Haas and Munster named to play this weekend

Payne Haas and Cameron Munster have been named to play for Brisbane and Melbourne respectively this weekend despite suffering injuries in State of Origin II.

Prop forward Haas suffered a syndesmosis injury on Sunday and went for scans on Monday after leaving Optus Stadium in a moon boot.

Broncos football boss Ben Ikin says Haas is still a chance to play and the prop forward was subsequently named in Brisbane’s team to face North Queensland on Saturday night.

“The bloke is so single-minded and has this capacity to push through the pain barrier,” Ikin told SEN.

Munster has been named to start for the Storm despite having his left shoulder iced after Origin II.

The five-eighth only arrived back in Melbourne on Monday afternoon but has been cleared to travel with the Storm to take on Manly on Thursday evening.

Fellow Maroon Felise Kaufusi won’t feature for the Storm – the second-rower flew to the US on Tuesday to be with his father Taniela, who has been hospitalised in Los Angeles.

It’s unknown when he will return or whether the trip will affect his ability to line up in July 13’s Origin series decider at Suncorp Stadium.

All other Origin players will line up, other than Newcastle’s Kalyn Ponga who suffered a head knock in the second game of the series.

Ponga will watch on as his teammates hope to limit the influence of Gold Coast’s David Fifita, who is returning from a knee injury for his first game since round 12.

As they prepare to face Melbourne, Manly will have to contend without Josh Aloiai, who suffered a serious head knock playing for Samoa.
“It’s safety first. As a game moving forward we’ve got to respect that,” Manly utility Dylan Walker said.

Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds will return from a rib injury and play in Townsville, while North Queensland mid-season recruit Luciano Leilua will make his club debut in his 100th NRL game overall.

Elsewhere, South Sydney fullback Latrell Mitchell will make his long-awaited return against Parramatta on Saturday.

Mitchell recovered from a hamstring injury earlier this month but a bout of COVID-19 delayed his return to the NRL.

Jack Wighton, Mitchell’s possible NSW teammate for Game III, has recovered from COVID-19 and will line up for Canberra against St George Illawarra.

Beleaguered Wests Tigers playmaker Luke Brooks has retained his spot in the starting side to face the Warriors despite rumours he could be dropped for the first time in his NRL career.

Adam Doueihi, the man tipped as a possible replacement for Brooks, has been named on the Tigers bench.

Sydney Roosters halfback Luke Keary continues to recover from the head knock he sustained against Melbourne earlier this month and will not play against Penrith on Friday night.

Keary suffered five head knocks between 2018 and 2019 and the Roosters are determined to take a cautious approach to his fitness. Drew Hutchinson slots into the halves in his absence.

In better news for the Tricolours, forward Victor Radley will make his return from an ankle injury at lock.

By: Jasper Bruce and Alex Mitchell