Reed Mahoney and Mitch Kenny start at hooker in reshuffled Bulldogs and Panthers sides for their blockbuster semi-final at Accor Stadium.

Watch every game of the NRL Telstra Premiership Finals Series before the Grand Final, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

Read on for the Late Mail for the NRL semi-finals.

WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 20

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs vs. Penrith Panthers at Accor Stadium, 4:05pm AEST

Bulldogs team: 1. Connor Tracey 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Matt Burton 5. Jethro Rinakama 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 17. Reed Mahoney 15. Sitili Tupouniua 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon 9. Bailey Hayward 10. Josh Curran 14. Kurt Mann 16. Harry Hayes. 18th man: 19. Blake Wilson

Players cut: 20. Jake Turpin 21. Samuel Hughes 22. Marcelo Montoya 23. Stephen Crichton

Late Mail: Reed Mahoney starts at hooker with Bailey Hayward dropping back to the bench. Sitili Tupouniua start at prop with Josh Curran moving to the pine.

Panthers team: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Paul Alamoti 3. Izack Tago 4. Casey McLean 5. Brian To’o 6. Blaize Talagi 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 22. Mitch Kenny 10. Lindsay Smith 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Brad Schneider 15. Liam Henry 16. Isaiah Papali’i 17. Luke Garner. 18th man: 20. Daine Laurie

Players cut: 9. Luke Sommerton 18. Thomas Jenkins 19. Matt Eisenhuth 21. Mavrik Geyer

Late Mail: Hooker Mitch Kenny returns to start with Luke Sommerton making way.

If he is fit, he will likely start with Luke Sommerton dropping out. But if Kenny fails in his comeback bid, Brad Schneider would likely start at hooker with Sommerton shifting to the bench as happened in the win over the Warriors. “Hopefully (he plays) but he’s still got some work to do. He’s tracking OK so hopefully he gets through the next couple of days,” Ivan Cleary said on Friday.

PRELIMINARY FINALS TEAM NEWS

Broncos: Hopes of a longshot finals return for Broncos star Billy Walters have been dashed with confirmation that he’ll undergo a full knee reconstruction, ruling him out of the first part 2026.

Walters, 31 injured his knee in last Sunday’s epic 29-28 finals defeat of the Raiders in Canberra but an early diagnosis did not declare a full rupture of his ACL.

But a meeting with a specialist on Wednesday confirmed the devastating news that he would require the second knee reconstruction of his career. It’s the same knee he injured in 2020.

Walters is set to have surgery in the coming weeks and might not return until midway through next season given the nine to 12-month usual recovery timeline.

The loss of Walters, who was set to be a key part of the premiership push with doubts over the fitness of captain Adam Reynolds, comes on top of the Broncos being without crucial forward Pat Carrigan for the preliminary final next weekend in Brisbane.

After the win over the Raiders in Canberra to move within one win of a grand final return, Broncos coach Michael Maguire was unsure about Reynolds’ possible return.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“(Reynolds) is travelling well, and then you have to adjudicate how much players have been playing and the momentum of the side. I will look at the game and how we are moving and doing things.

“The boys are doing a good job, so it’s a nice place to be as a coach, to have decisions, and I will make them moving forward.”

Erza Mam, however, has been looking good at training and could come into calculations for the preliminary final while Code Sports reported Selwyn Cobbo will start in Queensland Cup on the weekend as he looks to push for selection after going down with a hamstring injury.

– Newswire

Storm: To come.