Wests Tigers head coach Michael Maguire has named all of the club’s representative players for the clash with South Sydney this Thursday night at Parramatta.
With eight players in action throughout the representative round weekend – including Benji Marshall for New Zealand after a seven year absence from national team duty – Wests Tigers have been boosted by their inclusion as they strive to build on their golden point victory over the North Queensland Cowboys in Round 14.
Benji of course kicked that wobbly field goal for a much needed win.
Captain Moses Mbye will feature at centre on Thursday after overcoming an allergic reaction while away on State of Origin duties, with Corey Thompson named at fullback.
Thompson will remain with Wests Tigers until the end of 2021 after signing a new two-year deal with the club.
Since joining Wests Tigers at the start of the 2018 season, Thompson has been a standout performer with 14 tries in his 33 appearances so far.
“It feels great to re-sign with the club and I can’t wait to be here for another two years,” Thompson said.
“I don’t want to go anywhere – I love playing at the Wests Tigers and to have my future sorted for another two years is really great for me.
“Now that my contract is sorted, I’m just concentrating on playing consistent first-grade and playing good footy for the club and help take Wests Tigers to the finals.”
Esan Marsters, Benji Marshall, David Nofoaluma and Robbie Farah have all been named after their respective international commitments, with the only change to the side to take on Souths that of Josh Aloiai, who moves to the run-on side in place of Ben Matulino.
His omission sees Elijah Taylor add some extra experience to the bench, with the forward returning for his first NRL game since Round 8 – rounding out the interchange list with Jacob Liddle, Thomas Mikaele and Michael Chee Kam.
After making a successful return from injury in Round 14 via Canterbury Cup, Josh Reynolds has been named in the reserves in jersey 20, with Paul Momirovski, Chris McQueen and Oliver Clark also named as part of the initial 21-man squad.
The team is:
1 Corey Thompson
2 Robert Jennings
3 Moses Mbye
4 Esan Marsters
5 David Nofoaluma
6 Benji Marshall
7 Luke Brooks
8 Josh Aloiai
9 Robbie Farah
10 Alex Twal
11Ryan Matterson
12 Chris Lawrence
13 Matthew Eisenhuth
INTERCHANGE
14 Jacob Liddle
15 Thomas Mikaele
16 Elijah Taylor
17 Michael Chee-Kam
RESERVES
18 Paul Momirovski
19 Chris McQueen
20 Josh Reynolds
21 Oliver Clark
