The Tigers’ horror form slide has gone from bad to worse in Round 13, with their injury crisis deepening and a strike outside back now set to miss many weeks. Their star hooker is back on deck, but that only eases the pressure in one spot while the rest of the roster keeps thinning out.
That is the headline problem for a club already scrambling for stability, and it comes as Parramatta and Brisbane are both likely to welcome back two superstars after lengthy injury lay-offs. For the Tigers, though, the immediate picture is bleak: the team is losing bodies faster than it can replace them, and one return hardly changes the scale of the damage.
The round’s most delicate selection call may sit with the Sharks, who face the Sea Eagles at Ocean Protect Stadium at 8pm AEST. The Sharks won in Round 11 with William Kennedy at fullback, Samuel Stonestreet on the wing and Jesse Ramien in the centres, but they could now receive Blayke Brailey and Addin Fonua-Blake for the tough clash against Manly. Brailey is more likely to appear than Fonua-Blake, and if the hooker does return, Jayden Berrell would make way. Hohepa Puru made a strong impression in Round 11 and remains part of the conversation if changes are delayed or limited.
Manly’s side is also carrying major uncertainty after a bruising 48 hours for several of its players. Haumole Olakau’atu and Tolu Koula are unlikely to return after playing for the NSW Blues two nights beforehand, while Lehi Hopoate is available for selection again after serving a suspension. Tom Trbojevic will not be available, with Kieran Foran saying he is still three weeks away, and Ben Trbojevic is also out after suffering a Grade 1 head knock. Foran has already made clear the plan around the back line by saying, “It will probably just be Lehi at this stage.”
Newcastle, meanwhile, are carrying a far cleaner injury list outside of Bradman Best, who is still a couple of weeks away at least from returning. The Knights are expected to lose Kalyn Ponga and Jacob Saifiti to Game I on Wednesday, leaving Fletcher Sharpe in line to shift to fullback if Ponga cannot back up. That creates another selection wrinkle in a round already shaped by Origin, recovery and the sort of last-minute adjustments that can change a match before kick-off.
Elsewhere, the biggest blow may be the most sobering one. A Warriors hero has received a crushing setback, with fears his NRL career could be over. For a competition built on weekly turnover, Round 13 is being defined less by who is named than by who cannot go, and the clubs that manage the load best over the next few days may end up shaping the ladder more than the names on the team sheet suggest.
