Daly Cherry-Evans and the Manly Sea Eagles host Adam Reynolds and the Brisbane Broncos in a blockbuster clash at 4 Pines Park.
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MATCH CENTRE: Sea Eagles vs Broncos teams, scores, videos, updates
Anthony Seibold hopes to have skipper Daly Cherry-Evans back on deck, while he is hopeful Tom Trbojevic will miss just one match as the club takes a conservative approach with their most important player.
Cherry-Evans will be given until Saturday evening to make a final call on his availability, with the Sea Eagles missing a stack of stars for what will be their first NRL match against the Broncos at Brookvale since 2014.
He won’t be the only Trbojevic missing on Saturday with Jake still in concussion protocols, while Seibold confirmed winger Jason Saab (illness) would miss the match between two teams fighting for a spot in the top eight. In an ominous sign for the Sea Eagles, they are 0-9 when both Saab and Trbojevic have been unavailable. Clayton Faulalo comes into the team to replace Saab on the wing.
Broncos coach Michael Maguire has declared prop forward Payne Haas is “definitely playing” after his herculean performance in the front row for NSW on Wednesday night despite barely training due to a quad injury.
Both he and front row partner Pat Carrigan are both set to take on Manly in a rare trip to Brookvale. Maguire did add that he’ll monitor how many minutes they play given both had heavy workloads in Origin.
Meanwhile, Maguire also said he has a plan that involves Jesse Arthars and Selwyn Cobbo “interchanging a little bit” at fullback.
“Being able to utilise both he and big ‘Selly’ in a different way is something that I’m going to look at,” he said.
Elsewhere, Broncos veteran Gehamat Shibasaki has revealed Maguire issued young gun Ben Te Kura a challenge before the 2025 season, desperate to ensure the rising star keeps his body in order.
The 21-year-old is set to play his first NRL game this season, having delivered several impressive performances for the Souths Logan Magpies.
“I think it was just keeping his body comp [composition] down and getting his fitness levels up. He’s done really well working hard at that, and I think Madge has seen that,” Shibasaki said to the SMH.
“He gives Patty and Payne a run for their money at training, so I’m sure if he can handle those boys he can handle anyone.
“He’s matured a lot, he understood he had to get fit and his body right, and he’s spent a lot of time on his extras and got his food right.”
At 205cm, Te Kura is believed to be the tallest player in NRL history.
TEAMS
Sea Eagles team: 1. Lehi Hopoate 5. Tommy Talau 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 18. Clayton Faulalo 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Ethan Bullemor 9. Jake Simpkin 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jazz Tevaga 14. Lachlan Croker 15. Corey Waddell 16. Nathan Brown 17. Matthew Lodge 19. Jake Arthur 20. Michael Chee Kam
Broncos team: 1. Jesse Arthars 2. Selwyn Cobbo 3. Kotoni Staggs 4. Gehamat Shibasaki 5. Deine Mariner 6. Ezra Mam 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Patrick Carrigan 9. Cory Paix 10. Payne Haas 11. Xavier Willison 12. Jordan Riki 13. Kobe Hetherington 14. Billy Walters 15. Corey Jensen 16. Brendan Piakura 17. Benjamin Te Kura 18. Tyson Smoothy 19. Josiah Karapani
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