The South Sydney Rabbitohs will have a bunch of stars back on deck for their match against the Manly Sea Eagles on Thursday, a timely inclusion in what is notoriously a hard ground to win at.
Stars Brandon Smith, David Fifita and Campbell Graham are all on track to return for the Bunnies, according to fresh reports from the Daily Telegraph that they will be named to play.
Smith hasn’t been available since their strong win on Anzac Day against the Storm, where he was troubled with a calf injury. Smith has only been limited to three games this season, with injuries to his calf in the preseason also disrupting his time on the paddock.
High-profile off-season signing David Fifita will return on the left edge for Souths, and with reports that Patrick Carrigan is in doubt for Origin 2, Fifita will be wanting to put in a powerful display to catch the attention of Maroons coach Billy Slater.
Campbell has had the luxury of last week’s bye to recover from a minor calf injury sustained the week before in the side’s loss to the Cowboys. He will be a timely and valuable inclusion to add some attacking flair to the Rabbitohs’ back-line.
The Sea Eagles are reeling off a 28-22 loss to the Sharks on Friday, and now face a formidable Souths outfit who are primed for a huge backend of the year.
Interim coach Kieran Foran faces his biggest test this weekend to see where the Sea Eagles are at with their premiership credentials.
Manly and Foran are undefeated at 4 Pines Park since he took over as head coach in March. However, they went down to the Sharks, who had extra preparation time from a bye, and now face the same challenge against the Rabbitohs, who got a rest last week.
Tolutau Koula will remain in the NRL’s concussion protocol standdown following his highly publicised contact with Kalyn Ponga in State of Origin Game 1. Haumole Olakau’atu will return for the Sea Eagles to mark Fifita after being rested last week.
Superstar centre Latrell Mitchell will remain sidelined with a bulging disc issue and is expected to return in round 17 against the Parramatta Eels after their second bye of the year.
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