Manly are set to drop Josh Schuster to reserve grade after a string of underwhelming performances, with coach Anthony Seibold losing patience with his $800,000 star.
Schuster has only recently signed a new contract, but after a year of trying to play five eighth, he was moved to the backrow, then the bench and now out of the side entirely.
It is the second time this year that Schuster has been ditched from first grade, with Seibold leaving him out several times early in the season after issues with his conditioning.
Schuster is likely to be named in the extended reserves list, but is set to link up with Blacktown Workers for their NSW Cup match with the Bulldogs.
South Sydney’s chances of grabbing a finals spot have taken a huge hit with star fullback Latrell Mitchell facing a ban for his cheap shot on Knights forward Tyson Frizell.
Mitchell was sin-binned late in the loss to Newcastle on Sunday after he came in late and struck Frizell in the back of the head with his forearm after the veteran Knight had been tackled.
Souths have the bye this weekend before facing the Roosters in the final round of the season which will likely determine which team gets a playoff spot.
He was charged with grade-two dangerous contact and he can cop a one-game ban with an early guilty plea or risk two matches out if he takes on the judiciary.
If he challenges the charge and cops a two-game ban he could miss a Rabbitohs finals appearance if they make it that far or the ban could carry over into the end-of-season Tests if selected by the Kangaroos.
Mitchell was roundly booed by the Knights fans after his grubby act in the dying stages of Sunday’s clash and was lucky referee Grant Atkins didn’t deem it a straight send-off instead of a sin bin even though there was less than two minutes remaining anyway.
“It’s just silly from Latrell,” Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou said.
Frizell added: “I’ve played plenty of footy with and against Latrell. There’s no hard feelings there,” Frizell said. “I felt it come across my head, I wasn’t too sure what it was but he got me with an elbow.
“He didn’t get me flush so that was pretty lucky.”
The Rabbitohs hot-head now joins Roosters firebrand Victor Radley as the most sin-binned player in NRL history with nine dismissals. Mitchell owned that dubious distinction outright with eight sin-binnings entering the season before Radley surpassed him with two more earlier in the year.
Blake Taaffe will step into the No.1 jersey with Mitchell suspended. “Blake Taaffe is doing a great job, he’s played some good footy for us this year,” Demetriou added.
Panthers prop James Fisher-Harris was lucky to avoid suspension with the Kiwi international facing a fine of $1000-$1500 for a hip-drop tackle in his team’s win over the Titans.
Jordan Rapana and Matt Burton were pinged for dangerous contact with the Canberra fullback facing a $3000 fine or a two-match ban as a repeat offender while the Bulldogs five-eighth will be pinged $1800 or $2500 as it’s only his second offence.
Dolphins halfback Sean O’Sullivan ($750-$1000 for dangerous contact), Warriors prop Bunty Afoa ($1000-$1500 for dangerous contact) and Cowboys winger Semi Valemei ($750-$1000 for a high tackle) were also charged.
Brisbane skipper Adam Reynolds will miss the clash with Canberra with a calf injury and is set to be replaced at halfback by Jock Madden.
He suffered the injury at Friday’s training session while the team had the bye and the club we will take a cautious approach by resting him from this Friday’s trip to Canberra and potentially the final round against the Storm.
Reynolds missed the round 23 win over North Queensland and Madden had his best game in a Broncos jersey in a 30-14 win.
Raiders duo Corey Horsburgh (concussion) and winger Albert Hopoate (rib) are doubtful after copping knocks in the win over Canterbury on Sunday but Jack Wighton should be right after missing the match with a hamstring strain.
Roosters skipper James Tedesco is also under a cloud for this weekend’s game against Wests Tigers after failing an HIA in Friday’s win over Parramatta.
Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves should be good to go after skipping the win over the Eels with a minor neck problem.
Titans young gun Jayden Campbell has been cleared of an ACL tear but will not play again this year after suffering a knee injury in the loss to Penrith.
Gold Coast teammates Phil Sami (foot), Tanah Boyd (shoulder) and Erin Clark (shoulder) also won’t be seen again until 2024.
Round 26 teams
Panthers vs Eels, at BlueBet Stadium – 7.50pm, Thursday, August 24
Odds: Panthers $1.10, Eels $7 – odds via PlayUp
Panthers: James Fisher-Harris is free to play after copping a fine for a hip-drop tackle. Brian To’o, Mitch Kenny and Scott Sorensen were late scratchings before the win over Gold Coast so they should be right to play.
Eels: Andrew Davey is a chance to return after being out last week with a head knock while fellow second-rower Shaun Lane may not risk a return from his elbow injury with Parra’s finals hopes dashed.
Warriors vs Dragons, at Go Media Stadium – 6pm, Friday, August 25
Odds: Warriors $1.14, Dragons $5.75 – odds via PlayUp
Warriors: Bunty Afoa evaded a ban despite being charged with dangerous contact in the win over Manly. Mitch Barnett (knee) and Jazz Tevaga (hamstring) are maybes.
Dragons: Zac Lomax (shoulder) should be OK this week after he was ruled out late against Melbourne.
Dolphins vs Cowboys, at Suncorp Stadium – 8pm, Friday, August 25
Odds: Dolphins $3.35, Cowboys $1.33 – odds via PlayUp
Dolphins: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, Connelly Lemuelu and Kenny Bromwich are available again after concussion absences.
Cowboys: Young winger Semi Valemei is free to play after he was only fined for a high tackle in the loss to Cronulla.
Storm vs Titans, at AAMI Park – 3pm, Saturday, August 26
Odds: Storm $1.13, Titans $6 – odds via PlayUp
Storm: Ryan Papenhuyzen is now three games back in his return from a fractured kneecap in the Queensland Cup but Craig Bellamy said after the win over the Dragons that he was in no rush to bring him back into the NRL side.
Titans: Phillip Sami (foot) and Jayden Campbell (knee) are out for the year so Keano Kini is likely to get a call-up with AJ Brimson switching to the halves if Kieran Foran (sternum) is not right to return.
Roosters vs Tigers, at Allianz Stadium – 5.30pm, Saturday, August 26
Odds: Roosters $1.18, Tigers $4.85 – odds via PlayUp
Roosters: James Tedesco (concussion) is set to sit this one out while Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (neck) should be right to return.
Sam Walker is a chance to return to the starting side after he was the standby bench player last weekend.
Tigers: With Luke Brooks sidelined with a calf complaint, Api Koroisau is set to remain at halfback for the final rounds with Jake Simpkin set to stay at hooker.
Raiders vs Broncos, at GIO Stadium – 7.35pm, Saturday, August 26
Odds: Raiders $3, Broncos $1.39 – odds via PlayUp
Raiders: Jordan Rapana faces a two-game ban or a $3000 fine for dangerous contact while Jack Wighton is set to return from a hamstring strain, replacing Matt Frawley.
Corey Horsburgh (concussion) and winger Albert Hopoate (rib) are doubtful after copping knocks in the win over Canterbury on Sunday.
Broncos: Adam Reynolds (calf) will be replaced by Jock Madden at halfback as Brisbane make their return from their bye week.
Wing duo Jesse Arthars (concussion) and Corey Oates (knee) are a chance to return while Martin Taupau is available again after his leg-raising ban.
Bulldogs vs Sea Eagles, at Accor Stadium – 2pm, Sunday, August 27
Odds: Bulldogs $2.85, Sea Eagles $1.43 – odds via PlayUp
Bulldogs: Jacob Preston has one more week to serve for his hip-drop ban while Matt Burton is free to play after only being fined for dangerous contact in the loss to Canberra.
Raymond Faitala-Mariner (hamstring) won’t be seen again this year on field but Ryan Sutton (neck) could suit up against Manly.
Sea Eagles: Reuben Garrick is unlikely to back up after he was on the end of a controversial tackle from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad late in the loss to the Warriors. Brad Parker and Ben Trbojevic should be OK to return after missing last week due to head knocks.
Knights vs Sharks, at McDonald Jones Stadium – 4.05pm, Sunday, August 27
Odds: Knights $1.70, Sharks $2.15 – odds via PlayUp
Knights: Jackson Hastings is a chance of playing this weekend after missing the win over Souths due to his syndesmosis injury.
Sharks: Front-rower Oregon Kaufusi (finger) is a chance to return, otherwise Craig Fitzgibbon will stick with the same 17 which did the job against North Queensland.
Bye – Rabbitohs
with AAP
// This is called with the results from from FB.getLoginStatus(). var aslAccessToken = ''; var aslPlatform = ''; function statusChangeCallback(response) console.log(response); if (response.status === 'connected') if(response.authResponse && response.authResponse.accessToken && response.authResponse.accessToken != '') aslAccessToken = response.authResponse.accessToken; aslPlatform = 'facebook'; tryLoginRegister(aslAccessToken, aslPlatform, '');
else // The person is not logged into your app or we are unable to tell. console.log('Please log ' + 'into this app.');
function cancelLoginPermissionsPrompt() document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.add('u-d-none'); document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.add('u-d-none'); document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.remove('u-d-none'); document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.remove('u-d-none');
function loginStateSecondChance() cancelLoginPermissionsPrompt(); FB.login( function(response)
,
scope: 'email', auth_type: 'rerequest'
);
// This function is called when someone finishes with the Login // Button. See the onlogin handler attached to it in the sample // code below. function checkLoginState() { FB.getLoginStatus(function(response)
var permissions = null;
FB.api('/me/permissions', access_token: response.authResponse.accessToken, , function(response2) if(response2.data) permissions = response2.data; else permissions = [];
var emailPermissionGranted = false;
for(var x = 0; x < permissions.length; x++)
if(permissions[x].permission === 'email' && permissions[x].status === 'granted')
emailPermissionGranted = true;
if(emailPermissionGranted)
statusChangeCallback(response);
else
document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.remove('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.remove('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.add('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.add('u-d-none');
);
);
}
window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
FB.init(
appId : 392528701662435,
cookie : true,
xfbml : true,
version : 'v3.3'
);
FB.AppEvents.logPageView();
FB.Event.subscribe('auth.login', function(response)
var permissions = null;
FB.api('/me/permissions',
access_token: response.authResponse.accessToken,
, function(response2)
if(response2.data)
permissions = response2.data;
else
permissions = [];
var emailPermissionGranted = false;
for(var x = 0; x < permissions.length; x++)
if(permissions[x].permission === 'email' && permissions[x].status === 'granted')
emailPermissionGranted = true;
if(emailPermissionGranted)
statusChangeCallback(response);
else
document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.remove('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper__permissions").classList.remove('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-login-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.add('u-d-none');
document.querySelector("#pm-register-dropdown-options-wrapper").classList.add('u-d-none');
);
);
};
(function(d, s, id)
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;
js.src = "https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js";
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));