Brisbane City and the North Harbour Rays will get Round 4 of the Buildcorp National Rugby Championship underway on Thursday night, when the North Harbour Rays head north to contest the Horan-Little Shield at Ballymore in Brisbane.
Brisbane City head coach Nick Stiles had made four changes to the starting side and a number of positional changes in the backline. In the pack, Brothers hooker Matt Mafi starts his first game for City in place of Andrew Ready and GPS back rower Waita Setu returns to the fray in a straight swap with Luke Beauchamp in the number six jersey.
In the backline, Nick Frisby and Jake McIntyre have once again been given the reins to control proceedings and ignite the backline after some solid performances so far this season.
Sunnybank’s Henry Taefu joins Samu Kerevi in the centres and Mika Tela makes his run on debut to partner Chris Kuridrani on the wing. Karmichael Hunt rounds out the starting team having been selected at fullback, in place of last weekend’s two-try hero, Junior Laloifi.
On the bench, University halfback Moses Sorovi and Pat James are still in line to make their debuts for City, with the experienced Ryan Freeney also returning to the squad to provide front row cover.
Stiles said some minor injury concerns contributed to some of the changes.
“It was a physical encounter against Queensland Country on Sunday, but we were really happy to get the bonus-point win and retain the Andy Purcell Cup. With such a short turnaround, a couple of the boys weren’t quite right for this match. However, over the past 12 months, we have seen a number of players put their hands up and take their opportunities, so we are excited to see how they perform on the pitch.”
Stiles also said his team were looking forward to returning to Ballymore after a couple of matches on the road.
“The boys are always excited to play at home in front of their family and friends. There is also a bit of extra meaning behind tonight’s match as we are putting the Horan-Little Shield on the line. Having played with both Tim Horan and Jason Little, it’s a great honour to be competing for a trophy named after them. We are really looking forward to contesting the Shield against the Rays in front of a good crowd at Ballymore.”
Brisbane City:
1. Pettowa Paraka – Reds/Easts
2. Matt Mafi – Brothers
3. Sam Talakai – Reds/GPS
4. Ben Hyne - Brothers
5. Cadeyrn Neville – Reds/Manly
6. Waita Setu - GPS
7. Liam Gill (C) – Reds/Sunnybank
8. Scott Higginbotham – NEC Green Rockets
9. Nick Frisby – Reds/GPS
10. Jake McIntyre – Reds/Sunnybank
11. Mika Tela – Souths
12. Henry Taefu – Sunnybank
13. Samu Kerevi – Reds/GPS
14. Chris Kuridrani – Reds/GPS
15. Karmichael Hunt – Reds/Brothers
Reserves
16. Markus Vanzati - Souths
17. Ryan Freeney - GPS
18. Feao Fotuaika - Sunnybank
19. James Moore - Easts
20. Luke Beauchamp - Brothers
21. Moses Sorovi - University
22. Patrick James - Brothers
23. Junior Laloifi - Sunnybank
North Harbour Rays:
1. Rory O’Connor- Warringah
2. Luke Holmes (c)-Warringah
3. Lawrance Hunting-Northern Suburbs
4. Ryan Melrose-Manly
5. Harry Rorke-Gordon
6. Harry Bergelin-Manly
7. Boyd Killingworth-Warringah
8. Jack Dempsey-Gordon
9. Josh Holmes-Warringah
10. Hamish Angus-Warringah
11. Tyson Davis-Warringah
12. Tom Hill-Eastwood
13. Dennis Pili-Gaitau-Manly
14. Alex Northam-Manly
15. Reece Hodge-Manly
Reserves:
16. Vance Elliot-Manly
17. Mitch Lewis-Manly
18. Alex Holmes-Bond University
19. Cameron Treloar-Warringah
20. Ruairidh Wilson-Gordon
21. Tim Donlan-Manly
22. Sam Lane-Manly
23. Michael Adams-Warringah
