Qld Teams Rd 4 - Brisbane lose Hoffman but Hodges retained

Broncos 2010 player of the year Josh Hoffman will miss Friday night’s home match with Penrith but centre Justin Hodges is expected to play.

Hodges returned from 548 days on the injured list to score the match-winning try in Brisbane’s 14-8 win over the Gold Coast last week.

In doing so he twinged his troublesome hamstring, which had kept him out of the opening two rounds of the season, but he should make his Suncorp Stadium return this week.

This came after missing the 2010 season with a ruptured Achilles but Hodges showed enough to suggest he will still be a major asset for the Broncos.

However fullback Hoffman has a badly corked shin and will not play this weekend.

Hoffman was in agony after a covering tackle stopped a long run against the Titans and he immediately left the field, with pictures suggesting he could have sustained a season ending knee or leg injury.

However the news was as good as it could have been and the New Zealand fullback-hopeful should be fit to play Newcastle in Round 5 Monday week.

Gerard Beale, who filled in admirably for Hoffman following the injury, has been named in the number one jersey this week.

That change allows Dale Copley, fresh off a hat-trick in the Under 20’s competition last week, to come onto the left wing.

Dane Gagai played that position for the opening two NRL rounds before missing last week with a minor knee injury and he will return via the Under 20’s.

Friday’s match will be the first since Darren Lockyer announced his retirement yesterday from all rugby league at the conclusion of the season.

The Broncos sit in third position and will aim to build on their consecutive wins away from home.

Penrith won the only clash between the sides last season and Friday’s match will be live into Queensland on Channel Nine from 7:30pm.

Titans sit rock bottom

The Gold Coast Titans have made their worst start to a season in their short history with both their NRL and Under 20’s side sitting in last place on their respective tables.

NRL Coach John Cartwright has resisted more changes for Saturday’s tough road trip to Canberra.

Young forward Ben Ridge, with a handful of NRL match experience, comes into the starting side to replace Ashley Harrison who has a hamstring injury.

In the only other change Esi Tonga and Steve Michaels will swap wing and centre roles on the left side of the field, while prop Matt White has been named in the starting side after he was made 18th man against Brisbane.

The Titans had enough possession and field position against the Broncos to win easily but failed to crack the stonewall defence.

Only an opportunist try to Michaels after the halftime siren gave fans a reason to cheer with halfback Scott Prince looking noticeably flat in attack.

Gold Coast comes up against a Raiders side who have dropped their last two matches but who always seem to play better at home.

The teams share a 4-4 record with neither side recording back to back victories against each other.

Canberra was victorious in the last meeting, defeating the Titans 28-24 in the middle of the 2010 season.

The match is live on Fox Sports from 4:30pm Saturday.

NQ unchanged

Following last night’s crushing 34-6 win over the previously undefeated Melbourne Storm, Cowboys Coach Neil Henry has named the same team to face Parramatta in Sydney on Saturday night.

North Queensland led for the entire match at Dairy Farmers Stadium to put Melbourne to the sword for their second win of the year.

However the victory came just over a week after a really poor showing against the Knights and North Queensland will hope to find consistency this weekend.

New winger Kalifa Faifai Loa and replacement hooker James Segeyaro were strong while Tariq Sims announced himself as a blockbusting forward to watch this season.

Matt Bowen will become the most capped North Queensland Cowboy this weekend in his 204th match for the club.

Bowen breaks former captain Paul Bowman’s record and has started the season so strongly, some judges are comparing his form to when he last represented Queensland four years ago.

The Cowboys snapped an eight game losing streak to Melbourne last night but face another daunting task against the Eels this weekend.

Parramatta has won five of the last six clashes between the sides and the Cowboys have not beaten the Eels in Sydney since Round 4, 2006.

The match starts at 6:30pm from Parramatta Stadium with Fox Sports’ live coverage following the conclusion of the Titans game

Brisbane Broncos vs. Panthers, Friday 7:35pm QLD, (Channel Nine, live) Gerard Beale, Dale Copley, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Sam Thaiday, Alex Glenn, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker. Interchange: Ben Hunt, Ben Te’o, Josh McGuire, Shane Tronc.

Gold Coast Titans vs. Canberra, Saturday 4:30pm QLD, (Fox Sports, live) William Zillman, Steve Michaels, Esi Tonga, Bodene Thompson, David Mead, Greg Bird, Scott Prince (c), Luke Bailey, Riley Brown, Matthew White, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ben Ridge. Interchange: Michael Henderson, Sam Tagataese, Ryan James, Preston Campbell, Brad Meyers (one to be omitted).

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Eels, Saturday 6:30pm QLD, (Fox Sports, live) Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Will Tupou, Willie Tonga, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott (c), Aaron Payne, James Tamou, Gavin Cooper, Glenn Hall, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Leeson Ah Mau, Tariq Sims, Ashton Sims.