NRL Weekly Watch: Previewing Round 2

Broncos, Bunnies open round at Suncorp

Round 2 opens at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night with the Broncos and Rabbitohs both looking to bounce back from losses in Las Vegas.

Corey Jensen will start for Brisbane with Martin Taupa’u shifting back to the interchange whilst Adam Reynolds (knee) and Brendan Piakura (head knock) have both been named.

Jai Arrow (shoulder) is set to spend a period on the sidelines for the Rabbitohs with Tallis Duncan replacing him whilst Shaq Mitchell comes onto the bench in place of Jacob Host.

Brisbane have won three of their past four against South Sydney with Kotoni Staggs having scored six tries from seven games against the red and green.

Bulldogs travel to Shire for Sharks clash

The Dogs head to PointsBet Stadium on Friday evening to face-off against the Sharks having dropped their season opener to the Eels.

Craig Fitzgibbon has named the same 17 that got the job done against the Warriors a week ago with Toby Rudolf coming into the run-on side and Royce Hunt dropping back to the interchange the only change.

Josh Addo-Carr (shoulder) is unavailable for the visitors with former-Shark Connor Tracey coming onto the wing to make his club debut.

The Sharks have won 13 of their past 15 against Canterbury including seven in a row.

Battle of the West heats up at BlueBet

BlueBet Stadium will play host to a 2022 Grand Final rematch between rivals Penrith and Parramatta on Friday night.

Scott Sorensen and Mitch Kenny both return for the defending premiers with Luke Sommerton and Matt Eisenhuth dropping out.

Brad Arthur has named the same lineup that took down the Bulldogs in Round 1 with Wiremu Greig (hamstring) named among the reserves.

Parramatta have won four of their past six against the Panthers however the Panthers have won 10 of their past 11 at BlueBet.

Wests Tigers open season in nation’s capital

Fresh off an opening round bye, Benji Marshall’s Wests Tigers make the trip to Canberra for Saturday afternoon matchup against the Raiders.

Sebastian Kris returns from suspension into the centres for Ricky Stuart with Albert Hopoate shifting to the wing and Nick Čotrić dropping out.

A pair of debutants have been named for the Wests Tigers with Solomona Faataape named to start in the centres and Lachlan Galvin at five-eighth.

An Easts Tigers junior, Faataape has made a name for himself at Hostplus Cup level having made 46 appearances over the past three seasons scoring 29 tries.

Galvin, 18, has an Australian Schoolboys nod under his belt as well as a National Schoolboys Cup title and partners former-Dragon Jayden Sullivan in the halves this weekend.

Jahream Bula is the fullback, captain Apisai Koroisau is the No.9, and John Bateman lines up in the second row after sitting out the Pre-season Challenge.

Stefano Utoikamanu, David Klemmer, and Alex Seyfarth start in the middle with Aidan Sezer, Fonua Pole, Alex Twal and Samuela Fainu coming off the pine.

Canberra have won 11 of their past 13 against the Wests Tigers including five of their past six against them at GIO.

Knights Townsville-bound for Cowboys showdown

The Knights make the journey to North Queensland on Saturday to face a Cowboys side that sits at the top of the ladder after a week of play.

Todd Payten has named the same group that took care of business against the Dolphins in Round 1.

Enari Tuala (quad) and Dylan Lucas (head knock) are missing for the Knights with recruits Tom Jenkins and Jed Cartwright joining the 17 and England international Kai Pearce-Paul starting on an edge.

The Cows have won eight of their past 11 against the Knights including seven-straight in Townsville.

AAMI Park hosts Storm-Warriors battle

The Warriors will look to bounce back from a defeat in their season opener when they take on the Storm at AAMI Park on Saturday night.

Cameron Munster (groin) and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (hamstring) are still out for the hosts who have named the same 17 that beat the Panthers last week.

The Warriors also remain unchanged with Wayde Egan (elbow) and Kurt Capewell (ribs) both named despite picking up injury complaints in Round 1.

The Storm have won a remarkable 15 in a row against the Warriors who have not beaten Craig Bellamy’s men since mid-2015.

Eagles, Chooks face at 4 Pines on Sunday

The two remaining sides who travelled stateside – the Sea Eagles and the Roosters – meet each other on the Northern Beaches on Sunday afternoon.

Jason Saab (hamstring) is out for Manly with Tommy Talau coming onto the wing in a side that is otherwise unchanged.

Offseason addition Dom Young makes his Roosters debut on the wing in place of Junior Pauga whilst veteran Jared Waerea-Hargreaves comes into the run-on side in place of Spencer Leniu (suspension).

Sitili Tupouniua has been named to start despite picking up a groin issue in Las Vegas.

Despite winning three of their past four at 4 Pines Park, the Roosters have won just 16 of their 60 clashes at the venue over the years.

Dragons journey to Redcliffe for Dolphins meeting

The Dolphins will look to bounce back from a Round 1 loss when they take on the Dragons at Kayo Stadium in the final clash of the weekend on Sunday night.

For the hosts, Isaiya Katoa and Jake Averillo come into the run-on side in place of Sean O’Sullivan and Tesi Niu whilst Connelly Lemuelu (knee) and Ray Stone (head knock) have been ruled out.

Former-Dragon Euan Aitken starts in the second row with Jarrod Wallace coming onto the bench and Max Plath lining up at No.13.

For the Dragons, Luciano Leilua comes onto the bench whilst Blake Lawrie (ribs) returns into the front row.

Jack de Belin starts at lock with Tom Eisenhuth shifting back to an edge and Raymond Faitala-Mariner reverting to the interchange with Viliami Fifita and Ben Murdoch-Masila named among the reserves.

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