#KiwiNRL Encyclopedia: Finals Round Three + Women's NRL Round Three
Storm vs Sharks
Storm
Starting: Jesse Bromwich.
Bench/Extended Bench: Kenny Bromwich, Nelson Asofa-Solomona/Brandon Smith, Sam Kasiano, Jahrome Hughes.
Sharks
Starting: Sosaia Feki.
Bench/Extended Bench: /Ava Seumanufagai.
Doc's Word
There have been a bunch of NRL teams, or coaches who have made a habit of switching up their team at the last minute and Storm coach Craig Bellamy is the leader of that pack. This gives me hope that we could see Brandon Smith and Jahrome Hughes, perhaps even Sam Kasiano after all three were named on the Storm's extended bench.
1,084 Likes, 22 Comments - Jahrome Hughes (@jahromehughes) on Instagram: "Turn a L into a lesson #learn ! Also shout out to all the special women in my life, love..."
While it's a bummer that they haven't been named in the top-17, carrying a bit more size in the four bench forwards instead of including Smith and rolling with Brodie Croft ahead of Hughes are decisions that make sense. Keep your fingers crossed though that Bellamy serves up some last minute shenanigans and also watch out for Kasiano sneaking on to the bench as his size/skill combo could be dangerous against Cronulla.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona has been named on the bench, which is great as it signals his return from injury. He's played 22 games this season and started in 21 of those games, with his only game where he came off the bench being the round 23 game vs Parramatta Eels before Asofa-Solomona got injured. Prior to round 23, Asofa-Solomona had eight games in a row where he played 40+ minutes and even though the Wellingtonian has established himself as a middle forward capable of decent minutes, I'm intrigued to see how Bellamy uses Asofa-Solomona in this game.
If Kasiano has a skillset to offer some funk against a rugged Sharks pack, it's twice as funky with Asofa-Solomona and Bellamy could opt to roll Asofa-Solomona out for 20-25mins as a lethal impact player. Condense his workload and rely more on his x-factor to shake things up.
Sosaia Feki has been named to start on the wing, but Josh Dugan is lurking on the extended bench. Feki has been great since coming back from his mid-season slump and should hold his spot, someone else can make way for Dugan.
Roosters vs Rabbitohs
Roosters
Starting: Joseph Manu, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Isaac Liu.
Bench/Extended Bench: Zane Tetevano/Sitili Tupouniua.
Rabbitohs
Starting: Haters.
Bench/Extended Bench: Haters.
Doc's Word
There will be a lot of focus on the lads in the middle and I reckon this is the perfect stage of Sio Siua Taukeiaho to dominate with his mobility and footwork against the Burgess bros. The low key focus and #KiwiNRL intrigue sits with Isaac Liu and Joseph Manu, who will form the Roosters right edge along with Cooper Cronk and Blake Ferguson.
Having Liu and Manu together is cool in itself as they are both on the rise, settling into life as an above-average NRL player. This week, in what is effectively a semi-final they will come up against the most potent attacking edge in the competition and their effectiveness of Liu/Manu in defence, as well as attack could decide the outcome. Liu will line up against John Sutton and Manu, lol, well, the kid from Tokoroa is going to be up against Greg Inglis.
1,725 Likes, 23 Comments - @josephmanu_ on Instagram: "My squad! 886 #H18"
Those individual battles are juicy and what happens here could put Manu front and centre as one of the best #KiwiNRL prospects and best young centres in the league. We know that Liu is a super solid forward and even after moving from the middle to the edge, nothing has changed in how I view Liu and his importance to the Roosters. How the whole right edge deals with the Rabbitohs attacking raids, will be of greater importance than the individual battles though.
Liu and Cronk will need to suss out the work of Cody Walker and Sutton as it'll be Cronk getting targeted by Walker; in terms of Walker's skill and also the lines Sutton will run. Depending what happens on the inside, Manu will either be in a good position to deal with Inglis or he will be scrambling to cover Inglis and if Inglis gets any wiggle room, slightly on Manu's outside shoulder, that's all that Inglis needs. The Roosters are a fantastic defensive team and they'll know all about the Rabbitohs left edge, making this an enticing match up featuring some low key awesome #KiwiNRL players.
#KiwiNRL Wahine
Broncos vs Warriors
Broncos
Starting: Karley Te Kawa, Kimiora Nati, Teuila Fotu-Moala, Maitua Feterika, Rona Peters.
Bench/Extended Bench: Ngatokotoru Arakua/Lilieta Maumau.
451 Likes, 8 Comments - Teuila Fotu-Moala (@uilafotumoala) on Instagram: "GIRLS ARE ON 🤙🏾 🔥 Fully hectic braaaaahs. @wrugbyleague @brisbanebroncos @natstorage..."
Warriors
Starting: All the ladies.
Bench/Extended Bench: All the ladies.
Doc's Word
I'll go into depth about the Warriors side of things over the next few days, so keep an eye out for that.
For the Broncos, there are no changes to the #KiwiNRL crew as Karley Te Kawa holds on to her starting wing spot. Kimiora Nati, Teuila Fotu-Moala and Ngatokotoru were all named in the Team of the Week and the combination of Nati, Fotu-Moala and Te Kawa on the right edge for the Broncos is mandatory viewing for #KiwiNRL fans, especially the work of Nati in giving Fotu-Moala the footy she needs.
Roosters vs Dragons
Roosters
Starting: Nita Maynard.
Bench/Extended Bench: Haters.
Dragons
Starting: Honey Hireme, Raecene McGregor.
Bench/Extended Bench: Teina Clark.
Doc's Word
Nita Maynard earns the starting hooker gig after coming off the bench for the first two games with the Roosters and the size of their forward pack should present Maynard with plenty of scootin' opportunities.
Honey Hireme is back at centre after playing fullback last week, although it doesn't really matter where Hireme plays as she dominates regardless. Hireme earned Team of the Week selection for the second week in a row, selected at centre after the first game and then with a late shift to fullback in the win over the Warriors, Hireme won TotW selection at fullback.
Hit an ad to support the #KiwiNRL Encyclopedia.
Or jump on Patreon and support the Niche Cache directly, we drop bonus stuff for the Patrons and take care of the homies.
Peace and love 27.