Debutants, injuries and suspensions dominate the 16 teams named for Round 2 of the 2015 NRL Telstra Premiership, with the fractured arm of Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds proving to be the biggest headline.
Already suspended for two weeks after being charged for a dangerous throw on Penrith fullback Matt Moylan, Reynolds has been replaced by Moses Mbye in an otherwise unchanged Canterbury team.
The Bulldogs' opponents on Friday night, Parramatta, have their own suspension dramas to deal with in the form of Junior Paulo – who may miss up to nine games after choosing to fight the grading of his dangerous throw on Manly hooker Matt Ballin. Despite being named by Brad Arthur, Paulo will miss at least the next month with Danny Wicks and Pauli Pauli in the running for the vacant spot on the bench.
The other big change in the team list landscape for Round 2 is the demotion of Sam Thaiday from the Broncos starting 13 to the bench. Matt Gillett will start in his place while James Gavet, Mitchell Dodds and Andrew Whitchurch have all been replaced on Wayne Bennett's interchange by Jarrod Wallace and NRL debutants Jo Ofahengaue and Kodi Nikorima. Their opponents Cronulla are unchanged.
Traveling to Bathurst this week, the Panthers have made no changes to the side which beat the Bulldogs last weekend while Titans coach Neil Henry has switched Lachlan Burr and former Panther Matt Robinson between starting and the bench to take on the might of the mountain men.
Steve Matai is set to return for the Sea Eagles against Melbourne in place of Clinton Gutherson who is out due to a season-ending ACL injury. Kieran Foran (hamstring) and James Hasson (suspended) have also been swapped with Jack Littlejohn and Ligi Sao respectively. Melbourne are unchanged.
Kelepi Tanginoa and Kurt Gidley are the only new faces included in their respective teams for the Cowboys' clash against Newcastle on Saturday night. Tanginoa replaces Glenn Hall on the bench while Gidley's inclusion at fullback sees Sione Mata'utia drop back to 18th man. Lachlan Coote may be a late inclusion after being named on North Queensland's extended bench.
Chris Lawrence will rack up his first appearance of 2015, replacing 18th man Kyle Lovett in the centres while Josh Dugan has been named to play despite looking to have suffered a syndesmosis injury on Monday night.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs, Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders are all unchanged as well. The Green Machine will have to be wary of the returning Sam Tomkins though when he replaces Konrad Hurrell, with Tuimoala Lolohea moving to the centres along with Solomone Kata and Ben Henry shifting back to the bench. Jonathan Wright will also make his Warriors debut on the wing.
How will this impact your NRL Fantasy side? Make your selections for Round 2.
