Broncos vs Cowboys

Broncos

Jesse Arthars, Issac Luke, Jordan Riki, Alex Glenn.

Cowboys

Jason Taumalolo

Doc's Word

Jordan Riki is named to start in David Fifita's edge forward spot and this provides a glimpse at how 2021 may look for Riki with the Broncos. Riki's game time progressed steadily over the course of four games this season, starting with 25 minutes in his debut, then 29mins, 32mins and 48mins - all of which were losses. With Fifita departing next season, there will be a vacant edge forward spot and given Riki's pedigree, I reckon the Broncos aren't too mad having Riki right there to fill the hole.

Titans vs Knights

Titans

Kevin Proctor, Sam Lisone, Darius Farmer.

Knights

Mason Lino, Herman Ese'ese, Starford To'a, Jirah Momoisea.

Doc's Word

I pondered Mason Lino's future prematurely last week as he slid into the Knights starting team and as the Knights dismantled the Dragons rather easily, Lino registered a try assist. Lino had just 30 touches vs Mitchell Pearce's 75 touches and yet Lino had 6 kicks to Pearce's 10, which offers some clarity around Lino's role as Pearce runs the team and conducts much of the play-making with Kalyn Ponga as Lino handles the basic duties.

No Starford To'a for the Knights in their starting outfit and as Edrick Lee and Hymel Hunt could make a case for the Knights starting wing duo, I'm eager to see if To'a will get much game time in the final. To'a played seven games in a row, scoring 4 tries with 4 linebreaks and 14 tackle busts; he deserves a Finals spot.

Two low key Kiwi-NRL debut contenders named in the extended bench with Darius Farmer and Jirah Momoisea lurking for the Titans and Knights respectively. The Titans are playing their final game of the season, so Farmer probably won't crack that debut, while there is still a chance for Momoisea if the stars align. Both are from Auckland and are edge forwards who could do a job in the middle.

Rabbitohs vs Roosters

Rabbitohs

Jaxson Paulo.

Roosters

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Siosiua Taukeiho, Sitili Tupouniua, Poasa Fa'amausili, Sonny Bill Williams.

Doc's Word

Joseph Manu's two games at fullback this season...

Round 11 vs Dragons: 26 runs for 310m @ 11.92m/run, 1 linebreak, 1 try assist, 6 tackle breaks, 1 offload, 1 kick.

Round 19 vs Sharks: 1 try, 19 runs for 170m @ 8.94m/run, 1 linebreak, 1 linebreak assist, 1 try assist, 9 tackle breaks.

Sonny Bill Williams has 6 offloads in three games, while also grabbing 100+ running metres in his last two games. One aspect of Williams' game that I'm keeping a close eye on is his passing, which when combined with his offloading results in plenty of ball movement in the middle of the park where Williams plays coming off the bench. As long as Williams is doing his job in earning quick play-the-balls, then his passing enters the equation and last round's game vs Sharks was a fair example of the ball movement on offer; Williams had 12 passes and a pass-to-run-ratio of 0.92.

Compare that to 5 passes and a PTR ratio of 0.71 in his first game vs Raiders, then 6 passes and 0.5 PTR ratio vs Knights. In all three games, that PTR ratio is 0.5 or more and that means that Williams passes roughly half the times he runs - which is pretty damn high for a middle forward. In conjunction with all the skill in the Roosters team, Williams isn't just making an impact with his mobility and offloading; he's added a shifting skillset to the Roosters.

Bulldogs vs Panthers

Bulldogs

Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Reimis Smith, Jeremy Marshall-King, Raymond Faitala-Mariner, Renouf To'omaga, Sione Katoa.

Panthers

Jarome Luai, James Fisher-Harris, Moses Leota, Zane Tetevano, Dean Whare.

Doc's Word

Quick appreciation for the Bulldogs Kiwi-NRL forwards who have settled into a consistent groove of NRL footy even though the Bulldogs have been fairly meh.

Ofahiki Ogden (Mangere East - not named this week): 11 games, off the bench first six, started next five games.

Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Otahuhu): 19 games, 1st three games off the bench, next game starting middle, then 15 games starting on an edge playing 80mins in all but one of those 15 games.

Renouf To'omaga (Porirua): 15 games, 13 off the bench, two games starting, 20+ minutes in all but two games.

Sharks vs Raiders

Sharks

Mawene Hiroti, Braden Hamlin-Uele, Briton Nikora, Siosifa Talakai.

Raiders

Matthew Timoko, Iosia Soliola, Corey Harawira-Naera, Siliva Havili, Joseph Tapine.

Doc's Word

We could be graced with a funky Kiwi-NRL centre battle here as Mawene Hiroti is named at centre for the Sharks and Matthew Timoko gets another chance at centre as the Raiders rotate their squad. Hiroti made an appearance on the wing earlier this year where he scored a try after leaving Rabbitohs for Sharks over the summer and Timoko is back after a brief stint at centre in his debut outing.

Keep an eye on Corey Harawira-Naera as he is named on an edge in this game and Raiders coach Ricky Stuart reckons Harawira-Naera will be the bloke to replace John Bateman on the Raiders right edge next season. With regards to Jordan Riki, the Broncos coaching situation may change his usage for the next season but right now it looks as though we will see Riki and Harawira-Naera take up edge forward duties next season. If that's the case, here's the Aotearoa Kiwis edge forward group...

Kenny Bromwich, Briton Nikora, Corey Harawira-Naera, Raymond Faitala-Mariner (Samoa), Jordan Riki, Eliesa Katoa (Tonga), Siosifa Talakai (Tonga), Sitili Tupouniua (Tonga).

Tigers vs Eels

Tigers

Asu Kepaoa, Benji Marshall, Zane Musgrove, Elijah Taylor, Michael Chee-Kam.

Eels

Haze Dunster, Brad Takairangi.

Doc's Word

Everyone's talking about Parramatta Eels struggling as the come into the Finals, no one's talking about the absence of Dylan Brown and Marata Niukore though. I've outlined the loss of Brown in depth over the last few weeks so now I'll chuck up Niukore as he hasn't played since round 17 vs Warriors when he only played 16mins after suffering an injury. Niukore was deep into his best season since making his debut back in 2018 and after averaging 72m in his first season, then 87m per game last season, Niukore bumped up to 113m.

Of his 16 games played this season, Niukore had 50+ post contact metres in eight games and missed just 13 tackles across the whole season. That gives Niukore 93.9 percent tackling efficiency to go with the power and mobility he routinely showed this season; Niukore is part of the Eels top-17 and should be a mandatory selection if healthy in the Finals.

Warriors vs Sea Eagles

Warriors

All but Adam Keighran, Lachlan Burr, Karl Lawton, Wayde Egan, Jack Murchie, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Josh Curran.

Sea Eagles

Morgan Harper, Danny Levi, Taniela Paseka, Martin Taupau, Toafofoa Sipley.

Doc's Word

With Roger Tuivasa-Sheck out injured, the Warriors will roll out an almost-all-maori backline with Adam Keighran the bloke to spoil the funk. Peta Hiku (Gisbourne) is at fullback, Adam Pompey (Counties Manukau) and Patrick Herbert (Whakatane) are on the wings, Hayze Perham (Rotorua) starts at centre with Kodi Nikorima (Christchurch/Manawatu) and Chanel Harris-Tavita (Auckland) in the halves.

Danny Levi's in a wee predicament as the Sea Eagles have re-signed Manase Fainu despite Fainu battling an off-field situation that will see him unable to play until mid-way through next year at least. The Sea Eagles don't appear as though they will over Levi a new deal and the former Junior Kiwis hooker will be eager to put his best foot forward in this last game.

Dragons vs Storm

Dragons

Jordan Pereira.

Storm

Brandon Smith, Albert Vete, Judda Turahui.

Doc's Word

Melbourne Storm unleash their second-tier in this game with most of their top-17 rotated out, meaning that Brandon Smith gets a chance to start at hooker. This whole situation still fascinates me as all the Australian chat is about Cameron Smith and Harry Grant, while I've got my Kiwi-NRL goggles on and Brandon Smith is still the best Aotearoa Kiwis hooker by quite some margin. A rare chance to start at hooker could remind folks of what makes Brandon so good, plus there is a teeny-weeny chance that Taranaki's Judda Turahui could make his debut as he is named on the Storm's extended bench.

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Peace and love.