Brisbane Broncos fullback Josh Hoffman will make his long awaited return against Cronulla in Sydney on Friday night but two key forwards will be sidelined with injury.
Back-rower Ben Te’o re-fractured his arm, which had kept him out for six weeks, in last week’s 10-34 loss to Manly.
He faces another six weeks on the sideline while prop Nick Kenny picked up a shoulder injury in the same match.
However fullback Hoffman, who was set to push for New Zealand selection, will return after 10 weeks out with a fractured leg.
Hoffman left the field midway through the Round 3 match against the Titans with a corked shin and has faced a tough battle to prove his fitness.
Now healthy again, Hoffman slots straight back to his fullback position while admirable deputy Gerard Beale moves into the centres with Dale Copley back to the wing.
So impressive was Beale at fullback that he made the initial 19-man New Zealand squad for the Test Match earlier this month.
The Broncos also welcome back captain Darren Lockyer and forward leader Sam Thaiday after both failed to back up from last week’s Queensland Origin victory.
It will be Lockyer’s final club match in Sydney, apart from Finals, with the retiring star to miss the Round 17 match at Parramatta Stadium due to Origin duties.
The Broncos Round 16 away match against South Sydney will be played in Perth.
Scott Anderson starts at prop this week for the injured Kenny with former representative forward Dane Carlaw recalled to the bench.
Hooker Kurt Baptiste has been retained in the squad after an impressive debut against Manly with Corey Norman dropping back to the Under 20’s.
Brisbane has struggled with the sporadic appearances of their Origin stars, dropping their last three matches.
The Broncos face the lowly Sharks on Friday night and despite winning seven of the last 10 clashes between the clubs, struggle at Toyota Stadium with a less than 50 per cent winning ratio from 19 matches.
The game is live into Queensland on Channel Nine from 7:30pm Friday.
Rookie Srama retained
After a strong debut last week, 20-year-old hooker Matt Srama will start in Saturday’s home match against the Panthers.
Srama was a late inclusion for the 6-28 loss to the Bulldogs and impressed by playing 80 minutes with Coach John Cartwright telling the Titans website he thought Srama was their best player on the night.
He replaced the omitted Riley Brown and without another regular hooker in this week’s 19 man squad, Srama should expect to play the full match again.
The youngster is expected to be the club’s first choice hooker next season with regular started Nathan Friend to link with the Warriors from season 2012.
Queensland star Ashley Harrison returns to the side after he did not back up from Origin I against the Bulldogs.
His replacement Ben Ridge has been named on a six man bench which also includes former New Zealand centre Clinton Toopi.
After starting the year Toopi in the NRL, Toopi made way for the younger Esi Tonga but injuries could see him return this week.
Toopi has been named as cover for winger Steve Michaels and five-eighth William Zillman who both left last week’s match midway through the first half with concussion.
Centre Bodene Thompson is also batting a rib injury while Blues back-rower Greg Bird should start the game after coming off the bench following Origin I.
Gold Coast and Penrith have shared their four matches to date with two wins each but with each game of a high-scoring nature.
The clubs average a combined 55 points in matches played against each other with the Gold Coast prevailing 38-24 in the most recent clash just over one year ago.
Saturday’s match kicks off Fox Sports Super Saturday from 5:30pm.
Cooper replaces Tonga
A shoulder injury suffered in last week’s Origin match will sideline North Queensland centre Willie Tonga for at least six weeks.
As was the case for last week’s 20-6 win over the Roosters, back-row utility Gavin Cooper will replace Tonga for Sunday’s match against the Raiders in Canberra.
Cooper has found success in 2011 running off Johnathan Thurston down the Cowboys left edge and had few problems in the transition to left centre.
Another strong performance could see Cooper’s combination with Thurston elevate him to a Queensland jersey for Origin II with the Maroons facing a centre crisis.
With Tonga and Justin Hodges certain to miss the match on June 15, Queensland is sweating on Greg Inglis returning from a hip injury.
If that does not happen, coupled with injuries to Lote Tuqiri, Brent Tate and Ben Te’o, Cooper could be thrown into the mix.
Cowboys’ winger Ash Graham, who celebrated his 150th NRL match last week, could also be a contender.
The fourth-placed Cowboys will be wary of a Canberra side that has lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with back-to-backs wins before a bye last week.
Key playmaker Terry Campese could yet make a surprise first appearance of the season after suffering a knee injury in last year’s Finals series.
He was expected to be back for the Cowboys match but was not officially named by the Raiders today.
Leeson Ah Mau has been retained on the bench in an unchanged side with North Queensland’s match live on Fox Sports from 2pm Sunday.
Brisbane Broncos vs. Sharks, Friday 7:35pm, (Channel Nine, live)
Josh Hoffman, Dale Copley, Jack Reed, Gerard Beale, Jharal Yow Yeh, Darren Lockyer (c), Peter Wallace, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Scott Anderson, Alex Glenn, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange: Kurt Baptiste, Dane Carlaw, Mitchell Dodds, David Hala.
Gold Coast Titans vs. Penrith, Saturday 5:30pm, (Fox Sports, live)
Preston Campbell, Steve Michaels, Esi Tonga, Bodene Thompson, David Mead, William Zillman, Scott Prince (c), Luke Bailey, Matt Srama, Michael Henderson, Greg Bird, Mark Minichiello, Ashley Harrison. Interchange: Matthew White, Ryan James, Sam Tagataese, Luke O’Dwyer, Ben Ridge, Clinton Toopi (two to be omitted).
North Queensland Cowboys vs. Canberra, Sunday 2pm, (Fox Sports, live)
Matthew Bowen, Ashley Graham, Antonio Winterstein, Gavin Cooper, Kalifa Faifai Loa, Ray Thompson, Johnathan Thurston (c), Matt Scott (c), Aaron Payne, James Tamou, Tariq Sims, Glenn Hall, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: James Segeyaro, Scott Bolton, Leeson Ah Mau, Ashton Sims.
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