NRL Round 25 teams 2024: SuperCoach news & analysis, best Nathan Cleary replacement options

The head-to-head preliminary finals are here and SuperCoaches are scrambling to replace Panthers star Nathan Cleary. Check out our full teams analysis here.

Round 25 teams are in for the NRL and SuperCoaches are scrambling to cover the loss of Nathan Cleary ahead of H2H preliminary finals.

The star Panthers halfback has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury picked up in Round 24 against Melbourne.

The Cowboys are on the bye this week and a host of North Queensland stars are among the most sold, while Rabbitohs star Cody Walker has been ruled out with a head knock.

Scroll down for SuperCoach analysis and full teams.

WINNERS FROM TEAMS

*Kayal Iro: The third most popular player in SuperCoaches has been named to make his return from illness this week, in a massive boost for the 40.3% of players who own him. At the time of writing he is currently the fourth most sold player of the round, so players may want to consider hitting reverse on this.

Kayal Iro is back this week after being ruled out with illness in Round 24. Picture: Getty Images

*Joshua Curran: Despite originally being in some doubt to suit up this week with a shoulder injury, Curran has remarkably been named to play this week. At 23% ownership he is among the most popular forwards in the game.

* Beau Fermor: The Titans backrower is set to make his return from a bruised kidney. His ownership has dropped to just 7.7% in recent weeks, but his return is still a welcome one for his owners.

LOSERS FROM TEAMS

* Nathan Cleary: Ruled out for the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury, his absence is a massive loss for SuperCoaches, who are scrambling to replace him ahead of their H2H preliminary finals. Check out our analysis of the best replacement options below.

*Cody Walker: Ruled out this week due to a head knock.

* Ethan Strange: Has been ruled out with a calf injury, which has caused a bit of a backline reshuffle for the Raiders.

* Ben Trbojevic: After working his way back into the starting side last week, Burbo has once again shifted back to the bench. And we all know that bench backrowers can be SuperCoach poison.

* Reece Walsh: Ruled out with a broken wrist, his season is likely over.

* Connor Watson: Ruled out with a head knock.

*Tommy Talau: Ruled out with a pec injury, but by all reports the injury is not too serious and he should be back next week.

Nathan Cleary is set to miss the rest of the regular season with a shoulder injury. Picture: NRL Photos

BUY

Daly Cherry-Evans HFB $654,200

With Nathan Cleary out SuperCoaches are scrambling to find a new halfback and DCE is arguably the best replacement right now. Has a 5RA of 71 and a juicy matchup against the Wests Tigers.

Sam Walker HFB $734,000

If you don’t want to bring in DCE for Cleary, then Sam Walker is probably your next best bet. He has a 5RA of 74 which is slightly better than DCE, but he has been much less consistent in 2024. In saying that, he has bigger upside and has a good matchup against the Titans.

Jarome Luai 5-8/HFB $649,700

And finally if you need a Cleary replacement you could consider his halves partner Jarome Luai, who has actually thrived in the absence of Cleary this year, where in 5 games he averaged a whopping 98 points.

Dominic Young CTW $676,600

Finally for the buys we have Dominic Young, who made his return from a hamstring injury last week, with 128 points against Parramatta and could go big again this week against the Titans.

Daly Cherry-Evans is the most popular purchase to replace Nathan Cleary. Picture: Getty Images

HOLD

Valentine Holmes CTW $833,600

First up we have Valentine Holmes, and with the Cowboys on the bye this week so while there is an argument to sell any North Queensland players, but Val is the form CTW of SuperCoach atm with a 5RA of 97.

Kayal Iro CTW $666,100

Next up we have Sharks star Kayal Iro who is currently the most sold player after missing out last week, but he is back from illness this week and his break-even is only 28 and he has a 5RA of 80 so is worth a hold.

SELL

Nathan Cleary HFB $894,600

Cleary has been ruled out for the rest of the regular season after reinjuring his shoulder against Melbourne and is a must sell if you have trades. He is expected to be back for the Panthers’ finals campaign, but for SuperCoach purchases he is done for the year.

Cody Walker 5-8/HFB $582,100

Souths star Cody Walker is out this week with a head knock but has been in poor recent form anyway and has a tough run for the rest of the season.

NRL Team Talk: Round 25.

BEST CLEARY REPLACEMENTS

It looks to be a choice in three here and, as per usual, I can see arguments for and against here.

Daly Cherry-Evans: The Manly skipper is the most popular replacement pick heading in to this round and it’s easy to see why.

Firstly there’s the form: in his past six games DCE has scored below 70 just once and even that was not a ‘failure’ as he scored 50 points.

Then there’s the matchup: Wests Tigers. The Tigers have been leaking big points to halfbacks all year and Cherry-Evans has a great record against the club with his last three scores being 105, 75 and most recently 153 points in round 27 last year.

Now the bad: After the Tigers the draw stiffens up. Considerably. In round 26 Manly face the Bulldogs (away) before closing out the regular season with the Sharks (home). The Dogs are UP right now. Their defence is the best in the league at the moment and they have a top-four finish a possibility.

The Sharks seem to have rebounded from their mini slump and have a pretty fair defence themselves having conceded just 24 points in total over their past three games. With a top-four finish to defend they won’t be resting any stars heading into the match against Manly.

On the whole, DCE feels the safest bet. Not the sexiest but safest.

Sam Walker: If DCE is the sensible pick then I think Walker is the upside guy. The Roosters half has five scores of 100+ to his name already and a rather enticing draw of Titans/Raiders/Rabbitohs remains.

At the helm of the best attack in the competition and with a top-four finish to defend I would have Walker odds on to score 100+ in at least one of his remaining three games and to average 75+ over the span.

If there’s a quibble it is that there are many many chefs cooking up points at the Chooks and even when the team goes large, Walker can miss out.

DCE may be the most popular Cleary replacement, but Sam Walker may be the higher upside option. Picture: NRL Photos

Jarome Luai: The cognoscenti selection may be Penrith’s Luai. Those in the know are making much of Luai’s fine form when covering halfback in Cleary’s absence earlier this year where in five games between rounds 11-19 (with two byes and missed one match post-Origin) Luai averaged 98PPG and feasted on the Sharks/Sea Eagles and Knights with a hat-trick of 100s.

The draw is a delight featuring the same opponent’s as Walker above, but in a different order: Raiders/Rabbitohs then Titans. With a top-two finish to defend Penrith can’t really afford to be resting players so barring injury Luai should play all three games. I have him last in this trio but would probably place him just above DCE but behind Walker in my pecking order here.

—Wilson Smith & Robert Sutherland

SHARKS’ TOP 4 BLOW

Nicho Hynes will continue his recovery from a serious foot injury by missing Cronulla’s local-derby clash with St George-Illawarra.

The Sharks halfback has worked overtime to be back ahead of the finals after suffering a broken foot and syndesmosis rupture.

He remains on track to play prior to the finals with the former Dally M winner an outside chance of featuring in round 26 against the Warriors.

Sione Katoa of the Sharks will not play this week due to concussion protocols. Picture: Getty Images

Winger Sione Katoa has been ruled out this week due to concussion suffered from a high shot during golden-point.

Katoa stayed down after being collected high by Jack Hetherington in the 84th minute, but failed to receive a penalty.

Katoa’s replacement is Sam Stonestreet.

Meanwhile, Braydon Trindall, Teig Wilton, Tom Hazelton and Kayal Iro will be named to play the Dragons at WIN Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

—David Riccio

Selwyn Cobbo training at Red Hill. Picture: Liam Kidston

COBBO BACK JUST IN TIME FOR BRONCOS

Grand-final hooker Billy Walters says Brisbane missing the finals would be a monumental failure as the Broncos move to recall Selwyn Cobbo in a desperate bid to save their season.

The 10th-placed Broncos must win their final three games to have any hope of a top-eight finish, starting with Friday night’s crucial showdown with the lowly Eels at Suncorp Stadium.

It’s been an injury-ravaged season for the NRL glamour club, with Broncos big guns Reece Walsh (hand), Payne Haas (foot) and Ezra Mam (ankle) all sidelined for the Parramatta clash.

But there was one ray of hope with the sight of Queensland Origin flyer Cobbo running strongly on Brisbane’s right flank at Broncos training on Tuesday.

Cobbo hasn’t been seen in Broncos colours since his shocker in Brisbane’s heavy loss to the Bulldogs a month ago but the 22-year-old has been named on the right wing to take on the Eels.

Walters welcomed the return of Cobbo’s matchwinning ability, admitting the prospect of missing the finals is a motivating factor for the Broncos in the run home.

“Selwyn is just a freaky man, he can come up with a lot out of nothing,” he said.

“So it’s all about giving him time and space and letting him do his thing. He’s going to be a great addition for us this week.

—Peter Badel

NRL ROUND 25 TEAMS

Tigers vs Sea Eagles

Thursday, 7.50pm, Leichhardt Oval, Sydney

Tigers

1. Heath Mason 2. Solomon Alaimalo 3. Solomona Faataape 4. Junior Tupou 5. Charlie Staines 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Aidan Sezer 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. David Klemmer 11. Alex Seyfarth 12. Samuela Fainu 13. Isaiah Papali’i

Interchange: 14. Latu Fainu 15. Sione Fainu 16. Fonua Pole 17. Alex Twal

Reserves: 18. Tim Johannssen 19. Tallyn Da Silva 20. Reuben Porter 21. Josh Feledy 22. Tony Sukkar

Sea Eagles

1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Karl Lawton 13. Jake Trbojevic

Interchange: 14. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 15. Ben Trbojevic 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown

Reserves: 18. Corey Waddell 19. Toafofoa Sipley 20. Jamie Humphreys 21. Clayton Faulalo 22. Matthew Lodge

Warriors vs Bulldogs

Friday, 6pm, Go Media Stadium, Auckland

Warriors

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Adam Pompey 4. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Luke Metcalf 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Marata Niukore 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Dylan Walker

Interchange: 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Tom Ale 16. Jazz Tevaga 17. Demitric Sifakula

Reserves: 18. Chanel Harris-Tavita 20. Leka Halasima 21. Taine Tuaupiki 22. Edward Kosi 23. Bunty Afoa

Bulldogs

1. Connor Tracey 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Toby Sexton 8. Josh Curran 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Samuel Hughes 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Kurt Mann

Interchange: 14. Bailey Hayward 15. Kurtis Morrin 16. Harry Hayes 17. Jaeman Salmon

Reserves: 19. Jeral Skelton 20. Lipoi Hopoi 21. Eli Clark 22. Drew Hutchison 23. Max King

Broncos vs Eels

Friday, 8pm, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Broncos

1. Tristan Sailor 2. Selwyn Cobbo 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Deine Mariner 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Joshua Rogers 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Xavier Willison 11. Brendan Piakura 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

Interchange: 14. Blake Mozer 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Josiah Karapani 17. Martin Taupau

Reserves: 18. Benjamin Te Kura 19. Fletcher Baker 20. Jaiyden Hunt 21. Cory Paix 22. Corey Oates

Eels

1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Blaize Talagi 5. Sean Russell 6. Dylan Brown 7. Daejarn Asi 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Brendan Hands 10. Shaun Lane 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. Joe Ofahengaue

Interchange: 14. Joey Lussick 15. Makahesi Makatoa 16. Luca Moretti 17. Dan Keir

Reserves: 18. Jake Tago 19. Matt Doorey 20. Ethan Sanders 21. Morgan Harper 22. Ofahiki Ogden

Raiders vs Panthers

Saturday, 3pm, GIO Stadium, Canberra

Raiders

1. Jordan Rapana 2. Albert Hopoate 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Kaeo Weekes 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Morgan Smithies

Interchange: 14. Danny Levi 15. Emre Guler 16. Ata Mariota 17. Simi Sasagi

Reserves: 18. Adam Cook 19. Zac Woolford 20. Trey Mooney 21. Jed Stuart 22. Corey Horsburgh

Panthers

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Daine Laurie 3. Izack Tago 4. Casey McLean 5. Brian To’o 6. Brad Schneider 7. Jarome Luai 8. Moses Leota 9. Luke Sommerton 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Mavrik Geyer 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo

Interchange: 14. Trent Toelau 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Jack Cole

Reserves: 18. Matt Eisenhuth 19. Paul Alamoti 20. Luke Garner 21. Luron Patea 22. Sunia Turuva

Storm vs Dolphins

Saturday, 5.30pm, AAMI Park, Melbourne

Storm

1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Tyran Wishart 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero

Interchange: 14. Sualauvi Faalogo 15. Lazarus Vaalepu 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Alec MacDonald

Reserves: 18. Marion Seve 19. Kane Bradley 20. Dean Ieremia 21. Chris Lewis 22. Christian Welch

Dolphins

1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Jake Averillo 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Kodi Nikorima 7. Isaiya Katoa 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Max Plath 10. Tevita Pangai Junior 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Connelly Lemuelu 13. Kenny Bromwich

Interchange: 14. Oryn Keeley 15. Mark Nicholls 16. Ray Stone 17. Sean O’Sullivan

Reserves: 18. Mason Teague 19. Tesi Niu 20. Trai Fuller 21. Kurt Donoghoe 22. Josh Kerr

Rabbitohs vs Knights

Saturday, 7.35pm, Accor Stadium, Sydney

Rabbitohs

1. Jye Gray 2. Fletcher Myers 3. Taane Milne 4. Richard Kennar 5. Jacob Gagai 6. Jack Wighton 7. Dean Hawkins 8. Davvy Moale 9. Damien Cook 10. Sean Keppie 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Tallis Duncan 13. Cameron Murray

Interchange: 14. Peter Mamouzelos 15. Jacob Host 16. Thomas Burgess 17. Shaquai Mitchell

Reserves: 18. Siliva Havili 19. Liam Le Blanc 20. Michael Chee Kam 21. Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson 22. Tyrone Munro

Knights

1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Fletcher Sharpe 3. Dane Gagai 4. Dylan Lucas 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Jack Cogger 7. Phoenix Crossland 8. Daniel Saifiti 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Leo Thompson 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Kai Pearce-Paul 13. Adam Elliott

Interchange: 14. Will Pryce 15. Mathew Croker 16. Jack Hetherington 17. Brodie Jones

Reserves: 18. Thomas Cant 19. Sebastian Su’a 20. Jackson Hastings 21. Kyle McCarthy 22. David Armstrong

Titans vs Roosters

Sunday, 2pm, Cbus Super Stadium, Gold Coast

Titans

1. Keano Kini 2. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 3. Brian Kelly 4. Phillip Sami 5. Jojo Fifita 6. Jayden Campbell 7. Kieran Foran 8. Moeaki Fotuaika 9. Sam Verrills 10. Jaimin Jolliffe 11. David Fifita 12. Beau Fermor 13. Chris Randall

Interchange: 14. AJ Brimson 15. Isaac Liu 16. Erin Clark 17. Klese Haas

Reserves: 18. Tanah Boyd 19. Keenan Palasia 20. Joe Stimson 21. Jacob Alick-Wiencke 22. Tony Francis

Roosters

1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 4. Joseph Manu 5. Dominic Young 6. Luke Keary 7. Sam Walker 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Brandon Smith 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Victor Radley 13. Nat Butcher

Interchange: 14. Sandon Smith 15. Spencer Leniu 16. Sitili Tupouniua 17. Terrell May

Reserves: 18. Michael Jennings 19. Naufahu Whyte 20. Siua Wong 21. Zach Dockar-Clay 22. Robert Toia

Dragons vs Sharks

Sunday 4pm, WIN Stadium, Wollongong

Dragons

1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Zac Lomax 3. Mathew Feagai 4. Max Feagai 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Jack Bird 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Jack de Belin 11. Luciano Leilua 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Tom Eisenhuth

Interchange: 14. Toby Couchman 15. Ryan Couchman 16. Blake Lawrie 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

Reserves: 18. Lyhkan King-Togia 19. Mikaele Ravalawa 20. Michael Molo 21. Jesse Marschke 22. Connor Muhleisen

Sharks

1. William Kennedy 2. Samuel Stonestreet 3. Jesse Ramien 4. Kayal Iro 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo 6. Daniel Atkinson 7. Braydon Trindall 8. Toby Rudolf 9. Blayke Brailey 10. Oregon Kaufusi 11. Briton Nikora 12. Teig Wilton 13. Cameron McInnes

Interchange: 14. Jack Williams 15. Royce Hunt 16. Braden Hamlin-Uele 17. Thomas Hazelton

Reserves: 18. Mawene Hiroti 19. Billy Burns 20. Tuku Hau Tapuha 21. Chris Veaila 22. Niwhai Puru