Phins fly past sluggish Eels
9 hours ago | Andy P
With the Wests Tigers confirming the omission of Benji Marshall
from their Friday night clash with Canterbury at Campbelltown, young
five-eighth Jacob Miller has been handed the number six jersey, and will
partner Robert Lui in the halves. Ben Murdoch Masila has been named on
an extended bench for the Tigers. The Bulldogs have five changes,
with Jamal Idris, Trent Hodkinson, Michael Ennis and Corey Payne all
making their returns after injury and suspension kept them out of the
Round 15 clash with Cronulla, while former Eels and Knights winger
Jonothan Wright will debut on the wing in place of Michael Lett. Ben
Roberts, Grant Millington, Josh Reynolds, Tim Lafai and Lett will all
play NSW Cup this week when the Bulldogs play the feeder club of the
Rabbitohs, North Sydney.
The Rabbitohs are unchanged for their annual Perth clash against the Broncos,
who welcome back Justin Hodges after another injury lay-off. Kurt
Baptiste has been promoted to starting hooker after first and second
options Andrew McCullough and Ben Hunt were stood down for disciplinary
reasons. Corey Parker will also return after sitting out last Friday's
win over St George Illawarra following an injury sustained in State of
Origin II.
The struggling Titans host the Cronulla Sharks at Skilled Park on
Saturday evening and are set to welcome the return of Greg Bird, who,
like Corey Parker, failed to back up from Origin II last weekend.
Anthony Laffranchi moves to the front row. The Sharks are named as per the team that took the field on Sunday when they defeated Canterbury.
Hot pink will play baby blue on Saturday night at Canberra Stadium, where the Raiders
have benched forwards Dane Tilse and Bronson Harrison in favour of
Maroons and Kangaroos forward David Shillington and rookie Josh Papalli.
The Eels are unchanged from last night's close loss to Manly.
Across the Tasman the Warriors have welcomed a host of changes,
with Kevin Locke and Glen Fisiiahi omitted through injury. Lance Hohaia
will shift to fullback, with Bill Tupou slotting in on the wing. Lewis
Brown and Shaun Berrigan become the centre pairing, while halfback Brett
Seymour returns, sending rookie Shaun Johnson to the bench. The Storm
will keep Sisa Waqa and Maurice Blair in the backline, forcing Beau
Champion to NSW Cup. Maroons centre Dane Nielsen returns after being
rested.
At the newly-named McGrath Foundation Stadium Penrith, the Pink Panthers will welcome back Sarafu Fatiaki following an injury to Masada Iosefa. The Cowboys have
named Tariq Sims and Johnathon Thurston, who will both be contesting
charges at the NRL judiciary on Wednesday following incidents from
Saturday night's win over the Warriors. Glenn Hall will return from
suspension, while James Tamou is back from injury.
The Newcastle Knights have retained rookie halves star Ryan Stig
after his solid performance against the Panthers on the weekend. Tyrone
Roberts, Peter Mata'utia and Steve Southern have all been added to a
7-man bench. The Roosters will excitedly welcome the return of
Kiwi internationals Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Sam Perrett in a clash that
may decide the fate of their season.
On Monday evening the NRL returns to Wollongong, and the Dragons will have Brett Morris and Ben Creagh back in their lineup when they face Manly.
The Sea Eagles have named the same squad for Mondays clash as they took
into last night's clash with Parramatta, although changes are expected
after injury scans.
The full list of NRL Teams for Women in League Round 16 can be found by clicking here.