The Rabbitohs have made a big lock decision, with interim coach Ben Hornby sticking solid with an in-form star in the No.13 jersey.
Des Hasler has a huge headache looming, with three players vying for two position in the Titans’ spine.
Meanwhile, Trent Barrett is set to unleash a duo of debutants while Tom Trbojevic’s switch to the centres could be a look to the future.
Read below for all the big talking points out of Round 18’s team releases!
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Ponga & Papenhuyzen return for clubs | 00:38
MURRAY’S BACK ROW SWITCH
Cameron Murray was named to return for the Rabbitohs after Game II Origin duties, and many expected him to return to the No.13 jersey.
But instead, South Sydney’s captain and arguably their most consistent player, has been shifted to the back row with Keaon Koloamatangi retaining his position at lock.
Murray has played 124 games at lock, 25 off the bench and eight in the backrow since making his NRL debut in 2017.
Meanwhile, Koloamatangi has played 76 times on an edge and only five times at lock, having played at lock in the Rabbitohs’ last four games.
The big decision made by interim Ben Hornby is almost definitely being influenced by incoming master coach Wayne Bennett.
He reportedly told Hornby to shift Koloamatangi to the middle of the park, a move that’s inspired the Rabbitohs to four-straight wins after losing six games on the trot.
So what does that move mean for Murray?
The lock position has become an integral part of the spine in modern rugby league, but edge forwards have a different role.
It’s one of the hardest defensive positions and Murray has the ability to hold his own in the back row, showing that for the NSW Blues in the past.
Meanwhile, edge forwards are also a focal point in attack, and there’s not many better hole runners than the Rabbitohs skipper.
Murray now has an opportunity to become one of the competition’s premier edge forwards, and he could provide a whole new dynamic to the Rabbitohs attack.
Combining with the dangerous trio of Jack Wighton, Cody Walker and Latrell Mitchell, Murray becomes yet another lethal option during try-scoring plays.
A switch to the backrow could also reduce Murray’s workload, who has previously shouldered the load in the middle of the park for South Sydney.
So are there any negatives to Murray’s back row switch? It doesn’t look like it.
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TURBO’S CENTRE SWITCH A LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Tom Trbojevic will run out at centre for Manly against the Cowboys in what could be a glimpse to the future as Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold looks to preserve his star player following seasons of injury heartache.
Trbojevic had been unavailable with a hamstring injury he suffered in the Sea Eagles’ 30-24 Round 10 loss to the Dolphins in what was his latest setback in a long run of lengthy stints on the sidelines.
The 27-year-old’s hamstrings have caused him a lot of pain throughout his career after succumbing to injuries in 2019, 2020, 2021 and the 2023 pre-season.
Trbojevic missed the majority of last season with a pectoral injury suffered in Game I of the 2023 Origin Series.
“We have tried to be as objective as possible,” Seibold previously said of Trbojevic’s shift to centre.
“We’ve looked at all the GPS data to see whether there is anything that is a real outlier with regards to the contrast or comparison between the two positions (fullback and centre).
“To be frank, from a data point of view, there’s not a whole heap of difference.
“There’s a little bit more change of pace as a fullback, but there’s a lot more contact when you’re playing centre. There’s a number of things we need to consider.”
Trbojevic’s availability is paramount to Manly’s on-field success with the club enjoying a 63 per cent winning percentage when plays.
And it is a position he is familiar with having won the 2021 Wally Lewis Medal as State of Origin player of the series at centre, while he’s also spent time there for the Kangaroos.
Despite the shift, Seibold confirmed Trbojevic would be given a licence to roam just as he did while playing centre for New South Wales and Australia.
He said he still believed his highest paid player’s best position was fullback, although he would play Trbojevic wherever best suited the team.
“We’ve been collaborating and communicating the whole time, but I want to do what’s best for Turbo,” Seibold said.
“If it’s best to put him in the centres, that’s what we will do. But I still think his best position is fullback.”
The prompted fears on NRL360 that the Sea Eagles salary cap could soon come under pressure.
“It’s dangerous for your salary cap though to be paying in excess of $1 million. Let’s just say this, Turbo isn’t on $300,000, he’s on $1 million,” the Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio said on Tuesday.
“He’s one of the most dangerous football players we’ve seen but when you are balancing a roster and you want a premiership winning roster, it is very difficult to have a very strong balanced side when you got a $1 million centre.
“The next question is then it comes at a cost because other clubs will say ‘well hang on a second that centre that they were playing there isn’t getting a run so we’ll have a crack at him’.
“There will be a fallout in some regard. You can’t deny it.”
Totula Koula, meanwhile, has been named at fullback, while Lehi Hopoate, who has deputised admirably in recent weeks at the back, has been named on the bench in jersey No. 14.
Koula has speed to burn and at only 21-years of age, it’s scary to think how good he could become in the No.1 jersey.
HASLER’S TITANS HEADACHE
This week Des Hasler’s selection decision was simple, with AJ Brimson coming straight into the team for Jayden Campbell who has been sidelined due to a hand injury.
But after Round 19, the experienced coach is facing a genuine headache.
Young gun Keano Kini has been nothing short of excellent since taking over at fullback in Round 10, stamping his claim to remain in the No.1 jersey.
But there’s only two vacant spine positions and three players vying for the fullback and five-eight spots.
So how can Hasler solve an impossible puzzle?
“It’s a good headache to have. It’s an old cliche but we’ll wait and see… it gives us some options,” the experienced coach said.
AJ Brimson was electric in the No.1 jersey before suffering a groin injury, and Campbell was equally impressive in his three games at five-eighth, scoring two tries.
Unfortunately, Kini is the likely man who will have to make way, with Brimson’s centre switch to start the season proving to be a failure.
But that’s not to say the 20-year-old loses his place in the team, and his attacking capabilities could be the perfect injection of energy off the bench.
Just like Sua Faalogo at the Storm, and other stars that Melbourne have blooded off the pine like Ryan Papenhuyzen, Kini could be the perfect role player.
Should an outside back go down injured, he also gives Hasler a perfect solution to reshuffle his backline, with Kini moving to fullback and either Brimson or Campbell into the centres or wing.
So while Kini could find himself riding the bench to close out the season, the rising star could have a huge role to play moving forward after a string of impressive performances.
Tigers to play at Leichhardt in 2025 | 00:28
WHERE DOES SHARPE FIT?
Kalyn Ponga’s much-awaited NRL return is a massive boost for the Newcastle Knights.
Adam O’Brien’s side are undoubtedly better with the 2023 Dally M Medallist fit and firing.
Ponga’s return means young gun Fletcher Sharpe is out of the No.1 jersey this week.
It’s a position he’s performed exceptionally well during his three games this season, scoring twice and averaging 130 running metres.
So impressive have Sharpe’s 2024 performances been, Adam O’Brien has made the bold decision to keep him in the Knights’ first grade side this week, naming him in the No.14.
How exactly will this work?
It’s almost certain the young fullback will come on at hooker at some stage given the fact Jayden Brailey hasn’t got through 80 minutes since Round 8.
Alternatively, Adam Elliott could shift to hooker, where he featured twice for Canberra back in 2022, allowing Sharpe to play a roaming middle forward role similar to how Ponga has operated off the bench at Origin level.
Whatever role he’s used in will be a tall order for Sharpe, not just because it’s against Canberra’s powerful pack but also because he’s pretty much exclusively played fullback in both reserve grade and the NRL.
It’s a massive gamble for the Knights. But if it’s successful it could make the club’s reported roster rebuild a far easier task.
If Sharpe comes on at hooker and excels it would provide O’Brien and recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan confidence to allow Jayden Brailey to leave the club, with Phoenix Crossland and Sharpe the club’s future hooker-bench utility duo.
Sharpe’s success off the bench could also spell the end of Tyson Gamble’s time in the Hunter. Despite being a core element of the club’s run to the 2023 finals, injury has limited Gamble to just eight appearances this season, with his last game coming in Round 10.
In that time, he has fallen to third in the club’s five-eighth pecking order behind Will Pryce and Jack Cogger and, pending Sharpe’s performance at the weekend, down to third in the club’s bench utility pecking order, behind Crossland and Sharpe.
With Ponga’s brilliance limiting Sharpe’s first grade opportunities at fullback, he may need to find familiarity with coming off the bench.
Should he do so it won’t just benefit him, but it could also benefit the Knights as a whole.
BARRETT UNLEASHES EELS DEBUTANTS
Trent Barrett has enveiled two debutants for Round 18, with both Jake Tago and Charlie Guymer.
Tago, 25, is the brother of Panthers star Izack Tago and has been a standout for the Parramatta side in the centres and on the wing this year in NSW Cup.
He’s scored nine tries in 14 games, crossing for a double in Round 16 to cement his position as the next man up after Maika Sivo’s hamstring injury.
Tago landed at the Eels after stints with the Bears, Panthers and Rabbitohs, making his NSW Cup debut in 2018.
Guymer, meanwhile, is a fellow Temora native, with Barrett having the pleasure of handing the 20-year-old his debut.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Barrett revealed exactly how he broke the news to the rising star.
“He was excited, I sat him down in the office and I said ‘do you know how many first-graders or NRL players have come out of Temora?’ And he said, ‘I think there’s 12’, and I said, ‘well there’s about to be 13’,” Barrett said.
“It’s pretty special for me to be able to give that to him, but that aside, he deserves it.”
Guymer is one of several players playing first grade at the Eels who are still eligible to play Jersey Flegg, with Matt Arthur and Blaize Talagi still of age.
He has played in the back row, lock and off the bench in NSW Cup this season, delivering a massive performance in the No.13 jersey last weekend.
Guymer ran for 146 metres, made 27 tackles and also made 37 post-contact metres in a stellar display.