NRL trials week three: Teams, times for pre-season clashes

The final weekend of NRL trials are upon us as competition heats up for Round 1 spots. Check out all the teams and analysis, including a big start for Angus Crichton.

Shaun Johnson gets his first hit-out for Cronulla. Picture: Toby Zerna

The final weekend of NRL trials are upon us as competition heats up for Round 1 spots and coaches roll out their big guns.

Check out all the teams as they are named.

WEEK THREE NRL PRE-SEASON TRIALS

WARRIORS v WESTS TIGERS

3pm Saturday (AEDT) at Northland Events Centre, Whangarei

Warriors: Leeson Ah Mau, Bunty Afoa, Blake Ayshford, Adam Blair, Lachlan Burr, David Fusitu’a, Blake Green, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Solomone Kata, Adam Keighran, Peta Hiku, Sam Lisone, Ken Maumalo, Gerard Beale, Tohu Harris, Agnatius Paasi, Isaiah Papali’i, Nathaniel Roache, Jazz Tevaga, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

Things to watch: Nathaniel Roache gets another crack at pressing his claims for the No.9 jersey with regular hooker Issac Luke not named. Coach Stephen Kearney says he hopes Luke will be ready for Round 1 as he recovers from a shoulder injury. Recruit Adam Keighran looks to be ahead in the race to partner Blake Green in the halves, but Chanel Harris-Tavita can also push his case.

Tigers: 1. Moses Mbye 2. Corey Thompson 3. Robert Jennings 4. Esan Marsters 5. David Nofoaluma 6. Benji Marshall 7. Luke Brooks 8. Russell Packer 9. Robbie Farah 10. Ben Matulino 11. Luke Garner 12. Ryan Matterson 13. Elijah Taylor. Interchange: 14. Josh Reynolds 15. Matt Eisenhuth 16. Alex Twal 17. Michael Chee Kam 18. Mahe Fonua 19. Chris McQueen 20. Jacob Liddle 21. Thomas Mikaele

Things to watch: Benji Marshall may have won the race to partner Luke Brooks in the halves for Wests Tigers after he was named ahead of Josh Reynolds.

Marshall, who is expected to retire at the end of the season, will start at five-eighth with Reynolds to come off the bench.

New recruit Robert Jennings has slotted straight in at left centre ahead of Mahe Fonua and Paul Momirovski with new Tigers coach Michael Maguire naming an almost full-strength squad, with the exception of backrower Chris Lawrence who will miss the match through injury.

Benji Marshall will start at five-eighth for the Tigers. Picture: AAP

KNIGHTS v SHARKS

5.30pm Saturday (AEDT) at Maitland

Knights: 1. Connor Watson, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Sione Mata’utia, 5. Shaun Kenny-Dowall, 6. Kalyn Ponga, 7. Mitchell Pearce, 8. David Klemmer, 9. Danny Levi, 10. James Gavet, 11. Mitchell Barnett, 12. Lachlan Fitzgibbon, 13. Tim Glasby. Interchange: Herman Ese’ese, Aidan Guerra, Daniel Saifiti, Kurt Mann, Hymel Hunt.

Things to watch: Round 3 of The Kalyn Ponga show will attract all the headlines but it’ll be interesting to see if the Knights can get more ball to Jesse Ramien. Newcastle were much more comfortable running plays to their left in the first trial win over the Dragons and Ramien, a strike centre, was left out in the cold.

Sharks: 1. Matt Moylan 2. Sione Katoa 3. Josh Dugan 4. Josh Morris 5. Sosaia Feki 6. Shaun Johnson 7. Chad Townsend 8. Andrew Fifita 9. Jayden Brailey 10. Matt Prior 11. Briton Nikora 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Paul Gallen. Interchange: 14. Jayson Bukuya 15. Jack Williams 16.Aaron Woods 17.Scott Sorensen 18. Bronson Xerri 19. Kyle Flanagan 20. Billy Magoulias 21. Ronaldo Mulitalo 22. Will Kennedy

Things to watch: Cronulla will roll out new recruit Shaun Johnson for his club debut when he partners former Warriors teammate Chad Townsend in the halves. In a potentially big development, young gun Briton Nikora starts in the second-row. Kurt Capewell also wins a starting spot, with Scott Sorensen on the bench. Another hot prospect, Bronson Xerri gets another chance to impress via the bench along with Kyle Flanagan and Will Kennedy.

Cronulla recruit Shaun Johnson gets his first hit-out for his new club. Picture: Toby Zerna

PANTHERS v EELS

7pm Saturday (AEDT) at Panthers Stadium

Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Josh Mansour 3. Waqa Blake 4. Dean Whare 5. Malakai Watene-Zelezniak 6. James Maloney 7. Nathan Cleary 8. James Tamou 9. Sione Katoa 10. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 11. Jack Hetherington 12. Isaah Yeo 13. James Fisher-Harris. Interchange: 14. Wayde Egan 15. Tim Grant 16. Kaide Ellis 17. Hame Sele 18. Tyrone May 19. Liam Martin 20. Jarome Luai 21. Tyrell Fuimaono 22. Tyrone Phillips

Things to watch: Sione Katoa is the front-runner to win the hooker role, with young gun Wayde Egan on the bench.

Eels: 1. Clint Gutherson 2. George Jennings 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Blake Ferguson 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitch Moses 8. Daniel Alvaro 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Marata Niukore 13. Tepai Moeroa. Interchange: 14. Tim Mannah 15. Peni Terepo 16. Manu Ma’u 17. Nathan Brown 18. Will Smith

Things to watch: Barring a late move for Warriors hooker Issac Luke, young gun Reed Mahoney looks set to start the season in the No.9 jersey. Clint Gutherson starts at fullback, with No.1 rival Bevan French named to play reserve grade. Nathan Brown and Manu Ma’u, both returning from injury, will be eased back into action via the bench. Youngster Dylan Brown gets another chance to work on his halves combination with Mitch Moses.

SEA EAGLES v ROOSTERS

7pm Saturday (AEDT) at Central Coast Stadium

Sea Eagles: TBC

Roosters: 1. Kieran Moss 2. Matt Ikuvalu 3. Christian Tuipulotu 4. Ed Murphy 5. Asu Kepaoa 6. Lachlan Lam 7. Brock Lamb 8. Lindsay Collins 9. Craig Garvey 10. Poasa Faamausili 11. Sitili Tupouniua 12. Angus Crichton (c) 13. Nat Butcher 14. Josh Curran 15. Fletcher Baker 16. Sam Verrills 17. Setefano Hala 18. Drew Hutchison

Things to watch: Nat Butcher is the only player backing up from the World Club Challenge and Angus Crichton is the only player from the club’s best 13 who will play. Keep an eye on Crichton, who will captain the Tricolours in his senior debut for his new club/.

CHARITY SHIELD: DRAGONS v RABBITOHS

7.30pm Saturday (AEDT) at Glen Willow Stadium, Mudgee

Dragons: Euan Aitken, Matt Dufty, Jai Field, Tyson Frizell, James Graham Jacob Host, Ben Hunt, Josh Kerr, Tim Lafai, Jeremy Latimore, Blake Lawrie, Luciano Leilua, Zac Lomax, Cameron McInnes, Corey Norman, Jordan Pereira, Mikaele Ravalawa, Reece Robson, Korbin Sims, Tariq Sims, Lachlan Timm, Paul Vaughan, Gareth Widdop

Things to watch: With Jack de Belin’s fate still up in the air Paul McGregor may want to get more minutes to Korbin Sims or Blake Lawrie, just in case his star lock is suspended or stood down early in the season.

Rabbitohs: 1. Alex Johnston 2. Campbell Graham 3. Dane Gagai 4. Braidon Burns 5. Corey Allan 6 Cody Walker 7. Connor Tracey 8. Junior Tatola 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. John Sutton 12. Sam Burgess (c) 13. Cameron Murray Interchange: 14. Ethan Lowe 15. Matt McIlwrick 16. Tom Amone 17. Rhys Kennedy 18. Bayley Sironen 19. Cory Denniss 20. Kyle Turner 21. Liam Knight 22. Mawene Hiroti

Things to watch: Ethan Lowe makes his South Sydney debut off the bench. He’s a smart purchase for the Rabbitohs and could push for a starting spot before long, which would allow Sam Burgess to move back to the middle.

Anthony Don is fighting for his NRL career after being benched for the Titans trial match.

TITANS v BRONCOS

7.30pm Saturday (AEDT) at Cbus Super Stadium

Titans: 1. Michael Gordon, 2. Brenko Lee, 3. Tyrone Peachey, 4. Brian Kelly, 5. Phillip Sami, 6. Tyrone Roberts, 7. Ash Taylor, 8. Jarrod Wallace, 9. Nathan Peats, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. Bryce Cartwright, 13. Jai Arrow, 14. Mitch Rein, 15. Moeaki Fotuaika, 16. Max King, 17. Will Matthews, 18. Jack Stockwell, 19. Alexander Brimson, 20. Anthony Don, 21. Dale Copley, 22. Treymain Spry, 23. Ryley Jacks, 24. Jesse Arthars.

Things to watch: Titans cult hero Anthony Don is fighting for his NRL future after being relegated to the bench. Coach Garth Brennan has instead opted for youngsters Brenko Lee and Phillip Sami as his starting wingers

Don, 31, has been one of the Gold Coast’s best performing players over the past few years.

He played all 24 games for the Titans last season, scoring 15 tries, and was the club’s player-of-the-year in 2017.

But Brennan has given Lee, 23, and Sami, 21, first crack at the wing berths following impressive pre-seasons from the Queensland Emerging Origin camp attendees.

Captain Ryan James will miss the trial because of a knee injury and is racing the clock to prove his fitness for Round 1.

Halfback Ash Taylor will make his first appearance after overcoming shoulder surgery while recruits Tyrone Peachey and Shannon Boyd will pull on Titans colours for the first time.

Broncos: 1. Darius Boyd (c) 2. Corey Oates 3. James Roberts 4. Jack Bird 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Sean O’Sullivan 7. Kodi Nikorima 8. Matthew Lodge 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Joe Ofahengaue 11. Alex Glenn 12. David Fifita 13. Matt Gillett. Interchange: 14. Kotoni Staggs 15. Jaydn Su’A 16. Thomas Flegler 17. Shaun Fensom 18. Patrick Carrigan 19. Jake Turpin 20. Richie Kennar 21. Gehamat Shibasaki 22. Tom Dearden

Things to watch: Anthony Seibold has named Matt Gillett to make his return from a neck injury but the new Broncos coach pulled a fast one by naming the Queensland and Australian stalwart at lock.

Gillett has played lock sporadically in his career but spent the last five and a half seasons at second row, a position where he was counted among the best in the game.

With Tevita Pangai Junior (hamstring) missing the trial against the Titans, Gillett will start in the middle of the field while Alex Glenn and young gun David Fifita line up on the edges.

Anthony Milford is eyeing a Round 1 return as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

Matt Gillett returns for the Broncos. Picture: AAP

COWBOYS v STORM

8pm Saturday (AEDT) at Mackay

Cowboys: 1. Jordan Kahu 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Justin O’Neill 4. Ben Hampton 5. Nene Macdonald 6. Te Maire Martin 7. Michael Morgan 8. Matt Scott 9. Jake Granville 10. Jordan McLean 11. Jason Taumalolo 12. Coen Hess 13. Josh McGuire Interchange 14. John Asiata 15. Gavin Cooper 16. Mitch Dunn 17. Scott Bolton 18. Tom Opacic 19. Jake Clifford

Things to watch: In a massive shock, Paul Green has named Jason Taumalolo to start at second row rather than lock. Given Taumalolo is the best forward in the world when he plays lock it will be interesting to see if this is something Paul Green sticks with once the season starts.

Storm: 1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. Marion Seve 4. Curtis Scott 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Brodie Croft 8. Christian Welch 9. Cameron Smith 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane 14. Brandon Smith 15. Tom Eisenhuth 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Jesse Bromwich 18. Tino Fa’A 19. Joe Stimson 20. Ryan Papenhuyzen 21. Sandor Earl 22. Billy Walters 23. Justin Olam 24. Cheyse Blair 25. Patrick Kaufusi

Things to watch: Young gun Scott Drinkwater is set to retain the fullback role ahead of Jahrome Hughes in a sign he’s a front-runner for the No.1 jersey come Round 1. Melbourne will virtually be at full strength for their final hit-out, with only Will Chambers missing. Emerging prop Tui Kamikamica, a “standout” against the Warriors, has firmed as the replacement for departed Tim Glasby.

- Read more from Gilbert Gardiner

Originally published as NRL trials week three: Teams, times for pre-season clashes