MORE: NRL Round 1 Preview: Broncos v Rabbitohs | 25 Reasons you match watch round one of the NRL | 2015 NRL Blueprints
Thur: Brisbane v South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium
Wayne Bennett returns home after six-years to lead the Broncos and you can be certain he'll have his players wound up for this first-up tilt against the premiers. New five-eighth Anthony Milford also makes his Brisbane debut and such is his focus on performing this year, during pre-season he clocked the fastest time over 10-metres in Broncos history. Don't expect Bennett to re-shuffle his line-up, he will stick with the same 17 he named on Tuesday. And in a potentially huge boost, injured fullback Darius Boyd will attempt to run tomorrow for the first time since undergoing surgery for a torn achillies. Boyd is eyeing off a round seven comeback.
Souths coach Michael Maguire was tempted to play new forward recruit Tim Grant, but the premiership-winning coach is determined to reward the same 17 that lifted the World Club Challenge trophy last month. Remove Grant, Cameron McInnes and Daryl Millard from your team lists. The trio will have to bide their time.
Fri: Parramatta v Manly at Pirtek Stadium
Don't rule out the NRL's greatest redemption story featuring Danny Wicks just yet. Parramatta have a final 'captain's run' on Thursday afternoon and 18th man Wicks will be part of that session. Wicks was tipped to make his comeback in the NSW Cup with Wentworthville, but he's yet to train a single session with the Eels feeder-club. The player that could make way for Wicks, who spent 18-months behind bars for drug trafficking, is Parramatta bench forward Junior Paulo.
Injuries, a coach under pressure and contract chaos with their two most important players Daly Cherry-Evans and Kieran Foran. If it was any other club, you would rightfully question why should Manly bother turning up? But the Sea Eagles love a crisis more than any other franchise and despite their huge injury toll including Steve Matai (shoulder), Jamie Buhrer (knee), Josh Starling (knee) and Jorge Taufua (shoulder), expect a fired-up Manly outfit. There was a significant whisper emerging from Brookvale on Wednesday that 18th man Justin Horo could be a late inclusion for possibly Brenton Lawrence, who has on-going back issues.
Sat: Newcastle v Warriors
How could coach Rick Stone possibly leave out Test centre Sione Mata'utia - or has he? Newcastle officials weren't willing to rule out the hugely talented rookie despite him being named as the 18th man, when pushed for reasoning behind the decision by journalists on Wednesday. Don't be surprised to see a late change to the Knights starting 17.
In what could be a devestating blow first-up for the Warriors, fullback Sam Tomkins is battling a hamstring complaint. The English International pulled up sore after Monday's session in Auckland. Tomkins will make the trip to Newcastle as a 50-50 proposition. One to watch on debut for the Warriors will be former Melbourne Storm premiership-winner Ryan Hoffman.
Sat: Gold Coast v Wests Tigers
A cocaine scandal, a financial lifeline from the NRL and now the sight of captain Nate Myles limping from Wednesday's field session. Can it get any worse on the coast? Myles finished second best after colliding heavily with Caleb Binge and the QLD enforcer is now racing the clock to be fit. Throw in a question mark over winger David Mead's fitness after he failed to train on Wednesday and coach Neil Henry could be forced to pull on the boots.
Tigers officials expect to go with the same 17 named by Jason Taylor on Tuesday. Taylor, in his return match to the NRL as head coach, has every right to be nervous. All the focus has been on the turmoil which has engulfed the Titans. But the Tigers have a young side and will need to have made significant improvement since their last-start trial win over Cronulla. The trial was far from high-quality and Taylor would have identified the kicking game of his rookie halves as a major focus.
Sat: North Qld v Roosters
Popular among tipsters as this year's premiers, the Cowboys will field a full-strength side on Saturday night with no injury concerns to report. It leaves coach Paul Green with some tough decisions, which includes starting NSW Origin prop James Tamou from the bench. After undergoing neck surgery in December, Tamou gave an indication in a trial match last weekend he could be in for his best season to date. And in a further boost, expect rising star and fullback on Saturday night, Michael Morgan to announce he's signed a new three-year deal with the club.
No Jake Friend for the Sydney Roosters with their co-captain sidelined with a shoulder injury for at least another six weeks. Friend's absence could prove a critical factor and although he's impressed since arriving late in the pre-seasom from Canberra in December, Roosters number nine Matt McIlwrick faces an arduous task first-up. Coach Trent Robinson will take a squad of 19-players, but expect the same 17 named on Tuesday to remain.
Sun: Penrith v Canterbury
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary will finalise his 19-man squad following a final training run on Saturday, with the biggest decision revolving around his two dummy-halves. James Segeyaro has been chosen to start the match in the number nine jumper, with South Sydney recruit Api Koroisau named as the 19th man. Koroisau has been outstanding in pre-season training. If he is overlooked by Cleary, Segeyaro would be forced to play 80-minutes. In the first match of the season, against a hulking Bulldogs pack, its a big ask.
Unavailable for selection due to injury were Josh Mansour (shoulder), David Simmons (quad) and Nigel Plum (ankle). Of the three, only Mansour could be fit to return next week.
All the mail out of Belmore suggests coach Des Hasler could deliver a late switch prior to kick-off in a bid to cover new recruit, hooker Michael Lichaa. Lichaa has never played 80-minutes of NRL in his life yet Hasler originally named a four-man bench full of forwards and no dummy-half back-up. Don't be shocked to see utility half Moses Mbye earn a late call-up.
Sun: Cronulla v Canberra
Rising stars Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird have been named on an extended bench by Sharks coach Shane Flanagan - but don't expect them to figure on Sunday night. The exciting duo will be kept on ice and preserved from being monstored by a huge Raiders backline. The injured Sam Tagatease (groin), Luke Lewis (knee), Jacob Gagan (hamstring) and Saul Houma (knee) will all be available for round two.
The Raiders will travel to Sydney and into camp at Brighton Le Sands on Saturday, boasting a full compliment of players for Ricky Stuart to choose from. The Green Machine were far from impressive in their final trial match against Newcastle with powerful winger Jordan Rapana their best performer. Premiership-winning Rooster Frank-Paul Nuuausala will make his debut for the club from the interchange bench.
Mon: St George Illawarra v Melbourne
There's a quiet air of confidence among the Dragons playing group that they can silence the critics and make the finals. That being the case, Monday night against the Storm is a good place to start. Coach Paul McGregor is expected to trim his six-man bench by overlooking Jake Marketo and Heath L'Estrange.
Cam Smith isn't only the world's best player, he's also the world's best healer. The Test captain underwent major ankle surgery just 12 weeks ago and despite initital fears he wouldn't be back in 2015 until round four, he's on the cusp of leading the Storm out on Monday night. Craig Bellamy wanted to see Smith get through the club's final two training sessions - the last being this afternoon. He'll play.
