NRL teams round 27: Felise Kaufusi cleared to play, nine SuperCoach studs ruled out in final-round carnage

The Dolphins have received a massive boost with one of their key enforcers cleared to play their must-win final game of the regular season. Plus, the full teams analysis with a whopping nine popular SuperCoach players injured.

The Dolphins have received a massive boost ahead of their do-or-die showdown with the Knights after hitman Felise Kaufusi avoided a ban having had his dangerous contact charge downgraded at the judiciary.

Kaufusi was hit with a grade two dangerous contact charge for a tackle on Broncos halfback Adam Reynolds that forced him from the field for a head injury assessment, with the pair mouthing off as they crossed paths on the sideline after the Dolphins star was sent to the sin bin.

The veteran back-rower pleaded guilty to the charge but sought a downgrade on Tuesday night, with the Dolphins star even choosing to fly down to Sydney with assistant coach Kristian Woolf for the hearing.

After a hearing that lasted just over an hour, the panel of Tony Puletua and Sean Hampstead took less than 10 minutes to determine the force was low, the risk of injury was low and that Reynolds had time to defend himself.

It means Kaufusi is free to face the Knights on Sunday afternoon but will have to pay an $1800 fine after avoiding what would have been a three-match ban if he’d been unsuccessful.

“It’s probably not showing now (that I’m the most relieved man in rugby league) but it’s just sinking in,” a relieved Kaufusi said.

Felise Kaufusi is clear to play against the Knights this Sunday. Picture: Mackenzie Sweetnam/Getty Images

“There was a lot on the line because I was looking at three weeks, so it was only right for me to come down and challenge.

“Hopefully this is a big boost (for the team). We’ve got a lot riding on this game. It’s a big occasion for the boys, and hopefully this picks up the boys.

“I think I had better luck getting into the Powerball. The last time I came down (to the judiciary) I was quietly confident and got four weeks.

“You never know with these things and you can never be comfortable – I definitely wasn’t – but I knew we had a good case, good counsel, the backing of the club and the great Nick Ghabar who did well tonight.”

Judiciary counsel Lachlan Gyles used nine angles and argued that Reynolds was “vulnerable” and that the level of force was moderate and direct to the head.

“At the time of the contact, Reynolds didn’t have the ball,” he said.

“The contact was high, the contact was late and there was an opportunity to deviate or to put his hands out to reduce the impact on Reynolds. There was a level of force that was moderate. He came out of the line and accelerated into the contact.

“Reynolds was vulnerable at the time and couldn’t avoid the contact.”

Defence counsel Nick Ghabar used a comparable tackle from last month when Dragons forward Jack de Belin was hit with a grade one dangerous contact charge for a tackle on Kieran Foran that saw him sent to the sin bin.

But Gyles said that Kaufusi used an “unconventional tackle technique compared to de Belin” and that there was time to reduce the point and force of the contact before his left shoulder made contact to the head.

Felise Kaufusi is sent to the sin bin against the Broncos. Picture: NRL photos

Ghabar defended Kaufusi and said he had done his job well because Reynolds had a look at the defensive line and that he had a job to put legitimate pressure on the ball player.

His main argument was that it was “glancing or secondary contact with the side of the head” and that any carelessness was at the lower level.

“It’s not like he’s running up like a madman,” he said, arguing Reynolds wasn’t in a vulnerable position given he had time to put his bumpers up to protect himself.

“Most of the force was from the two torsos contacting each other. There was then secondary force when the head makes glancing or incidental contact with Kaufusi’s left shoulder.

“There is very little reaction from Reynolds’ head. It hardly moves after the glancing contact.”

The Dolphins are coming off a huge win over the Broncos and will make the finals for the first time if they can beat the Knights, with the winner of Sunday’s game to finish eighth.

TEAMS ANALYSIS

First the good news: NRL coaches have resisted the urge for mass restings in the final round.

Now the bad news: At least nine popular SuperCoach players are injured.

Fielding a full squad of 17 is therefore a huge task for many SuperCoaches, particularly those with no trades.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE EVERY ROUND 27 TEAM CHANGE

THE SUPERCOACH STUDS RULED OUT

* David Fifita has been sent for ankle surgery and will miss the final round.

* Tom Trbojevic has a grade three AC joint injury and will miss the final round before getting needled up to play the finals.

* Sam Walker and Brandon Smith (both ACL) are out for the season and a fair chunk of next.

* Ryan Papenhuyzen (bone bruising) is out. But in good news the Storm have named all fit players and won’t pull mass restings.

* Warriors forwards Addin Fonua-Blake and Mitch Barnett have been pillars of strength at FRF this season but are on the bye.

* Nathan Cleary remains out for the Panthers due to a shoulder injury but should return for week one of the finals. The Panthers haven’t rested any players.

* Payne Haas shouldn’t have played last week but took the field in an attempt to save the Broncos’ season. Brisbane are now out of contention so Haas will put his feet (or foot) up.

David Fifita has been sent for surgery. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

TOP BUYS

* Kalyn Ponga – Top buy of the round by a considerable distance. He is currently only in 15 per cent of teams despite a 3RA over 100 and Turbo to Ponga is the obvious trade. Ponga arguably has the most to play for of any SuperCoach gun this week given the Knights and Dolphins essentially have a top eight play-off on Sunday afternoon. And when Ponga is motivated we know he scores well.

* Jahrome Hughes – The Storm have resisted the urge to rest players and will run out close to full strength against an undermanned Broncos, who are in all sorts right now. Hughes already has five tons this year and we could see another on Thursday night at a dry Suncorp Stadium, which is traditionally a high scoring track.

* James Tedesco – The injury crisis at the Roosters is hardly ideal but it just means Teddy gets more ball. He scored a ton on the weekend as players went down around him and has a great match-up against the 15-placed Rabbitohs.

* Joseph Tapine – Rocking a five-game average of 80 – the best of any prop playing this week by a massive 14 points a game. Obvious replacement for Fonua-Blake, Barnett, Haas and even Fifita with the right duals.

* Terrell May – It’s been an up-and-down season for May as his minutes have yo-yoed depending on the Roosters’ team make-up. But we are assured of one thing – when May plays big minutes he notches big SuperCoach scores given his insane rate of 1.36 points per minute. He’s guaranteed big game time this weekend in the absence of key forwards Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Victor Radley and Nat Butcher. Already has three tons this year and possesses arguably the highest attacking upside of any FRF.

* Dylan Brown – Is this chasing last week’s points? Yeah kinda. Brown was no doubt brilliant on the weekend with 162 points including four try assists and a try. But his three-game average heading into last week was only 40, so the performance certainly came out of the blue. That said, Brown faces the Wests Tigers this week in the “Spoon Bowl” where plenty of points could be on offer.

Kalyn Ponga is the most purchased SuperCoach player. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

INJURY CRISIS HITS BRONCOS

Reece Walsh has been named on Brisbane’s extended bench as the embattled Broncos confront a fresh injury crisis ahead of Thursday night’s clash against the Storm.

Superstar fullback Walsh could make a return from a hand injury to help the injury-hit Broncos overcome the potential loss of five top liners for a final-round showdown with the minor premiers at Suncorp Stadium.

Payne Haas (foot), Kotoni Staggs (quadriceps) and Brendan Piakura (ankle) have been omitted, while Selwyn Cobbo is battling a calf complaint and Xavier Willison is suspended in a costly fallout to last Saturday’s 40-6 loss to the Dolphins.

Meanwhile, Josiah Karapani has been axed after a poor showing in the Battle of Brisbane, opening the door for veteran Corey Oates to return to the wing for the daunting clash against ladder leaders Melbourne.

Named in jumper No.20, Walsh is rated an outside hope of playing, but such is the swelling casualty ward at Red Hill, Broncos coach Kevin Walters struggled to name 22 fit squad members for Brisbane’s final game of a forgettable season.

Grand finalists last year, the Broncos bombed out of the finals race after last week’s derby loss to the Dolphins and they could finish the 2024 campaign as low as 12th if beaten by the Storm.

Deine Mariner returns to the centres to replace Staggs after missing the Dolphins clash with the flu, while Jaiyden Hunt fills the back-row void left by Piakura.

The scratching of star prop Haas gives key off-season recruit Fletcher Baker one final shot at redemption after a below-par debut season at Red Hill that has seen the former Rooster play just 12 games.

Kobe Hetherington, who missed the Dolphins defeat, wins a recall to the bench, while Walters has retained rookie hooker Blake Mozer, who missed five tackles and conceded two tries in the Battle of Brisbane belting.

Melbourne are fresh after resting 11 players last week against the Cowboys and will be keen to exact revenge after being flogged 26-0 by Brisbane in the opening week of the finals at Suncorp last year. Ryan Papenhuyzen won’t play due to bone bruising on his leg.

Reece Walsh has been named on an extended bench. Picture: Nigel Hallett

ROUND 27 TEAM LISTS

BRONCOS VS STORM

Thursday, 7.50pm, Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Broncos

1. Tristan Sailor 2. Corey Oates 3. Selwyn Cobbo 4. Deine Mariner 5. Jesse Arthars 6. Joshua Rogers 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Corey Jensen 9. Billy Walters 10. Fletcher Baker 11. Jaiyden Hunt 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan

Interchange: 14. Blake Mozer 15. Kobe Hetherington 16. Benjamin Te Kura 17. Martin Taupau

Reserves: 18. Josiah Karapani 19. Cory Paix 20. Reece Walsh 21. Vaa Semu

Storm

1. Sualauvi Faalogo 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Grant Anderson 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. Tyran Wishart 15. Christian Welch 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Alec MacDonald

Reserves: 18. Kane Bradley 19. Joe Chan 20. Lazarus Vaalepu 21. Ativalu Lisati 22. Xavier Coates

TIGERS VS EELS

Friday, 6pm, Campbelltown Stadium, Campbelltown Tigers

Tigers

1. Heath Mason 2. Junior Tupou 3. Solomona Faataape 4. Josh Feledy 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. Alexander Lobb 20. Reuben Porter 21. Kit Laulilii 22. Tony Sukkar

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. Ofahiki Ogden

Reserves: 18. Jake Tago 19. Matt Doorey 20. Ethan Sanders 21. Haze Dunster 22. Wiremu Greig

RABBITOHS VS ROOSTERS

Friday, 8pm, Accor Stadium, Sydney

Rabbitohs

1. Jye Gray 2. Tyrone Munro 3. Taane Milne 4. Richard Kennar 5. Jacob Gagai 6. Cody Walker 7. Dean Hawkins 8. Tallis Duncan 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jacob Host 13. Davvy Moale

Interchange: 14. Peter Mamouzelos 15. Liam Le Blanc 16. Sean Keppie 17. Siliva Havili

Reserves: 18. Michael Chee Kam 19. Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson 20. Brock Gray 21. Fletcher Myers 22. Dion Teaupa

Roosters

1. James Tedesco 2. Fetalaiga Pauga 3. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii 4. Joseph Manu 5. Dominic Young 6. Luke Keary 7. Sandon Smith 8. Spencer Leniu 9. Connor Watson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Sitili Tupouniua 13. Naufahu Whyte

Interchange: 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Siua Wong 16. Delasalle Vaa 17. Terrell May

Reserves: 18. Michael Jennings 19. Blake Steep 20. Mark Nawaqanitawase 21. Jake Elliott 22. Xavier Va’a

DRAGONS VS RAIDERS

Saturday 3pm, Kogarah Oval, Sydney

Dragons

1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Zac Lomax 3. Moses Suli 4. Jack Bird 5. Mathew Feagai 6. Lyhkan King-Togia 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. Connor Muhleisen 15. Toby Couchman 16. Blake Lawrie 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

Reserves: 18. Hamish Stewart 19. Michael Molo 20. Savelio Tamale 21. Max Feagai 22. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga

Raiders

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

Interchange: 14. Danny Levi 15. Corey Horsburgh 16. Ata Mariota 17. Trey Mooney

Reserves: 18. James Schiller 19. Zac Woolford 20. Emre Guler 21. Jed Stuart 22. Adam Cook

BULLDOGS VS COWBOYS

Saturday 5.30pm, Accor Stadium, Sydney

Bulldogs

1. Connor Tracey 2. Jeral Skelton 3. Jacob Kiraz 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Drew Hutchison 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Samuel Hughes 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon

Interchange: 14. Bailey Hayward 15. Kurtis Morrin 16. Harry Hayes 17. Josh Curran

Reserves: 19. Blake Taaffe 20. Jack Underhill 21. Eli Clark 22. Lipoi Hopoi 23. Jonathan Sua

Cowboys

1. Scott Drinkwater 2. Kyle Feldt 3. Valentine Holmes 4. Viliami Vailea 5. Murray Taulagi 6. Tom Dearden 7. Jake Clifford 8. Jordan McLean 9. Reece Robson 10. Jason Taumalolo 11. Heilum Luki 12. Jeremiah Nanai 13. Reuben Cotter

Interchange: 14. Sam McIntyre 15. Thomas Mikaele 16. Harrison Edwards 17. Griffin Neame

Reserves: 18. Jaxon Purdue 19. Chad Townsend 20. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki 21. Marly Bitungane 22. Tomas Chester

PANTHERS VS TITANS

Saturday 7.35pm, BlueBet Stadium, Penrith

Panthers

1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Brian To’o 6. Brad Schneider 7. Jarome Luai 8. Moses Leota 9. Mitch Kenny 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Scott Sorensen 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo

Interchange: 14. Trent Toelau 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Luke Garner

Reserves: 18. Matt Eisenhuth 19. Mavrik Geyer 20. Casey McLean 21. Daine Laurie 22. Luke Sommerton

Titans

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

Interchange: 14. Jacob Alick-Wiencke 15. Erin Clark 16. Keenan Palasia 17. Arama Hau

Reserves: 18. Josiah Pahulu 19. Tanah Boyd 20. Joe Stimson 21. Tony Francis 22. Jaylan De Groot

SEA EAGLES VS SHARKS

Sunday 2pm, Brookvale Oval, Sydney

Sea Eagles

1. Tolutau Koula 2. Clayton Faulalo 3. Tommy Talau 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Matthew Lodge 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Karl Lawton 13. Jake Trbojevic

Interchange: 14. Ben Trbojevic 15. Josh Aloiai 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Nathan Brown

Reserves: 18. Toafofoa Sipley 19. Jamie Humphreys 20. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 21. Jaxson Paulo 22. Caleb Navale

Sharks

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

Interchange: 14. Daniel Atkinson 15. Jack Williams 16. Royce Hunt 17. Thomas Hazelton

Reserves: 18. Braden Hamlin-Uele 19. Siosifa Talakai 20. Jayden Berrell 21. Tuku Hau Tapuha 22. Samuel Stonestreet

KNIGHTS VS DOLPHINS

Sunday 4.05pm, McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle

Knights

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

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

Reserves: 18. Thomas Cant 19. Will Pryce 20. Jackson Hastings 21. Sebastian Su’a 22. Kai Pearce-Paul

Dolphins

1. Trai Fuller 2. Jamayne Isaako 3. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 4. Herbie Farnworth 5. Jack Bostock 6. Jake Averillo 7. Sean O’Sullivan 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Max Plath 10. Tevita Pangai Junior 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Connelly Lemuelu 13. Kenny Bromwich

Interchange: 14. Jeremy Marshall-King 15. Ray Stone 16. Mark Nicholls 17. Kodi Nikorima

Reserves: 18. Lachlan Hubner 19. Isaiya Katoa 20. Oryn Keeley 21. Kurt Donoghoe 22. Tesi Niu

Originally published as NRL teams round 27: Felise Kaufusi cleared to play, nine SuperCoach studs ruled out in final-round carnage