Spencer Leniu |
| Sean Keppie | 16 | Matthew Eisenhuth |
| Josh Aloiai | 17 | Liam Martin |
| Tevita Funa | 18 | Scott Sorensen |
| Morgan Harper | 19 | Billy Burns |
| Toafofoa Sipley | 20 | J’maine Hopgood |
| Christian Tuipulotu | 21 | Jaeman Salmon |
Friday, 4:05pm at Stadium Australia
| Bulldogs | No. | Rabbitohs |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Meaney | 1 | Latrell Mitchell |
| Corey Allan | 2 | Alex Johnston |
| Will Hopoate | 3 | Dane Gagai |
| Nick Cotric | 4 | Campbell Graham |
| Tuipulotu Katoa | 5 | Josh Mansour |
| Lachlan Lewis | 6 | Cody Walker |
| Kyle Flanagan | 7 | Adam Reynolds |
| Dylan Napa | 8 | Tom Burgess |
| Sione Katoa | 9 | Damien Cook |
| Jack Hetherington | 10 | Tevita Tatola |
| Adam Elliott | 11 | Keaon Kolomatangi |
| Corey Waddell | 12 | Jaydn Su’A |
| Renouf Atoni | 13 | Cameron Murray |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Jackson Topine | 14 | Benji Marshall |
| Dean Britt | 15 | Mark Nicholls |
| Joe Stimson | 16 | Patrick Mago |
| Ofahiki Ogden | 17 | Jai Arrow |
| Jake Averillo | 19/18 | Jacob Host |
| Chris Smith | 20/19 | Dean Hawkins |
| Brandon Wakeham | 21/20 | Troy Dargan |
| Matt Doorey | 22/21 | Steven Marsters |
Friday, 8:05pm at AAMI Park
| Storm | No. | Broncos |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Papenhuyzen | 1 | Jamayne Isaako |
| George Jennings | 2 | Xavier Coates |
| Reimis Smith | 3 | Herbie Farnworth |
| Justin Olam | 4 | Tesi Niu |
| Josh Addo-Carr | 5 | David Mead |
| Cameron Munster | 6 | Anthony Milford |
| Jahrome Hughes | 7 | Brodie Croft |
| Jesse Bromwich | 8 | Matthew Lodge |
| Brandon Smith | 9 | Jake Turpin |
| Christian Welch | 10 | Payne Haas |
| Tom Eisenhuth | 11 | Alex Glenn |
| Kenneath Bromwich | 12 | Jordan Riki |
| Nelson Asofa-Solomona | 13 | Patrick Carrigan |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Tyson Smoothy | 14 | John Asiata |
| Tui Kamikamica | 15 | Thomas Flegler |
| Chris Lewis | 16 | Tevita Pangai Jr. |
| Darryn Schonig | 17 | Ben Te’o |
| Aaron Pene | 18 | Tom Dearden |
| Nicho Hynes | 19 | Rhys Kennedy |
| Trent Loiero | 20 | Richard Kennar |
| Dean Ieremia | 21 | Ethan Bullemor |
Saturday, 5:30pm at Sunshine Coast Stadium
| Sharks | No. | Cowboys |
|---|---|---|
| Will Kennedy | 1 | Valentine Holmes |
| Mawene Hiroti | 2 | Murray Taulagi |
| Josh Dugan | 3 | Justin O’Neill |
| Connor Tracey | 4 | Connelly Lemuelu |
| Ronaldo Mulitalo | 5 | Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow |
| Matt Moylan | 6 | Scott Drinkwater |
| Chad Townsend | 7 | Ben Hampton |
| Braden Hamlin-Uele | 8 | Francis Molo |
| Blayke Brailey | 9 | Reece Robson |
| Aaron Woods | 10 | Jordan McLean |
| Teig Wilton | 11 | Shane Wright |
| Wade Graham | 12 | Ben Condon |
| Toby Rudolf | 13 | Josh McGuire |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Braydon Trindall | 14 | Jake Granville |
| Aiden Tolman | 15 | Coen Hess |
| Jack Williams | 16 | Corey Jensen |
| Billy Magoulias | 17 | Lachlan Burr |
| Franklin Pele | 18 | Peter Hola |
| Nene Macdonald | 19 | Esan Marsters |
| Andrew Fifita | 20 | Griffin Neame |
| Jenson Taumoepeau | 21 | Jake Clifford |
Saturday, 7:35pm at Cbus Super Stadium
| Titans | No. | Raiders |
|---|---|---|
| AJ Brimson | 1 | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad |
| Anthony Don | 2 | Bailey Simonsson |
| Phillip Sami | 3 | Jarrod Croker |
| Patrick Herbert | 4 | Sebastian Kris |
| Corey Thompson | 5 | Jordan Rapana |
| Tanah Boyd | 6 | Jack Wighton |
| Jamal Fogarty | 7 | George Williams |
| Jarrod Wallace | 8 | Josh Papalii |
| Mitch Rein | 9 | Josh Hodgson |
| Tino Fa’asuamaleaui | 10 | Dunamis Lui |
| Kevin Proctor | 11 | Hudson Young |
| David Fifita | 12 | Elliott Whitehead |
| Tyrone Peachey | 13 | Ryan Sutton |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Moeaki Fotuaika | 14 | Tom Starling |
| Sam Lisone | 15 | Siliva Havili |
| Jaimin Jolliffe | 16 | Iosia Soliola |
| Erin Clark | 17 | Ryan James |
| Beau Fermor | 18 | Sam Williams |
| Herman Ese’ese | 19 | Semi Valemei |
| Sam McIntyre | 20 | Caleb Aekins |
| Brian Kelly | 21 | Emre Guler |
Sunday, 4:05pm at McDonald Jones Stadium
| Knights | No. | Dragons |
|---|---|---|
| Tex Hoy | 1 | Matt Dufty |
| Starford To’a | 2 | Cody Ramsey |
| Enari Tuala | 3 | Brayden Williame |
| Gehamat Shibasaki | 4 | Zac Lomax |
| Hymel Hunt | 5 | Mikaele Ravalawa |
| Kurt Mann | 6 | Corey Norman |
| Mitchell Pearce | 7 | Adam Clune |
| David Klemmer | 8 | Blake Lawrie |
| Jayden Brailey | 9 | Andrew McCullough |
| Daniel Saifiti | 10 | Paul Vaughan |
| Tyson Frizell | 11 | Josh Kerr |
| Mitchell Barnett | 12 | Tariq Sims |
| Connor Watson | 13 | Tyrell Fuimaono |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Sauaso Sue | 14 | Poasa Faamausili |
| Jacob Saifiti | 15 | Trent Merrin |
| Josh King | 16 | Daniel Alvaro |
| Blake Green | 17 | Jackson Ford |
| Brodie Jones | 18 | Kaide Ellis |
| Dominic Young | 19 | Jordan Pereira |
| Simi Sasagi | 20 | Max Feagai |
| Pasami Saulo | 21 | Eddie Blacker |
Sunday, 6:15pm at SCG
| Roosters | No. | Warriors |
|---|---|---|
| James Tedesco | 1 | Roger Tuivasa-Sheck |
| Daniel Tupou | 2 | David Fusitu’a |
| Josh Morris | 3 | Adam Pompey |
| Joseph Manu | 4 | Marcelo Montoya |
| Brett Morris | 5 | Ken Maumalo |
| Drew Hutchison | 6 | Kodi Nikorima |
| Sam Walker | 7 | Sean O’Sullivan |
| Isaac Liu | 8 | Addin Fonua-Blake |
| Freddy Lussick | 9 | Wayde Egan |
| Sio Siua Taukeiaho | 10 | Bunty Afoa |
| Angus Crichton | 11 | Elisea Katoa |
| Sitili Tupouniua | 12 | Bayley Sironen |
| Victor Radley | 13 | Tohu Harris |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Matt Ikuvalu | 14 | Jazz Tevaga |
| Jared Waerea-Hargreaves | 15 | Ben Murdoch-Masila |
| Nat Butcher | 16 | Leeson Ah Mau |
| Fletcher Baker | 17 | Jack Murchie |
| Egan Butcher | 18 | Tom Ale |
| Benjamin Marschke | 19/20 | Paul Turner |
| Joseph Suaalii | 20/21 | Kane Evans |
| Tukupa-Ke Hau Tapuha | 21/22 | Rocco Berry |
Monday, 4pm at Stadium Australia
| Tigers | No. | Eels |
|---|---|---|
| Daine Laurie | 1 | Clint Gutherson |
| David Nofoaluma | 2 | Maika Sivo |
| Tommy Talau | 3 | Tom Opacic |
| James Roberts | 4 | Marata Niukore |
| Asu Kepaoa | 5 | Blake Ferguson |
| Adam Doueihi | 6 | Dylan Brown |
| Luke Brooks | 7 | Mitchell Moses |
| Zane Musgrove | 8 | Reagan Campbell-Gillard |
| Jacob Liddle | 9 | Reed Mahoney |
| James Tamou | 10 | Junior Paulo |
| Luke Garner | 11 | Shaun Lane |
| Luciano Leilua | 12 | Ryan Matterson |
| Alex Twal | 13 | Nathan Brown |
| Interchange/Reserves | ||
| Moses Mbye | 14 | Oregon Kaufusi |
| Thomas Mikaele | 15 | Isaiah Papali’i |
| Stefano Utoikamanu | 16 | Will Smith |
| Joe Ofahengaue | 17 | Ray Stone |
| Russell Packer | 18 | Jordan Rankin |
| Joey Leilua | 19 | Haze Dunster |
| Michael Chee Kam | 20 | Keegan Hipgrave |
| Alex Seyfarth | 21 | Bryce Cartwright |
All times AEDT/AEST (Sydney/Melbourne).
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
There's something in the 'drop the winger' psychology that I haven't worked out yet. Is it supposed to scare the team without actually removing an effective player? Mary did that a bit, forwards were steamrolled, halves useless and Rava would get dropped. Souths lost to Storm and the winger gets dropped... If you lose a game or want to make a big change to a result, you'd hardly start with a winger.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
It's still looking an impressive line up
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
I'd be chasing Hynes, he's ready for firsts and won't get it at Storm.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
:shocked:
Edward Kelly
Roar Guru
I'll bet my house he will get a run on!
Rob
Guest
He's not in the top 17 so it's unlikely that he'll actually be playing this week.
Big Daddy
Guest
HY, they've gone one better. April Fool's Day.
Adam
Roar Guru
Could go all night...
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
EJ in all my years I have not seen things as bleak as they are now. I hate to say it, particularly with regard to Des, but there is a problem with the Coach. Blind Freddy can see that.
The Late News
Roar Rookie
So...baby chooks with a heart of gold. Most people call them eggs!
eagleJack
Roar Guru
I thought Harper looked ok at FB, during the Tigers trial. Certainly better than Walker, who could move back to his preferred centre position. Why not give it a shot? It’s the lack of reflection, and risk -taking from Des, that is, as you say, baffling. I truly believe he had one plan going into the season, and losing Turbo killed that. And now he’s just given up.
eagleJack
Roar Guru
HY, I think your mate Hebrew needs to have a sit down with Des. It’s hard to trust a Roosters supporter, but we are getting desperate.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Looking at the Roosters line-up pretty sure the Roosters are looking to expand that sombrero….and change the concussion rules (too)
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Could've been worse for Manly, they could've still had Trent Barrett
Harry
Guest
I’d consider Havili more of a utility forward than a hooker these days. I reckon he’s actually started this year really well - made some really good metres in the tackle. He’s a tough nuggety little player, kind of a prototype Brandon Smith. I guess Ricky has a lot of faith in the recovery team at the shiny new Raiders HQ, and who am I to say he’s wrong!
Tony
Roar Guru
You know HY, I'm an expert in most things, including body language, and Des hasn't been right since his house nearly fell into the sea a couple of years back.
Hard Yards
Roar Rookie
I reckon there is something wrong with Des. Seriously. There doesn’t look like there is anything in his eyes. Like a burn out, or a depression thing. I remember years ago my mate Hebrew over at Bondi had depression. It was the 1970s. He had a water bed which he called the Dead Sea because his Mrs was holding out over something or other at the time. So no Stick Action. But turned out it was a real brain chemistry thing. He still takes stuff which keeps him on the right track. He does support the Roosters, but otherwise he’s in good shape. There’s something not right with Des.
Tony
Roar Guru
Apparently they're interested in signing Luke Brooks. Go figure.
Emcie
Roar Guru
I got the impression he didn't like his inside man given the amount of hospital passes he was throwing in the second half...
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I initially thought the roosters would have a hound inexperienced team based on injuries. Yes their halves are young, but geez they have some good experienced rep players in their squad.