The Agenda: Selwyn Cobbo selection Broncos must make; Wests Tigers halves puzzle

Brisbane’s electric attack has suddenly been switched off due to Reece Walsh’s suspension. Here’s how Kevin Walters can ignite his stuttering attack and avoid a Bulldogs boilover.

Wests Tigers assistant coach Benji Marshall. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty

A left field name is another piece in the Wests Tigers’ halves puzzle and Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has a selection dilemma on his hands.

Here are some of the talking points ahead of another huge week of NRL and representative action.

Selection Call - Brisbane Broncos

Brisbane coach Kevin Walters has a fullback conundrum this week ahead of Saturday’s clash against Canterbury.

Walters has backed Tristan Sailor in the no.1 jumper while Reece Walsh is out suspended, but a backline re-shuffle this week could give the Broncos added strike.

Selwyn Cobbo is dangerous wherever you put him in the backline and with genuine options to cover for him on the wing, the flyer would not be out of place in the no.1 jumper.

Obviously, it would be until Walsh returns next week but with the ladder so congested, every competition point counts, and if moving Cobbo to the back gives Brisbane their best possible back five it’s call worth making.

With Kurt Capewell due back from a quad injury this weekend, Walters also has to find a place for Brendan Piakura in the side this weekend.

Piakura has long been touted as one of Brisbane’s best prospects and starting in the backrow in recent weeks has shown his NRL pedigree.

Market Watch - Wests Tigers halves puzzle

It’s no secret that the Wests Tigers need to kick-start their halves recruitment drive and a left field name has entered the equation at Concord - Brodie Croft.

Croft earlier this year signed a huge deal, until the end of 2023, to stay at Salford in England.

But incoming head coach Benji Marshall has been impressed with the way Croft has gone about his business in the Super League.

Croft was once seen as Cooper Cronk’s successor at Melbourne but his NRL career failed to take off at Brisbane and left Red Hill in 2021.

The 25-year old was the Super League’s Man of Steel in 2022.

It’s not the first time Marshall has looked abroad to solve the Tigers’ halves problems. Mitchell Pearce politely rejected an offer to move back home to join the Tigers back in March.

Wests Tigers assistant coach Benji Marshall. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty

Realistically, with Croft locked in long-term, Marshall will have a fight on his hands to even make his signature into a genuine possibility.

The Tigers might be better off finding a solution back home.

Ben Hunt’s future could still trigger a domino effect on the halves player market, and more immediately at the Gold Coast - the club likely to land the Dragons halfback.

Hunt’s Titans signature leaves Tanah Boyd with an uncertain future, putting the halfback on the radar at the Tigers.

Cronulla’s Braydon Trindall and New Zealand’s Luke Metcalf are also seen as options.

It’s believed Cronulla won’t entertain a release for Trindall, who is signed until the end of season 2025.

Is Brodie Croft the right fit at the Tigers? Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty

Looking forward to ... U19s Blues star Latu Fainu

Manly’s Latu Fainu has risen through the ranks with huge expectation as not only a teen prodigy but with the tag as the most talented of the Fainu brothers.

On Thursday night, rugby league fans will get a taste of what the fuss is all about when Fainu lines-up at five eighth for NSW in the under-19s State of Origin.

The corresponding game last year helped put Jonah Pezet’s name in lights.

The NSW and Melbourne halfback set tongues wagging with commanding performance that included four try assists.

That attention now turns to Fainu, who is a high priority recruitment target for the Wests Tigers.

But if Fainu, a skilful ball runner with vision beyond his years, is able to emulate Pezet this week, the Tigers won’t be the only club knocking on the door.

It’s a similar story for Parramatta’s Ethan Sanders, the Eels are in a fight to keep the Blues halfback with Canberra closing in.

Manly's outstanding Latu Fainu. Picture: Julian Andrews

Friends close, and enemies closer

This weekend is poised to deliver a smorgasbord of square-ups and points to prove.

It’s been four months since the fiery scenes between Newcastle’s Jackson Hastings and former Wests Tigers teammate Tommy Talau, and of course big man David Klemmer at full-time.

Hastings had attempted to apologise to Talau for a tackle that left him with a broken nose, but the Tigers centre was having none of it and shoved the Knights playmaker before Klemmer intervened.

All parties insist there is no hard feelings or bad blood. The strength of that truce will be put to the test on Friday night.

Did Melbourne dodge a bullet or have the Roosters made the right call with Brandon Smith?

On Saturday night, the answer to that question could become clearer when the hooker is set to return from a broken thumb in what is a must-win clash to save the Bondi club’s finals chances.

Boom Dolphins rookie Isaiya Katoa was the jewel in Penrith’s pathways system, until he wasn’t. Some around Katoa were frustrated at Penrith’s decision to limit his opportunities in lower grade sides after Wayne Bennett poached the teenager.

Sunday night will be the first time Katoa comes up against the Panthers, it’s the perfect opportunity to prove he was simply too good a talent to be stuck behind Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai even if Penrith had poured resources into his development.

David Klemmer. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty

Jackson Hastings. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty

Podcast takes – Canterbury pile up playmakers

Toby Sexton’s confident first showing in the Bulldogs No.7 is looking like a Phil Gould masterstroke, but as the Dogs prepare to face Brisbane this weekend there are more questions about the club’s growing pile of playmakers.

Kyle Flanagan is without a club for next year but has been linked with the Dragons. But youngster Karl Oloapu is signed until the end of season 2026 and Matt Burton until 2027.

Sexton is on a two-year deal but if he can maintain what he delivered last weekend, his contract could be extended. There’s also local junior Khaled Rajab in the mix.

It makes the club’s approach of Dragons halfback Jayden Sullivan an interesting decision.

“There was a report linking Sullivan from the Dragons, that he’ll be at the Bulldogs next year, they’ve just signed Sexton for two seasons … we saw on the weekend what he can be as a halves to Matt Burton. Is Sullivan going there to sit on the bench? Which has been his beef at the Dragons,” Paul Crawley said on The Daily Telegraph NRL podcast.

No doubt, there will be some Canterbury fans asking the same questions.

Under pressure – Sydney Roosters finals hopes

The Roosters are entering ‘last chance’ territory this weekend against Melbourne.

The men from Bondi were in a similar position 12 months ago and managed to fight their way back into finals contention.

But this year, for all of Trent Robinson’s nous and star-studded talent on the roster, the Roosters are a far cry from the side that had pundits tipping them as the 2023 premiers.

Injuries to key players, like hooker Smith and halfback Sam Walker, have not helped.

Neither has individuals struggling for form, like in superstars James Tedesco, Luke Keary and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.

The Roosters are in unfamiliar territory and all of a sudden there are rumblings about Trent Robinson’s relationship with the dressing room.

The only way to quieten such talk, and criticism of Robinson’s selection calls, is to win this weekend.

SuperCoach Call - Jahream Bula

Jaheam Bula was one of the best cheapies in SuperCoach this year, and after providing some much needed coverage for a tough round 19 bye weekend, it’s time to sell the Wests Tigers fullback.

Bula’s high break-even into last weekend will see him drop around $62,000 and there are more projected price drops to come for the rookie.

With the money has made in the meantime, Bula shapes a stepping stone to a playmaker like Cameron Munster or Penrith’s Nathan Cleary, who is due back from a hamstring injury in the coming weeks. It’s a similar story for South Sydney’s Latrell Mitchell, who is scheduled to return from a calf injury in round 21.