NRL Team List
Preseason Challenge Week 2, Friday 6:00PM, McDonald Jones Stadium
There is nothing quite like the first NRL team list of the year. The blaze of the summer sun, the choking humidity and the random downpours are the perfect backdrop for a new chapter at Parramatta as Jason Ryles drops a banging team sheet with the Eels travel to Newcastle to take on the Knights.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are so back – and so is the footy!
With both squads naming 28-deep squads there is plenty of ground to cover for Friday night’s trial so let’s rip into it starting with the backline. Ryles has named one presumed front line starter in Isaiah Iongi as the new custodian of the team gets a jump start on making the #1 his own.
Richard Penisini and Arthur Miller-Stephen are very welcome inclusions at centre and wing respectively after injury cruelled both their campaigns in 2024. Getting any footy under their belts in general will be a massive milestone but they get early bids to shake up the depth charts in the back line this week. Jake Tago and Jordan Samrani round out the backs and perhaps find themselves in competition ahead of Round 1. With Josh Addo-Carr serving a suspension and Bailey Simonsson pushing to come back from an ACL injury a strong performance from one or both could put them at the front of the queue for a potential spot against the Melbourne Storm.
Mitchell Moses is absent but the man he singled out at the NRL Captain’s Call as a standout performer in the preseason dons the #6 in Dylan Brown. For all the inane chatter recently about his contract status, I am simply keen to see how Dyl looks in a new attacking system. He will be steering the team around the park with Ronald Volkman with Dean Hawkins curiously absent from the team list (no conspiracy theories here mind you, I just assume a minor niggle or something similar).
The forward pack is chock-full of seasoned NRL talent with Joe Ofahengaue, Brendan Hands, Wiremu Greig and Kelma Tuilagi anchoring an impressive starting group. Charlie Guymer gets the nod at lock forward in a hugely welcome return after giving fans a brief glimpse of his talents last year. Rounding out the starters is Gideon Kautoga as he claims a berth on the edge. He is close to top of the list for my most anticipated players to watch this week after an excellent preseason.
Joash Papalii, Sam Tuivaiti and Toni Mataele are hugely exciting additions on the bench as Ryles gives the three young men a chance to make an impression against the Knights. Bryce Cartwright closes out the standard interchange roster and gives the rotation a bit of experience.
The extended bench features plenty of young talent that readers of TCT (and listeners of The TIp Sheet) will recognise from the Jersey Flegg and NSW Cup last year. Joey Lussick obviously is the elder statesman of the group but the likes of Ryley Smith, Saxon Pryke, Apa Twidle, Brock Parker and Joshua Lynn featured regularly in match updates in 2024.
It is no where near Parramatta’s full strength line-up but it is a very fun and intriguing mix of talent. I really like the balance that Ryles has struck here and I think he has incorporated a solid foundation of proven talent that should hopefully aid some of the younger prospects to shine. Of course, tempering that big talk is the likely reality of a somewhat scrappy overall outting on Friday night as is wont for the first trial of any given season.
Still, that will not curb my enthusiasm (shoutout Larry David) for this game. I am hungry to see what the new-look Eels can do under Jason Ryles. This is a cracking first-up team sheet and I am keen to see every young player and fringe prospect playing out of their minds this week!
Notable omissions: Bailey Simonsson, Dean Hawkins, Ethyn Martin, Haze Dunster, Josh Addo-Carr, Mitchell Moses, Sean Russell, Will Penisini, Zac Lomax, Dan Keir, Jack Williams, J’maine Hopgood, Junior Paulo, Luca Moretti, Matt Doorey, Ryan Matterson, Shaun Lane
| Parramatta Eels | Newcastle Knights | |
| Isaiah Iongi | 1 | Will Pryce |
| Jake Tago | 2 | James Schiller |
| Richard Penisini | 3 | Kyle McCarthy |
| Jordan Samrani | 4 | Riley Jones |
| Arthur Miller-Stephen | 5 | Greg Marzhew |
| Dylan Brown | 6 | Fletcher Sharpe |
| Ronald Volkman | 7 | Jack Cogger |
| Joe Ofahengaue | 8 | Brodie Jones |
| Brendan Hands | 9 | Jayden Brailey |
| Wiremu Greig | 10 | Jack Hetherington |
| Gideon Kautoga | 11 | Thomas Cant |
| Kelma Tuilagi | 12 | Kai Pearce-Paul |
| Charlie Guymer | 13 | Tyson Frizell © |
| Interchange | ||
| Joash Papalii | 14 | Tyson Gamble |
| Sam Tuivaiti | 15 | Mat Croker |
| Toni Mataele | 16 | Jackson Hastings |
| Bryce Cartwright | 17 | Sebastion Su’a |
| Reserves | ||
| Joey Lussick | 18 | Matthew Arthur |
| Ryley Smith | 19 | Connor Votano |
| Saxon Pryke | 20 | Jermaine McEwen |
| Te Hurinui Twidle | 21 | Elijah Salesa-Leaumoana |
| Brock Parker | 22 | Siteni Taukamo |
| William Latu | 23 | Logan Aoake |
| Joshua Lynn | 24 | Wilson Decourcey |
| Araz Nanva | 25 | Cody Hopwood |
| Samuel Loizou | 26 | Tyrone Thompson |
| Max Tupou | 27 | Fletcher Hunt |
| Teancum Brown | 28 | Malachi Smith |
Thanks Forty20 exciting times.
I noticed Ethyn Martin is missing, you would have thought he would have at least got a run in the reserves.
Not a great sign for his prospects moving forward?
Can only assume Ethyn isn’t 100% to go this week. A real shame not to see him out there for sure and it gives a few players a chance to steal a march on him.
He might have to fight his way into the Cup mix the hard way but the flip side there is a really healthy competition for spots.
Yeh hopefully it’s just a niggle and he’s fit to play round 1.
You are right though that backline (minus Iongi) is probably our Cup Backline. Assuming Joash grabs the 1 so yeh he might struggle to get a start which is crazy.
I really hope he can get some footy into him this year, he has a bit of x-factor about him.
I’m sad to say but I feel that Ethyn was unfortunate in regards to age, injury and his Eels tenure.
His age; I feel he needed an extra year in Flegg but his DOB went against this.
He had a several injuries that again set his progress from union back (or at the least it was stalled).
Lastly, he was shuffled around in positions as the result of injuries to our top squad. I could be miles off the mark, but I don’t believe he was ever becoming a fullback but was forced into that roll for the good of the Club.
I hope he continues but there is now much competition for a backline spot.
Very confusing that the likes of Doorey, Hawkins, Moretti, Dunster (if fit), Dan Keir and Russel are not named. None of them are first choice players so you would think they would trial.
Upset that Ethyn Martyn is not in the team.
Some could be carrying slight niggles. Moretti I think is a lock for a NRL bench spot
I think Luca is a strong chance at that bench spot as well. We will know a lot more next week on that front.
He is 100% in the 17. I’d start him.
Ea some could be on for the next game, or niggles as somebody else mentioned. This looks like he is opting for a very young squad to trial.
Russell will be first choice winger while the Foxx is out. No need to give him 2 trials.
I thought Foxx may have played both trials as he isn’t allowed to play until round 3.
I also believe Moretti has probably done enough to be considered a fairly good chance for a bench spot.
It’s interesting to see Volkman is starting at half back. I thought Hawkins would get first hit out at #7 in the trials. Good to see Papalii in the 14. Hopefully he gets a hit out @ fullback at some point.
The knights team has a lot of experienced players – It could make for a very tough & fun trials match!
Congrats to all our young players & new recruits who will be making their first appearances in the blue & gold for the first time. 👏
Newcastle naming a (relatively) good side is a big plus for the contest. I figure Hawkins has a niggle of some sort and probably sees the field next week.
Great shout out for all the debutantes Muz. Lots of big moments to be had for them on Friday night.
True mate. It’s awesome they get to play against a pretty solid & experienced team, It will be a great learning experience for some of them. The Brown & Volkman halves pairing also sounds dangerous – it will probably give Newcastle nightmares. 👌
It’s interesting that Dylbro has been picked. Maybe the Knights coach demanded it to get a final view of his prospective big signing. 😜
Good to see Teancum and Nanva still at the club. I liked what I saw of them last year. Are they still under 21 or too old now?
Great question mate, don’t quote me on it yet but I think they are both Flegg eligible in 2025.
*Edit* Colmac has since commented and essentially confirmed the case!
Do we believe Dylan was named primarily to trial Kautoga and Guymer to see who gels better on that edge?
Could be any number of reasons Mitch but I would argue with Ryles and Wisemantel installing a new attacking scheme/philosophy that the presence of at least one senior half makes a fair bit of sense.
Exciting! Can’t wait to see Iongi and Papalii in action. And pleasantly surprised that AMS is getting a run. I’m not expecting too much but maybe just a glimpse of the what Ryles has in store for Parra in 2025.
I’m not too fussed with the result as long as there are no major injuries.
It is really hard to go past Iongi and Papalii in terms of the anticipation. Both have the potential to be such huge additions for Ryles and the team. I am pumped to see AMS and Renisini back on the field – it was a gut punch to see them miss all of 2024.
Great seeing Araz and T getting a shot in the NRL squad this week. They have had a very strong pre season for Flegg and are worthy of this call up.
Rip in lads.
Awesome update Colmac! Always love to see young players rewarded in such a manner.
Hey mate,
Do you know if flegg have a trial this week ?
And is up at Newcastle before the main game ?
Cheers
Yeah Flegg has a trial against Knights on Saturday at Knights COE.
I predicted on the podcast Papalii might be our good possible 14 option for us this year. Hopefully he does well in the trials and earns himself a NRL debut and some games this season. This kid is a freak of a ball runner… if we can figure out how to somehow use him – he is the type of player who’s possibly even harder to tackle than Dylan brown in certain situations. I think 60’s even mentioned in a blog before that he can make defenders look silly trying to grab him.. I saw him play against parra a few times at lower grades, and he honestly made our defenders look lost in space on several occasions, left some of our players grabbing at thun air while he stepped & weaved through multiple eels defenders. It was honestly ridiculous.
The issue with him will be how green he still is & hasn’t had a NRL debut yet. So Hopefully he can get settle his nerves and play well for us.
Nice to see Tuivaiti and Mataele named on the bench, hope they get some decent minutes and set themselves up for the season. Toni seems to fit the mobile middle Ryles is looking for and Sam could be a middle to build the pack around into the future.
Thanks Forty20, nice write up.
We should never wish time away but I wouldn’t be disappointed if today and tomorrow disappeared.
I can’t wait to see so many fresh faces for the first time.
Thanks to TCT, I feel like I know so many of these players.