Jahream Bula and the Wests Tigers host Clint Gutherson and the St. George Illawarra Dragons in a blockbuster Magic Round clash at Suncorp Stadium.
Tigers center Starford To’a may miss as many as two games after sustaining a neck injury in their golden point win over the Sharks on Sunday at Leichhardt Oval.
But in a promising sign, coach Benji Marshall said the 24-year-old may only be absent from their Magic Round game against the Dragons on Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium.
Charlie Staines will come into the team on the wing and will play his first NRL game this season, with Brent Naden shifting from the wing into the centers.
“It’s not serious. Just had a scan off the back of last week’s game, and the specialist said he probably needs one to two weeks,” Marshall said in his press conference on Friday.
“Hopefully one, but whatever is necessary to get him right, we’ll do.
“That was a bit of a late curveball for us, but Charlie Staines comes into the fold there, playing on the wing, so it’s a good experience for him coming in.”
Staines has just recovered from a hamstring injury after starting the season with the Wests Magpies in the NSW Cup.
Shane Flanagan has swung the axe on halfback Lachlan Ilias as exciting young talent Lyhkan King-Togia comes in for his fifth NRL game. It will be the 19-year-old’s first start in the No. 7 jersey, with the development contract rookie having played five-eighth in his only other NRL start.
King-Togia was off contract but signed a two-year extension on Tuesday that will move him into the top 30 side next season and keep him at the club until 2027. “He got a taste of first grade at the end of last year and has been playing good footy to start this season for our NSW Cup team,” Flangan said. “He’s an exciting young half on the up, and we’re looking forward to watching him continue to improve over the coming seasons.” Ilias has struggled for most of the season, with the former Rabbitohs halfback failing to deliver when the game was on the line in several tight losses.
Flanagan’s men had been in every game this season before they were thumped by the Roosters on Anzac Day, and Ilias is one of several casualties. Young winger Sione Finau has also been dropped as Corey Allan makes his long-awaited club debut. Allan will play his first NRL game since 2023 as he returns from a lengthy layoff after rupturing his ACL last January.
Before this season, Blake Lawrie hadn’t been dropped to NSW Cup since 2018, but now it’s happened twice in a month. The veteran front-rower makes way for lock Hamish Stewart (concussion), who returns to the starting side as Jack de Belin shifts to the bench.
TEAMS
Tigers team: 1. Jahream Bula 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Adam Doueihi 5. Brent Naden 23. Charlie Staines 6. Lachlan Galvin 7. Jarome Luai 8. Terrell May 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Fonua Pole 11. Samuela Fainu 12. Alex Seyfarth 13. Alex Twal 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Royce Hunt 16. Jack Bird 17. Sione Fainu 18. Tony Sukkar 19. Heath Mason
Dragons team: 1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Tyrell Sloan 3. Moses Suli 4. Valentine Holmes 5. Corey Allan 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Lyhkan King-Togia 8. Toby Couchman 9. Damien Cook 10. David Klemmer 11. Dylan Egan 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Hamish Stewart 14. Jacob Liddle 15. Jack de Belin 16. Emre Guler 17. Luciano Leilua 18. Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga 19. Nathan Lawson.
