NRL Weekly Watch: Everything to keep an eye on in Round 23

Roosters, Sea Eagles meet at SCG

Round 23 opens with a Thursday night match-up between the Roosters and Sea Eagles at the SCG with Manly just a point out of the top eight and the Chooks’ season on life support.

Egan Butcher (head knock) and Jake Turpin drop out for the Tricolours with rookie Siua Wong earning a start on an edge and Drew Hutchison promoted to the interchange.

Christian Tu’ipulotu (knee) is out for the visitors with Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega coming onto the wing whilst Ben Trbojevic (hamstring) returns onto the bench in place of Sean Keppie.

Both teams have won six of the past 12 clashes in this fixture, although, the Roosters have won the only two recent clashes at the SCG.

Warriors make trip to Gold Coast

With six wins from their past seven and a top two finish still possible, the Warriors journey to the Gold Coast for a Friday evening meeting with the Titans.

Jojo Fifita (ankle) is unavailable for the hosts with Aaron Schoupp slotting into the centres whilst Sam Verrills has been named to start at hooker with Chris Randall on the interchange.

Fresh off a bye, Warriors coach Andrew Webster has named the same 17 that took down the Raiders in golden-point in Round 21.

The Titans have beaten the Warriors in four of their past five after a period in which the Warriors lost once in 15 encounters.

Storm head to Penrith for Friday night showdown

The Storm will be in Penrith to face the Panthers in a Friday night blockbuster with both sides looking for a major scalp to kickstart their run home.

Tyrone Peachey (suspension) is out for the hosts with Zac Hosking named in the centres and Jaeman Salmon coming onto the interchange, although, Izack Tago has been listed among the reserves as he eyes a return from a leg complaint.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona (finger) has been named to return onto an edge for the Storm with Tom Eisenhuth reverting to the interchange and Tyran Wishart dropping out.

Melbourne have won seven of their past nine at BlueBet Stadium.

Cowboys host Broncos in Saturday afternoon epic

The Cowboys and Broncos will meet in a Saturday afternoon mouth-waterer at Townsville’s QLD Country Bank Stadium with major finals implications on the line.

Griffin Neame (head knock) and Heilum Luki (face) are back on deck for the Cows with Kulikefu Finefeuiaki and Sam McIntyre dropping out.

Jason Taumalolo and Reuben Cotter will start in the middle with Coen Hess shifting to an edge and Jake Granville reverting to the interchange.

For Brisbane, Jesse Arthars (suspension) and Brendan Piakura (illness) return into the run-on side with Deine Mariner and Xavier Willison dropping out and Patrick Carrigan shifting back to the middle.

Both sides have won four of the past eight meetings with North Queensland having won two of the three at QLD Country Bank Stadium.

Dolphins, Knights kick-off Perth double-header

With four wins on the trot and their finals charge in full flight, Newcastle will journey west to take on the Dolphins at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Saturday.

Euan Aitken (knee) is missing for the Dolphins with Kodi Nikorima shifting into the centres, Anthony Milford to six, and Isaiya Katoa to the interchange.

It is smooth sailing for Newcastle with Adam O’Brien naming the same 17 that took care of business against Canberra a week ago.

High-stakes clash in WA: Rabbitohs face Sharks at Optus

The sixth place Rabbits meet the seventh place Sharks on Saturday night in Perth with major postseason implications on the line for both sides.

Hame Sele is out for the Bunnies with Thomas Burgess coming into the starting side and Tallis Duncan joining the bench whilst Michael Chee Kam comes into the second row for Jacob Host.

William Kennedy (hamstring) is missing for Cronulla with Connor Tracey shifting to the back and Ronaldo Mulitalo (jaw) returning to the wing whilst Oregon Kaufusi’s (finger) absence paves the way for Jesse Colquhoun (suspension) to come onto the bench.

The Rabbitohs have beaten the Sharks in four of their past five but have lost their past three games in Perth.

Eels host Dragons at CommBank

The Eels and Dragons will meet in the earlier Sunday match-up at CommBank Stadium with the Eels in need of a win to stay within the cluster of teams fighting for the final top eight spots.

Dylan Brown (suspension), Wiremu Greig, Makahesi Makatoa and Isaac Lumelume all return for the blue and gold with Daejarn Asi, Brendan Hands, Ofahiki Ogden and Waqa Blake dropping out.

Joey Lussick starts at nine, Ryan Matterson on an edge, and Joe Ofahengaue up front.

The Dragons have named the same 17 that went down to Manly in Wollongong a week ago.

The Eels have won 10 of their past 13 against the Red V but have gone down to them twice to them from their past three meetings at CommBank.

Wests Tigers journey to nation’s capital for Sunday face-off

The Raiders will look to bounce back from a disappointing loss to Newcastle when they host a Wests Tigers side riding an eight-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon.

Ricky Stuart has opted to shift Jordan Rapana to fullback and Sebastian Kris into the centres with Nick Čotrić coming onto the wing and Adrian Trevilyan joining the bench in place of Jarrod Croker and Tom Starling.

Stefano Utoikamanu (head knock) and Shawn Blore (head knock) are both out for the visitors with Alex Twal starting and Justin Matamua and Asu Kepaoa coming onto the bench.

Jake Simpkin also replaces Will Smith at #14.

Canberra have won 10 of their past 11 against the Wests Tigers including six in a row.

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