North Queensland coach Graham Henry has recalled Test and Origin prop James Tamou to his starting pack for Sunday night’s NRL clash with Cronulla at 1300SMILES Stadium.
Tamou’s inclusion comes after serving a two-match suspension for drink driving and is the only change to the Cowboys’ starting team that downed St George Illawarra a fortnight ago.
The second game of his suspension will be served when he sits out Wednesday night’s State of Origin match in Brisbane.
The Sharks welcome fullback Michael Gordon back into the team after missing his side’s victory over the Eels with a calf problem, while coach Shane Flanagan named an extended bench to cover for Origin trio Paul Gallen, Andrew Fifita and Luke Lewis.
The Sydney Roosters are aiming to host an unchanged Manly outfit on Monday night with their three star Blues backs Mitchell Pearce, James Maloney and Michael Jennings.
They’ll also be buoyed by the return of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who moves straight back to prop after completing a five match ban for his high shot against Sea Eagles forward George Rose in round nine.
Newcastle hooker Danny Buderus has overcome a troubling back injury and has been named to start against the Gold Coast on Sunday, while Zane Tetevano and Neville Costigan have been promoted to the bench by coach Wayne Bennett after showing strong form in the NSW Cup.
Titans Coach John Cartwright has named a 20-man squad for the away clash, with the availability of State of Origin forwards Greg Bird and Nate Myles to be determined later in the week.
Wests Tigers fullback James Tedesco looks to have recovered from a leg injury that ruled him out of his side’s upset win over the Raiders and is expected to line up against Melbourne this Saturday, while NSW Origin representatives Aaron Woods and Robbie Farah have also been named.
The Storm are hoping to have their Origin quartet of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Cameron Smith and Ryan Hoffman for the clash following Monday night’s 18-12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans.
South Sydney are likewise expecting their four Origin stars to return for Friday night’s home clash with Canberra, yet they’ve provisionally named an eight-man interchange as insurance due to the two day turnaround.
Raiders prop David Shillington will move back into the starting team for the battle upfront after Brett White was ruled out for 2-3 weeks with a fracture to his eye-socket, with Sam Mataora to make his NRL debut off the bench.
Young Maroons enforcer Josh Papalii has also been named to start.
Injured Penrith duo Josh Mansour (fractured eye socket) and Sika Manu (broken thumb) will miss Saturday night’s home clash with an unchanged Dragons outfit and will be replaced by Brad Tighe and Matt Robinson respectively, while James Roberts claims the wing spot from Travis Robinson.
