Shane Flanagan has named his team for Saturday night’s Charity Shield against the Rabbitohs at WIN Stadium, and this is a very different beast to last week’s development squad.
The big guns are in. Gutherson at fullback, Cook at nine, Holmes and Suli in the centres. This is as close to a first-choice 17 as we’ve seen since last season. If you want a read on what the Round 1 Vegas lineup might look like, this is your best preview.
The 17 (+ Reserves)
| # | Player | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clint Gutherson (c) | Fullback |
| 2 | Christian Tuipulotu | Wing |
| 3 | Moses Suli | Centre |
| 4 | Valentine Holmes | Centre |
| 5 | Setu Tu | Wing |
| 6 | Kyle Flanagan | Five-Eighth |
| 7 | Daniel Atkinson | Halfback |
| 8 | Emre Guler | Prop |
| 9 | Damien Cook (c) | Hooker |
| 10 | Toby Couchman | Prop |
| 11 | Luciano Leilua | 2nd Row |
| 12 | Jaydn Su’A | 2nd Row |
| 13 | Hame Sele | Lock |
| 14 | Hamish Stewart | Interchange |
| 15 | Blake Lawrie | Interchange |
| 16 | Ryan Couchman | Interchange |
| 17 | Loko Pasifiki Tonga | Interchange |
| 18 | Tyrell Sloan | Reserve |
| 19 | Mathew Feagai | Reserve |
| 20 | David Fale | Reserve |
| 21 | Lyhkan King-Togia | Reserve |
| 22 | Kade Reed | Reserve |
| 23 | Jacob Halangahu | Reserve |
| 24 | Hayden Buchanan | Reserve |
| 25 | Nick Tsougranis | Reserve |
| 26 | Ha’ele Finau | Reserve |
The headline is the halves. Daniel Atkinson pulls on a Red V jersey for the first time at halfback with Kyle Flanagan at six. It’s the first we’ll see our likely Round 1 combination getting 80 minutes (or close to it) together. How they organise, how they share the kicking, and who takes charge on the last tackle will tell us more than any training report from the pre-season.
Rewarded for good efforts last week – Kade Reed, Hayden Buchanan, and Jacob Halangahu all earned reserve spots. Reed in particular will be one to watch if he get’s game time – to see if he can match his heroics from the Newcastle match.
Notable absentees: Josh Kerr is off at the All-Stars, Jacob Liddle is nursing a hamstring, and Nathan Lawson has a foot issue. Kerr will be available for Rd 1 and fingers crossed for Liddle being fit and available for Vegas as well.
Kick-off is 8:10pm Saturday at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
Source: NRL Team List: Charity Shield vs. Rabbitohs — Dragons official site