Shane Flanagan has named his squad for Saturday’s Round 2 clash against the Storm at WIN Stadium, and there are no surprises – the same group that travelled to Vegas gets the nod for the home opener.
Hamish Stewart starts at lock with Hame Sele shifting to the interchange, after the pair swapped prior to kick-off in Round 1. That’s the only positional change from the named side that went within a point of the Bulldogs in Las Vegas.
The Squad
| # | 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 | Hamish Stewart | Lock |
| 14 | Hame Sele | Interchange |
| 15 | Josh Kerr | Interchange |
| 16 | Blake Lawrie | Interchange |
| 17 | Ryan Couchman | Interchange |
| 18 | Lyhkan King-Togia | Reserve |
| 19 | David Fale | Reserve |
| 20 | Jacob Halangahu | Reserve |
| 21 | Mathew Feagai | Reserve |
| 22 | Tyrell Sloan | Reserve |
The big storyline is Damien Cook. He played 90 minutes against the Bulldogs, made 70 tackles, and put up a 91-point fantasy score. That’s an enormous workload for a 33-year-old hooker in Vegas conditions – let’s see if he can repeat it. Ryan Couchman gets another spot on the interchange having come through his first game back from an ACL injury.
Jacob Liddle (hamstring), Dylan Egan (knee), and Nathan Lawson (foot) remain unavailable. Getting Liddle back would take some of the Cook workload pressure off, so that’s one to keep an eye on heading into the middle rounds.
Kick-off is 5:30pm Saturday at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
Source: NRL Team List: Round 2 vs. Storm — Dragons official site