Late Mail Round 7: Club Stars Set To Return


<p>Round 6 was actually looking reasonably straight-forward until about the halfway mark. </p>



<p>Sure there were late changes, some impactful ones, but it was ticking away at about a rate of one change for every 1-17. </p>



<p>All was right with the world.</p>



<p>Then we stumbled into a new season of (Ethan) Stranger Things. But I&#8217;m going to leave that debacle in the past and focus on round 7.</p>



<p>As usual, all the updates across the round will come via <a href="https://twitter.com/scplaybook1" data-type="link" data-id="https://twitter.com/scplaybook1">@scplaybook1</a> on X/Twitter and Instagram, as well as myself <a href="https://twitter.com/AStilesAuthor" data-type="link" data-id="https://twitter.com/AStilesAuthor">@AStilesAuthor </a>(X/Twitter only).</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>ROOSTERS</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Sam Walker</strong>&nbsp;was named on the extended bench in a bid to return from his concussion, but he failed to pass protocols so will be held out for another week.&nbsp;</p>



<p>In positive news,&nbsp;<strong>James Tedesco</strong>&nbsp;should return from his own concussion.</p>



<p>24 hour cuts: McCathie, Ioelu, Walker</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>STORM</strong></h3>



<p>No late changes expected for the Storm. Should be&nbsp;<strong>1-17</strong>.</p>



<p>24 hour cuts: Bradley, Pezet, Lewis</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>DRAGONS</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Raymond Faitala-Mariner</strong> has been named to start: THIS IS NOT A DRILL! </p>



<p>This could be the first week in a while that his name doesn&#8217;t feature in my game day post with <strong>Luciano Leilua</strong> missing.</p>



<p>Other shuffles in the forwards are always possible for the Dragons, but for now I will assume they run out as is.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>WARRIORS</strong></h3>



<p>The Warriors actually ran out as named last round after multiple weeks of mass game day changes, which gives me hope for another&nbsp;<strong>1-17</strong>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>EELS</strong></h3>



<p>Death. Taxes.&nbsp;<strong>Junior Paulo</strong>&nbsp;to the bench with&nbsp;<strong>Joe Ofahengaue</strong>&nbsp;starting. Currently paying Winx odds to happen again.</p>



<p>Although not a weekly occurrence, Coach Arthur has shown his hand at moving other forwards around on game day so while nothing stands out on paper, and ignoring the above prop swap as a given, it never surprises to see some shuffles on game day.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>DOLPHINS</strong></h3>



<p>Part of me hopes to see <strong>Valynce Te Whare </strong>somehow find his way from the extended bench into the 17, but the Phins are named according to their outs and often refrain from game day changes that aren&#8217;t injury-forced.&#8217;</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>PANTHERS</strong></h3>



<p>There was speculation that <strong>Taylan May</strong> wouldn&#8217;t be named due to a certain social media post, it seems he&#8217;ll be there for now after getting the nod on TLT. </p>



<p>Fresh off a bye I&#8217;m expecting <strong>1-17 </strong>with <strong>Jarome Luai</strong> and <strong>Scott Sorensen</strong> ready to go after their respective knee injuries.</p>



<p>Not relevant for the present, but&nbsp;<strong>James Fisher-Harris</strong>&nbsp;has been granted a release to join the Warriors at the end of the season.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>TIGERS</strong></h3>



<p><strong>John Bateman</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Samuela Fainu</strong>&nbsp;should both be fine to return from their respective concussions, and&nbsp;<strong>Latu Fainu</strong>&nbsp;from a hamstring injury, so I&#8217;m not expecting any changes for the Tigers.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>TITANS</strong></h3>



<p><strong>David Fifita</strong> was a late benching last round and while logic dictates that shouldn&#8217;t happen again, I&#8217;d be on the lookout. </p>



<p>No other major shuffles expected after being named largely according to last week&#8217;s late changes.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>SEA EAGLES</strong></h3>



<p>The cavalry returns for Manly in the form of <strong>Jason Saab, Reuben Garrick, Matt Lodge</strong> and <strong>Nathan Brown</strong> from their respective injuries. </p>



<p>Barring any setbacks, all are expected to play at this stage so<strong> 1-17</strong> could be on.</p>



<p><strong>Lachlan Croker</strong>&nbsp;is listed with a shoulder injury but should also play.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>BRONCOS</strong></h3>



<p>The Broncos are another side that is largely picking and sticking to their TLT selections, so another <strong>1-17</strong> wouldn&#8217;t surprise. </p>



<p>I will say however that the bench makeup is slightly odd so a minor shuffle there makes sense.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>RAIDERS</strong></h3>



<p>With <strong>Albert Hopoate</strong> nowhere to be seen, and presently no rumours surrounding <strong>Ethan Strange</strong>, the Raiders could run out <strong>1-17</strong> again.</p>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>BULLDOGS</strong></h3>



<p>It seemed like there were as many late swaps after kick-off as there were an hour out last week for the Bulldogs, and they are becoming known for bulk changes and testing my X character limits.&nbsp;</p>



<p>I can see key names on the extended bench including&nbsp;<strong>Max King</strong>&nbsp;&#8211; who was a late out last week &#8211;&nbsp;<strong>Liam Knight</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Jake Turpin</strong>, none of whom would shock to come into the 17 somewhere.</p>



<p>I&#8217;m also far from convinced that&nbsp;<strong>Josh Curran</strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Sam Hughes</strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Jaemon Salmon</strong>&nbsp;remain where they were named, based on recent weeks.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>Blake Taaffe&nbsp;</strong>is set to return from his head knock.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>KNIGHTS</strong></h3>



<p><strong>Kalyn Ponga</strong>&nbsp;was hampered for most of the last round with a hip injury and while he&#8217;s expected to play, he is doubtful to kick goals and owners will hope he doesn&#8217;t aggravate it.</p>



<p>Those looking to bring in <strong>Greg Marzhew</strong> in the coming weeks were disappointed to see him return &#8211; and then be named this round &#8211; on the right wing, however we may be in for a treat with the big man looking set to switch back to the left where he does a huge amount of damage. </p>



<p>He comes surging back into calculations.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>SHARKS</strong></h3>



<p>Things look reasonably straightforward for the Sharks this week, could be another <strong>1-17</strong>. </p>



<p>Next week could be a different beast however with <strong>Dale Finucane</strong> and <strong>Royce Hunt </strong>on the horizon.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size"><strong>COWBOYS</strong></h3>



<p>Another side named according to injuries, I&#8217;m not expecting any significant changes to the side come game day.</p>



<p><strong>Jack Gosiewski&nbsp;</strong>looks like he will be off to the Broncos in the coming rounds.</p>


Late Mail Round 7: Club Stars Set To Return

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