Qld Teams - Injury Hits Broncos, Titans

Queensland Origin back Israel Folau and halfback-hopeful Scott Prince will miss at least the next three weeks of NRL competition.

Folau joins a long list of wounded Brisbane Broncos with up to five regular first-graders sidelined.

The giant centre dislocated a finger trying to catch a bomb in the Broncos poor 48-16 loss to the Warriors last weekend.

Folau’s right-side partner, winger Denan Kemp, suffered a suspected broken rib and left the Warriors match soon after Folau midway in the first half.

Kemp is expected to miss up to two months while Folau hopes to be back next month.

They join Justin Hodges (Achilles), Jharal Yow Yeh (knee) and Corey Parker (knee) on the mid-to-long term injury list.

Coach Ivan Henjak named makeshift centres Ben Te’o and Alex Glenn to face the Roosters in Sydney on Friday night.

Gerard Beale, who was replaced at left centre by Glenn last week before substituting for Kemp, will start on the right wing.

Experienced forward Ashton Sims has been recalled to the side after spending the opening three weeks in the Queensland Cup.

Lock Matt Gillett, who replaced the injured Parker last week, has a corked thigh but has been named for the traditional Good Friday clash.

Rookie halfback Ben Hunt has been named as the utility on a five man bench while 20-year-old winger Mitch Rivett is 18th man.

After starting the season with a nail-biting win over the Cowboys, the Broncos have slumped to two disappointing losses.

The Broncos have not lost to the Roosters in the Good Friday match at the Sydney Football Stadium since 2002.

Campbell replaces Prince

Preston Campbell will play halfback for the Titans derby match with North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Saturday night.

As he did in the exact round last year, Campbell steps into the pivot position to replace injured captain Prince.

Prince, considered the front-runner to replace Darren Lockyer should he retire from representative football, broke his thumb late in the 24-4 win over Canberra.

Like Folau, Prince is expected to miss a month of football but should be back to push his Queensland representative claims.

Luke Bailey will captain the Titans and William Zillman returns to fullback, while Riley Brown has been recalled to the interchange bench.

Ashley Harrison is named at lock after withdrawing from the Raiders game on Saturday with a back injury suffered during the warm up.

His replacement last week, Will Matthews, has been retained on the bench.

Interchange forward Bodene Thompson will miss three matches after taking an early guilty plea for a high tackle that left Raiders hooker Travis Waddell with a broken jaw.

The Titans are one of three teams undefeated after the opening three games of the season.

Three changes for NQ

There are no new injury concerns for the North Queensland Cowboys but their slow start to the season is causing headaches.

The Cowboys have managed a poultry four points (two penalty goals) in the combined first-half performances across the opening three games of the season.

The sluggish start to matches has made it almost impossible to win, even though the Cowboys managed to power over Penrith two weeks ago.

Coach Neil Henry axed five-eighth Grant Rovelli and winger Michael Bani following the 33-8 thumping at the hands of the Dragons last week.

Under 20’s captain Ray Thompson, who made his NRL debut in the final game of last season, will partner Johnathan Thurston in the halves for the Titans match this weekend.

Winger Will Tupou, also plucked from the Under 20’s side, will debut in place of Bani.

Forward James Tamou should break his three week run as 18th man after replacing Steve Southern on the bench.

Young forward Leeson Ah Mau is 18th man for this weekend.

The Cowboys play back-to-back games in Townsville and will hope to kick-start their season with a win over the Titans.

The match will be live on Fox Sports from 6:30pm Saturday while the Broncos game is live on Channel Nine from 7:30pm Friday.

Brisbane Broncos vs. Roosters, Friday 7:35pm QLD, (Channel Nine, live)
Corey Norman, Antonio Winterstein, Alex Glenn, Ben Te’o, Gerard Beale, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Nick Kenny, Andrew McCullough, Scott Anderson, Ashton Sims, Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett. Interchange: Lagi Setu, Ben Hunt, Mitchell Dodds, Josh McGuire, Mitch Rivett (one to be omitted).

North Queensland Cowboys vs. Titans, Saturday 6:30pm QLD, (Fox Sports, live)
Ty Williams, John Williams, Ashley Graham, Willie Tonga, Will Tupou, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott, Aaron Payne, Antonio Kaufusi, Scott Bolton, Steve Rapira, Luke O’Donnell. Interchange: Anthony Watts, James Tamou, Willie Mason, Carl Webb, Leeson Ah Mau (one to be omitted).

Gold Coast Titans vs. Cowboys, Saturday 6:30pm QLD, (Fox Sports, live)
William Zillman, Kevin Gordon, Mat Rogers, Joseph Tomane, David Mead, Greg Bird, Preston Campbell, Luke Bailey (c), Nathan Friend, Brad Meyers, Anthony Laffranchi, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matthew White, Sam Tagataese, Will Matthews, Riley Brown, Michael Henderson (one to be omitted).