With State of Origin wrapping up for another year, the NRL coaches have done Fantasy owners a favour with many of our big names a chance to go around again on the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the final bye round for 2026 which means only our 13 starters for one last occasion, and it\u2019s time to see which players are best positioned to start for your Fantasy team this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Wests Tigers v Warriors, Friday 8.00pm at Campbelltown Sports Stadium<\/p>\n
Wests Tigers: Two key players return for the Wests Tigers in co-captain\u202fJarome Luai\u202fand edge runner\u202fSamuela Fainu, however the home side also lose their inspirational dummy half and skipper\u202fApisai Koroisau\u202fto a pec injury with youngster\u202fJosese Lanyon\u202freplacing him.\u202fTony Sukkar\u202fshifts to the bench while\u202fJock Madden\u202fcan only be found amongst the reserves. Sunia Turuva\u202fis again named in No.2 but is more than likely to play centre as he did last week, with\u202fStarford To\u2019A\u202finstead lining up at left winger.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Wests Tigers v Warriors<\/p>\n
Warriors: The Warriors get back\u202fJames Fisher-Harris\u202fand\u202fLeka Halasima\u202ffrom injury this week but lose\u202fDallin Watene-Zelezniak\u202fto a hamstring strain.\u202fAlofiana Khan-Pereira\u202freturns on the wing while Origin representatives\u202fMitch Barnett\u202fand\u202fKurt Capewell\u202fare listed in the reserves only and it will depend how they go on Wednesday night to see if they back up two days later.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dolphins v Sharks, Saturday 3.00pm at Kayo Stadium<\/p>\n
Dolphins: The full five-man Origin contingent for the Dolphins make up the extended reserve lists this week in Selwyn Cobbo, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Tom Flegler, Max Plath and Jack Bostock. Typically this will result in most if not all being rested so any coaches still with any of these five will need a back-up plan and to keep an eye on them during Origin. Also remember the team list updates that will drop 24 hours and 90 minutes leading up to kick=off which you can find on NRL.com. After reporting a rest due to general aches and soreness Ray Stone is the only change to last week and welcomed back to his regular spot on the pine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Dolphins v Sharks<\/p>\n
Sharks: Origin reps Addin Fonua-Blake, Briton Nikora and Blayke Brailey are all present in the extended squad. Unlike his counterpart Kristian Woolf, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has shown he is prepared to play his rep players on a short back-up, especially if they only had limited minutes in Origin. With both Brailey and AFB named on the bench for NSW, they are especially a good chance to back up on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bulldogs v Raiders, Saturday 5.30pm at Accor Stadium<\/p>\n
Bulldogs:\u00a0The Dogs’ sole Origin player Stephen Crichton has been slated to back up in his new role at five-eighth on Saturday.\u00a0\u00a0Jacob Kiraz owners will be happy to see his name still present on the wing given the dynamo CTR\/WFB left their last game in Round 17 early due to a rib complaint just minutes into the second half. Another big name in Jacob Preston is again present in the extended rank and file, this is the second time he is listed here and could be good to make his return after undergoing surgery on his arm after Round 12.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Bulldogs v Raiders<\/p>\n
Raiders: No dramas for those playing in Origin from the Green Machine with coach Ricky Stuart happy to name them all to back up. The most precarious is likely to be Hudson Young as he is the one slated to start on Wednesday night. Given Ethan Strange is only found in the back end of the six-man bench for Origin Three, we can be confident he will take his regular post at five-eighth on Saturday afternoon. The biggest upheaval to their team is Zac Hosking switching to lock to accommodate the return of Noah Martin at right edge. This could have an impact on the minutes of props Joe Tapine and Corey Horsburgh, especially if the 20th man for Queensland is a late inclusion. The other main adjustment is Sebastian Kris at left wing replacing Savelio Tamale who goes back to NSW Cup this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Roosters v Eels, Saturday 7.35pm at Allianz Stadium<\/p>\n
Roosters: Interestingly it is only four of the six on rep duties in James Tedesco, Robert Toia, Mark Nawaqanitawase and Victor Radley currently set to back up for the Tricolours. Meanwhile, Reece Robson and Sam Walker are amongst their reserves and it will require a sizable shuffle to the initial team list to play in their normal roles. The reason being is Connor Watson is named to run on at dummy half and Hugo Savala will be wearing the No. 7. This enables Billy Smith to stay in the backline at centre, with Daniel Tupou returning on the wing for his 300th NRL game. Moreover, Nat Butcher is suspended and Lindsay Collins unavailable due to HIA protocols so Salesi Foketi steps in at back row and Spencer Leniu at prop to cover the two missing forwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Roosters v Eels<\/p>\n
Eels: Still riding high off a big upset win at home against Manly, another big boost comes with Mitch Moses set to run out for at halfback. With Sean Russell\u2019s quad injury meaning he is out this week, it gives youngster Araz Nanva a promotion to the starting centre gig for his third game at the top grade. Still no sign of Luca Moretti who was a late withdrawal last week with Sam Tuivati listed to start and Toni Mataele on the interchange.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rabbitohs v Knights, Sunday 2.00pm at Accor Stadium<\/p>\n
Rabbitohs: A few changes have been made by coach Wayne Bennett including bringing back fullback\u202fMatt Dufty\u202fat the expense of\u202fJye Gray\u202fwho shifts to the interchange along with\u202fLatrell Siegwalt. This is to accommodate\u202fTallis Duncan\u202fin the centres which will have owners hopes in tatters although on the flipside those holding\u202fEuan Aitken\u202fwill be cheering as he is now listed to start on the edge.\u202fCampbell Graham\u202fis also back from injury replacing\u202fEd Kosi\u202fwhile\u202fCam Murray\u202fis named to back up from Origin at lock, pushing\u202fLachlan Hubner\u202fto the bench. Murray is a good pick-up for the run home as long as he definitely is right to play in this one. Finally, Jayden Sullivan\u202fis the one-week fill-in for the suspended\u202fCody Walker.<\/p>\n
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First take: Rabbitohs v Knights<\/p>\n
Knights: Kalyn Ponga\u202fand\u202fBradman Best\u202fare both in the side despite taking part in Wednesday night\u2019s blockbuster decider in Queenslander. This pushes both\u202fFletcher Hunt\u202fand\u202fSandon Smith\u202fto the interchange while\u202fFletcher Sharpe\u202fwill move from fullback to five-eighth. There is good and bad news for Newcastle up front – Trey Mooney\u202fis named to return from a calf strain suffered at training last week but\u202fJacob Saifiti\u202fpicked up a hamstring issue in the one-point win over the Dolphins and is unavailable.<\/p>\n
Sea Eagles v Cowboys, Sunday 4.05pm at 4 Pines Park<\/p>\n
Sea Eagles: The two Blues in\u202fTolutau Koula\u202fand\u202fHaumole Olakau’atu\u202fare a welcome addition to Manly\u2019s side after their shock loss to the Eels last Sunday.\u202fKobe Hetherington\u202fis also back in the run-on side with\u202fCorey Waddell\u202fand\u202fSimione Laiafi\u202fpushing back to the pine.\u202fClayton Faulalo\u202fhad a rough day with injuries during the game last week, first coming off for a HIA check and then leaving the game permanently with a hamstring straing and therefore isn\u2019t available for this one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Sea Eagles v Cowboys<\/p>\n
Cowboys:\u202fNo major changes for the Cowboys from their Round 17 side that defeated the Panthers. This time\u202fJohn Bateman\u202fhas been named in the 19 after being a late call-up the past two matches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Storm v Titans, Sunday 6.15pm at AAMI Park<\/p>\n
Storm: Jahrome Hughes\u202fis a welcome addition for the home team with\u202fTyran Wishart\u202fshifting to the interchange. Joining him there is\u202fJoe Chan\u202fafter both regular centres\u202fJack Howarth\u202fand\u202fNick Meaney\u202freturn from injury this week. Melbourne also have a new winger in\u202fManaia Waitere\u202fas\u202fMoses Leo\u202fis still not ready to go after suffering a concussion in Round 17. Another player missing through injury is\u202fAtivatu Lisati, so if you haven\u2019t already sold him, he is a must release this round.\u202fAlex MacDonald\u202fis the new edge man while Dolphins recruit\u202fOryn Keeley\u202fcomes into the 19.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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First take: Storm v Titans<\/p>\n
Titans: Dean Ieremia\u202fgets the call-up on the wing to face his old side with\u202fJojo Fifita\u202fsliding back into the centres and\u202fJaylan De Groot\u202fheading back to the bench. He will be joined there by\u202fCooper Bai\u202fwho has passed the concussion protocols that ruled him out of the Round 17 game against the Bulldogs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Despite no early game this week, my Q&A column is still set to drop Thursday, and with the new trades not in the game until after this week, make sure you submit those questions to\u202fthelonescout@nrl.com.au\u202fas soon as possible.<\/p>\n
As always, I\u2019ll have my trade in and trade out tiers within the Q&A article and with Origin played Wednesday night, be sure to keep your finger on the pulse by heading to\u202fNRL.com\u202fto get all the latest team list information and updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With State of Origin wrapping up for another year, the NRL coaches have done Fantasy owners a favour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":785158,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-785157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}