Just days after New South Wales pulled off a famous State of Origin series-clinching win in Brisbane, NRL club coaches have finalized their lineups for this weekend’s round of matches, with two Canberra Raiders standouts cleared to back up just 72 hours after their decider heroics.
Triumphant Blues pair Hudson Young and Ethan Strange will both take the field against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Sydney on Saturday, Canberra coach Ricky Stuart confirmed Friday, after the pair successfully pulled through fitness checks following their return from Origin camp.
Strange entered the third and deciding Origin match under a fitness cloud, having picked up an ankle injury during Blues preparations, but still managed to come off the bench for the final 15 minutes of the series win. When questioned on the five-eighth’s availability for club duty this weekend, Stuart made clear there was no hesitation to name him in the side.
“I wouldn’t risk it (if he wasn’t fine),” Stuart told reporters. “We haven’t really even spoken too much about it, so he’s fine to go. He got a few minutes on the field at the back end of the game, so he’ll be right to play.”
For Young, who delivered three dominant 80-minute performances on the left edge of the Blues’ defensive line across the series, the biggest hurdle to playing this weekend was soreness from a heavy knock to the back he picked up in the decider. The young forward capped his standout series by scoring the final try of the game to seal NSW’s win, and Stuart said Young’s 2024 Origin campaign has cemented his place as a permanent elite-level representative player.
“He was pretty sore yesterday. His three 80-minute performances were marvellous. He’s been such a high contributor to the Blues. I think he’s proven now to everyone that he’s a main-stayer at that level. He has such a high contribution and workload, his effort areas are very high off the football. It’s everything you want in an Origin player. Laurie (Blues coach Laurie Daley) showed so much confidence in him, and when you show confidence in a player and a guy like Hudson, he’ll repay you,” Stuart said.
The Raiders also received a boost on the injury front, with Stuart confirming veteran forward Josh Papalii is a strong chance to make his return to the starting lineup this weekend, just weeks after picking up a calf injury that kept him sidelined.
Across the other Saturday clash, Cronulla Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon has ruled out Queensland Maroons forward Briton Nikora for the club’s match against the Dolphins, opting to rest the standout forward after he delivered a massive workload in the Origin decider. Nikora notched an incredible 49 tackles in just 65 minutes of game time, before completing a Category Two Head Injury Assessment following a series of heavy hits.
Fitzgibbon said the club would not take any unnecessary risks with Nikora’s health, adding that replacement Billy Burns has earned his opportunity through consistent top-tier form for the Sharks throughout the 2024 NRL season.
“We won’t be taking a risk with Brit. It’s really simple for us the way that Billy Burns is playing at the moment. We trust Billy, and he’s been one of our better performers,” Fitzgibbon said.
Fellow Sharks Origin representatives Blayke Brailey and Addin Fonua-Blake, who played limited minutes off the bench for NSW in the decider, have both been cleared to play against the Dolphins this weekend.