Knights
Adam Elliot is the only change for the Knights, coming in for Brodie Jones on the bench. I would expect this to potentially mean slightly less minutes for the middle rotation, however this has minimal relevance. Crossland looks to be getting the lion share of the Hooker minutes, especially with rumours that Brailey is off to Canberra in 2026. Priced at $341,000, he comes into consideration for anyone looking for options at HOK.
Greg Marzhew & Fletcher Sharpe scored well in Round 1, with 83 & 82 points respectively.
Dolphins
Finefeuiaki (concussion) and Lemuelu (fractured eye socket) miss this lineup with Oryn Keeley starting in the back row. Mark Nicholls also joins the side on the bench, with Nikorima resuming duties in the #6 following last weeks cyclone disturbance. Max Plath looks a great prospect and should be a consideration for teams, especially after the changes in the Dolphins pack. Expect Jeremy Marshall-King to have a rest again with Donoghoe named on the bench still. Tom Gilbert looms as a buy in your 2RF due to his immense work rate, scoring 64 points in 56 minutes (with 58 coming in pure base)
Herbie Farnworth notched up a tidy 65, with a mammoth 63 coming in tackles, runs, offloads and tackle busts. If he can grab a few meat pies he is a serious CTW weapon and could replicate or even exceed his lofty 2024 numbers.
Warriors
The Warriors are unchanged after a poor showing in Vegas, with Webster sticking to the same 17. Te Maire Martin is in the reserves which could have Supercoach repercussions considering the poor performance on Luke Metcalf in Round 1. A situation to keep an eye on as it develops, though Metcalf did look good last season.
Sea Eagles
Taukeiaho looks to have a knee injury, so Aloiai comes in for him as the only change to Manly’s R1 side. Olakau’atu looked unstoppable and I would be looking to work him into your side if you did not start with him. Plenty of Supercoach relevance among this Manly side with Turbo, Saab, Garrick, Hopoate, Cherry-Evans also making strong cases for selection in your teams.
Panthers
Round 2 brings the return of fan favourite Brian To’o, with Luke Garner moving to the bench and Paul Alamoti moving into the centres. Popular option Casey McLean has been selected after failing his HIA 2 weeks ago in Vegas. Penrith’s forward pack is closing in on being full strength, so will be very interesting to see the rotations this week with both Garner & Papali’i on the bench.
Roosters
Radley is out due to concussion, with Wong moving to the edge and Foketi coming into the starting side in the #13. Makatoa comes onto the bench for his first game in Roosters colours.
Dragons
Blake Lawrie comes in for the injured Ryan Couchman, who will miss all of 2025 with an ACL injury. Liddle was very good so it will be interesting to see if he plays so few minutes again. Ilias was poor in his Dragons debut and will need to string some performances together to hold out King-Togia from coming into the side. Christian Tuipulotu has been named on the left wing again and went BANG for POD Hunters, so hopefully a few took the advice last week!
Rabbitohs
Fletcher Myers comes in for the suspended Jack Wighton at centre. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape will make his debut on the wing replacing the injured Tyrone Munro. Jamie Humphreys has retained the #7 jersey with Lewis Dodd being named amongst the reserves. Humphreys was good last week and I would consider picking him up in both Classic & Draft if it makes sense for your respective teams.
Cowboys
Jeremiah Nanai has been dropped to the reserves after a poor showing against Manly last week. While I wouldn’t expect this to be long term, I would now consider him a sell if you started the season with him. Kai O’Donnell replaces him in the starting side. Tom Duffy was underwhelming on debut so will be a nervous watch for owners as Jake Clifford has been named in the #18 jersey.
Sharks
The Sharks are unchanged from their Vegas line-up. With McInnes & Addin Fonua-Blake demanding big minutes, this could put an end to Tom Hazelton’s supercoach relevance. I just don’t see enough minutes to go around for their bench forwards.
Raiders
Albert Hopoate comes in for the suspended Xavier Savage. Savelio Tamale was very good on debut, passing the eye test with flying colours. It looks like it might be a straight shootout between Hopoate and Tamale to see who gets the wing spot from Round 3. If you don’t already own Tamale, I would give it another week to see how it unfolds. Josh Papali’i comes into the starting side and Morgan Smithies starts at lock. Much hyped Englishman Matty Nicholson comes onto the bench, who likely spells Hosking at some point.
Broncos
The Broncos were electric in Round 1, which sees Michael Maguire name an unchanged 17. Payne Haas was unbelievable and may force his way into Supercoach teams before price rises next week if he puts another strong performance in. Shibasaki & Gosiewski looked good, however both can wait a week to play it safe if you don’t already own them.
Eels
Samrani comes into the side to make his NRL debut, replacing Jake Tago. Kitione Kautoga comes onto the bench replacing Charlie Guymer. Shaun Lane is a welcome addition to a struggling Eels pack, coming into the starting side to replace Kelma Tuilagi.
Tigers
Api Koroisau returns from suspension, starting at Hooker. Jahream “The Dream” Bula has returned from a shoulder injury to replace Heath Mason at fullback. Terrell May looks set for big minutes again and should be a target for Supercoach teams. Koroisau looks unlikely to play 80 minutes with Tallyn Da Silva named on the bench. I would expect to see Adam Doueihi to retain goalkicking duties which reduces the Supercoach appeal of Koroisau. Starford To’a comes into the starting side.
Bulldogs
Josh Curran returns from suspension, being named on the bench. Kurt Mann is again named to start at lock but we could see a switch with Jaeman Salmon as we did last week. Kikau and Preston got 78 & 80 minutes last week respectively which was a little surprising considering their bench makeup. If this is to continue, I am very interested in Jacob Preston who scored very well in 80 minute games last season.
Titans
David Fifita has been benched for the first Titans lineup of 2025. Campbell-Gillard starts in the front row with Fotuaika, while Tino Fa’asuamaleaui starts at lock. AJ Brimson will partner Jayden Campbell in the halves which will be exciting to watch. I expect Fifita to play 55-60 minutes so will still score well enough. It will be interesting to see if Tino is eased back in post ACL injury considering the strength of the Titans front row options.
