NRL Weekly Watch: Everything to keep an eye on in Round 2

Preliminary finals rematch at Accor

South Sydney will host Penrith – the side who has knocked them out of the last three finals series – at Accor Stadium on Thursday night in a bid to hand the defending premiers back-to-back losses to open 2023.

Souths will be without Tevita Tatola (concussion) and Jai Arrow (hamstring) who both failed to finish the side’s last-start win over the Sharks with Daniel Suluka-Fifita named to start in the front-row and Jed Cartwright coming onto the bench.

Latrell Mitchell has been named despite nursing a knee complaint that he picked up in the same game.

Penrith will be missing interchange middle Scott Sorensen (concussion) with Matt Eisenhuth coming onto the pine.

The Panthers have won nine of their past 10 against the Rabbitohs and have not lost to them at Homebush since mid-2017.

Souths ace Alex Johnston has scored a mind-bending 13 tries from his past six games at Accor Stadium.

Still without Hynes, Sharks head west for Parra showdown

Cronulla will face off against Parramatta at CommBank Stadium on Friday evening with both sides eyeing their first win of 2023 after difficult Round 1 losses.

The Sharks will still be without reigning Dally M Medallist Nicho Hynes as he recovers from a calf issue whilst skipper Wade Graham has been handed a four-match ban for a reckless high shot on Souths youngster Davvy Moale.

Graham is set to be replaced by utility Connor Tracey on the bench whilst Royce Hunt replaces the injured Jack Williams (concussion).

Parramatta, meanwhile, make just the one change with Sean Russell replacing Isaac Lumelume after missing Round 1 through suspension whilst Bailey Simonsson has been named among the reserves as he nears a return from a shoulder injury he picked up in last year’s Grand Final loss to Penrith.

Eels halfback Mitchell Moses will be playing in his 200th NRL game as he looks to lead his side to victory against a Sharks outfit that has won seven of its past 10 against Parramatta.

A Queensland derby for the ages at Suncorp

Throughout the mid-2010s, the Broncos and Cowboys had an eerie knack for putting on high-intensity, down-to-the-wire shows to electrify what has become one of rugby league’s great rivalries.

In more recent years, however, both sides have enjoyed mixed runs having not qualified for the same postseason since 2017 with the spark of the contests dimming ever-so-slightly.

This Friday night, however, has the makings of a classic with both sides fresh off one-point wins over top-eight opponents and setting their sights reigniting their famous finals rivalry.

The Broncos welcome fullback Reece Walsh back to the club with Selwyn Cobbo shifting back to the right wing spot he occupied for the entirety of last season whilst the Cowboys remain unchanged from last week’s nailbiter.

The Cowboys have won four of their past five against Brisbane whilst 13 of the past 24 meetings between the two have been decided by six points or less with five of them decided by a single point.

Undermanned Chooks host Warriors at Allianz

A Chooks squad missing starting props Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (back) and Matt Lodge (facial injury) as well as back-rowers Angus Crichton (personal reasons) and Sitili Tupouniua (knee) and utility Connor Watson (knee) will welcome the Warriors to Allianz Stadium after a humbling defeat to the Dolphins last week.

Joseph Manu returns from an offseason facial fracture in a major boost for the tricolours with Drew Hutchison dropping back to the bench and Corey Allan to the reserves whilst Matt Lodge is replaced in the starting lineup by Fletcher Baker.

Rookie Warriors head coach Andrew Webster has named the same 17 that got the job done last week against the Knights in Wellington.

The Roosters have won five in a row against the Warriors and will be eager to rid their mouths of the bitter taste their Round 1 loss to the Dolphins.

Can the Dolphins make it two from two in their Redcliffe debut?

Fresh off a stunning upset over the Roosters in their inaugural NRL outing, the Dolphins shift their attention to the Raiders for their first official game at Redcliffe’s Kayo Stadium.

Wayne Bennett has made just the one forced change with debutant Mason Teague named on the interchange in place of Ray Stone (knee).

The Raiders also make a single forced change with Jordan Rapana (suspension) replaced by Albert Hopoate.

Canberra are coming off a crushing loss to the Cowboys in which they came back from an 18-point deficit only to lose to a Chad Townsend field goal in the final minutes.

Canberra have played just once at Redcliffe in their history – a golden-point loss to the Warriors last year.

Munster-less Storm face Dogs in Melbourne

Canterbury will make the trip south to face Melbourne – who are coming off a golden-point win over the Eels – after a disappointing loss to Manly in Cameron Ciraldo’s coaching debut.

With Cameron Munster set to miss multiple weeks for Melbourne with a finger issue, Craig Bellamy has turned to utility Tyran Wishart to step up at five-eighth with Aaron Pene slotting onto the bench.

As for the Dogs, Ciraldo is set to stick with the same 17 that were beaten 31-6 by Manly last Saturday with Luke Thompson and Tevita Pangai Jr. still among those unavailable.

Melbourne are riding a seven-game winning streak against the Bulldogs and have scored a combined 137 points in their last three clashes against them.

Under fire Knights set sights on Sunday afternoon Leichhardt clash

The Wests Tigers and Knights will meet on Sunday afternoon at Leichhardt Oval with both sides in desperate need of a win to ignite their season.

The Wests Tigers will be without prized recruit John Bateman with the Englishman still situating himself after arriving to Australia later than anticipated due to visa issues whilst Alex Seyfarth has been brought into the side to replace Fonua Pole (knee) on the bench.

Apisai Koroisau and Joe Ofahengaue have both been named in the run-on side after starting last week’s clash against the Gold Coast on the pine.

Dane Gagai returns into the centres for Newcastle after sitting out their Round 1 loss to the Warriors with a with a hamstring complaint whilst Jack Johns replaces Adam Elliott (groin) on the bench.

Greg Marzhew (hip) has been named among the reserves after making the switch over from the Titans this past offseason.

The Knights have won four of their past six against the Wests Tigers and have not lost to them at Leichhardt Oval since 2011.

Dragons kick-off season against Titans at Kogarah

Fresh off a Round 1 bye, St. George Illawarra open their 2023 season against the Titans at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium after a problematic offseason.

The Dragons lost rising fullback Cody Ramsey to a season-ending illness over the summer whilst five-eighth Talatau Amone was subject to the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy up until a few hours prior to the announcement of Round 2 team lists on Tuesday.

Head coach Anthony Griffin will be desperate for his side to get off to a strong start after a tonne of speculation surrounding his job security over the offseason.

Jayden Sullivan has been named to start at six for the Dragons with Tyrell Sloan at fullback and Moses Mbye at hooker with Jacob Liddle on the interchange alongside debutant Toby Couchman.

Jack de Belin (calf) is still a week away from returning to the field, although, Jack Bird (knee) has been named to start at lock.

Amone has been named among the reserves but, given his disrupted offseason, there are questions surrounding his selection.

The Titans have named the same 17 that overcame the Wests Tigers last Sunday night, however, five-eighth Kieran Foran will have to prove his fitness after failing to finish the game with a knee problem.

The Titans have won three of their past four against the Dragons.

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