#KiwiNRL Encyclopedia: Round 17
Gotta get in where you fit in.
Eels vs Bulldogs
The 13
Eels: Brad Takairangi, Manu Ma'u, Kenny Edwards.
Bulldogs: Chase Stanley, Sam Kasiano.
Bench
Eels: Suaia Matagi, Marata Niukore.
Bulldogs: Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Francis Tualau.
Doc's Word
Kenny Edwards slides into a starting spot, giving Parramatta a #KiwiNRL edge forward duo of Edwards and Manu Ma'u. Edwards offers all sorts of footwork on the right, but it's Ma'u and his combination with Michael Jennings that perks my antenna up the most. The way Ma'u runs the footy which tends to fall in the 'hard and fast' bucket, opens up more space for Jennings and Ma'u has a constant offloading threat. With such weapons around him, Ma'u is great at doing his job for those weapons but if you slide off Ma'u just a tad too much, he'll make you pay.
Titans vs Dragons
The 13
Titans: Konrad Hurrell, Kevin Proctor.
Dragons: Jason Nightingale, Russell Packer, Leeson Ah Mau.
Bench
Titans: Agnatius Paasi, Paterkia Vaivai, Nathaniel Peteru.
Dragons: Taane Milne.
Doc's Word
With Paul Vaughan out injured for the next few weeks, Leeson Ah Mau gets a starting spot and I'm intrigued by what Ah Mau offers alongside Russell Packer. Ah Mau isn't as athletic as Vaughan, although he does have nifty footwork and this should enable him to get between defenders, on his belly and earn quick play-the-balls.
Guess what? Konrad Hurrell was his usual self last week; 19 carries, 165m, 5 tackle busts, 2 offloads, 2 line breaks.
Broncos vs Storm
The 13
Broncos: Jordan Kahu, Benji Marshall, Kodi Nikorima, Adam Blair.
Storm: Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris.
Bench
Broncos: Alex Glenn, Herman Ese'ese.
Storm: Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Kenny Bromwich.
Doc's Word
Another week with the cuzzies Benji Marshall and Kodi Nikorima in the halves for Brisbane, although Ben Hunt is lurking on the bench once again. Nikorima only played 33 minutes last week before making way for Hunt and Hunt was sublime in conjunction with Marshall, so expect a similar rotation from Wayne Bennett this week. I'm not sure why Bennett goes down such a weird route instead of resorting back to playing Nikorima off the bench, perhaps there's a long-term gain in play here as Nikorima needs to get halfback minutes to his name with Hunt leaving next season.
Melbourne welcome back their big-three, meaning that Brandon Smith and Jahrome Hughes are pushed out of the squad. Hughes snuck in to start at fullback last week and was impressive, putting up Cameron Munster-like numbers (17 carries, 168m, 8 tackle busts, 1 offload, 3 line breaks) which was low key sensational as Hughes has crept under the radar since moving down from the Cowboys with Smith. He'll have to wait for another crack, maybe around game three of Origin, he definitely took his opportunity though.
Keep a very close eye on Kenny Bromwich. Having played an integral ball-playing role with the big-three out, Bromwich will resume normal service where there's more of a focus on running direct with a splash of footwork. That doesn't mean he'll tuck the ball under his wing though and expect him to pose a threat with his short passing game at the defensive line.
Roosters vs Sharks
The 13
Roosters: Joseph Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Sharks: Sosaia Feki, Gerard Beale, Fa'amanu Brown.
Bench
Roosters: Isaac Liu.
Sharks: Sam Tagataese.
Doc's Word
Cronulla have solved their dummy half crisis by slotting Fa'amanu Brown in at hooker. They let Manaia Cherrington leave to join the Warriors as they had Jayden Brailey and James Segeyaro ahead of Cherrington, now with those two injured and Cherrington in Aotearoa, Cronulla will move Brown from the halves to hooker. This is well within Brown's capabilities and he's played a hooker/lock role before, so he'll be able to handle the defensive work and he's got a left-footed kicking game which will be handy out of dummy half.
Keep in mind that Brown will join the Bulldogs next season and the Doggies are well stocked for halves (Moses Mbye, Kieran Foran, Matt Frawley), so Brown is likely to find himself in a similar situation. Brown could set himself up nicely for the Bulldogs move if he shines at hooker and if he earns a mid-term stint at hooker for Cronulla through a strong performance this week, he's gonna be a very handy, versatile option.
Always watch Joseph Manu, this kid is a fantastic young centre who could push for a World Cup spot. Manu had 14 carries for 132m last week, while Latrell Mitchell only had 12 carries for 70m on the other flank and Manu is likely to line up against Jack Bird this week which will be funky.
Manly Sea Eagles vs Warriors
The 13
Sea Eagles: Mathew Wright, Martin Taupau, Lewis Brown.
Warriors: All but Blake Ayshford, Jacob Lillyman, Ryan Hoffman.
Bench
Sea Eagles: Addin Fonua-Blake.
Warriors: All the boys.
Doc's Word
Lewis Brown proves himself to be Mr Fix-It once again for Manly and he'll start on the edge for the Sea Eagles against his former club. After mainly featuring in a bench utility role, Brown has given Manly great service in filling holes whether at hooker or centre and with Curtis Sironen out for a while, Brown could get a decent crack at an edge forward spot for the rest of the season.
Raiders vs Cowboys
The 13
Raiders: Jordan Rapana, Iosia Soliola.
Cowboys: Antonio Winterstein, Te Maire Martin, Jason Taumalolo.
Bench
Raiders: Joseph Tapine.
Cowboys: Kalyn Ponga, Braden Uele.
Doc's Word
Time for Te Maire Martin to start his career as a Cowboy. Martin has been named to start alongside Michael Morgan in the halves with Martin leap-frogging Kyle Laybutt. This gives us a fantastic insight into life after Jonathan Thurston and I'm excited to see how Morgan and Martin work together, especially as Morgan usually runs the right edge as Martin did for the Panthers. I suspect we will see Martin stay on the right as the Cowboys have the luxury of Lachlan Coote at fullback and he's the boss on the left, leaving Morgan to play the Thurston role and play first-receiver on either side of the ruck.
Martin is likely to work with Ethan Lowe as his edge forward and Justin O'Neill as his centre, Kyle Feldt plays right wing as well. Up to this point Martin has shown a nifty running game and nice distribution skills, the Cowboys mainly need his running threat, especially if he's taking Morgan's job on the right. The key man for Martin is Coote as the fullback chimes with his left boot frequently, this will take pressure off Martin and expect Coote to kick far more often than Martin.
Guess what? Jason Taumalolo had 21 carries for 215m in 59 minutes last week, with 8 tackle busts.
Knights vs Tigers
The 13
Knights: Danny Levi.
Tigers: Esan Marsters, Tuimoala Lolohea, Ava Seumanufagai, Elijah Taylor.
Bench
Knights: Sam Mataora.
Tigers: Michael Chee-Kam, Matt McIlwrick, Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.
Doc's Word
Matt McIlwrick has given up his starting spot to Jacob Liddle after McIlwrick had started most games, playing 30-odd minutes and then swapping out with Liddle. Tigers coach Ivan Cleary has kinda shown his hand as McIlwrick only played 14 minutes off the bench last week and it's hard not to be a bit bummed for McIlwrick, even if he did just sign on for two more years.
I can however see room for McIlwrick to get back to playing bigger minutes as he's a better defender than Liddle, which won't be as crucial against Newcastle but when the Tigers face a hefty forward pack, then McIlwrick should benefit.
Rabbitohs vs Panthers
The 13
Rabbitohs: Bryson Goodwin.
Panthers: Dean Whare, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Corey Harawira-Naera.
Bench
Rabbitohs: Zane Musgrove.
Panthers: Sione Katoa, Sitaleki Akauola.
Doc's Word
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is getting back to his best and this not only involves him steaming into the defensive line with his carries, but doing that over 20 times a game. Watene-Zelezniak had 21 carries for 183m last week and along with Josh Mansour's hefty workload on the other flank, this gives the Panthers a dynamic dose of go-forward. No Penrith forward had over 90 run-metres against the Cowboys and Watene-Zelezniak is a key contributor in getting them down-field.
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