Benji Marshall will captain Wests Tigers in what will be his 299th NRL appearance this Friday as his side take on the Sydney Roosters for their Round 16 home game at Western Sydney Stadium in Parramatta.
With regular skipper Moses Mbye unavailable due to State of Origin commitments for Queensland, Marshall will assume the captaincy once more as Wests Tigers look to secure their third consecutive victory when they face the defending premiers.
In a boost for the side, Samoan international Josh Aloiai returns from illness to start at prop in place of Ben Matulino (knee) while Paul Momirovski also returns to the side for the first time since Round 11 to replace Mbye in the centres.
Ryan Matterson has been named to start in the back row against his former club, having not been named as part of the Blues extended squad for game three.
Michael Maguire has named an unchanged bench following last week’s victory with Oliver Clark dropping back to the reserves, where he has been named as part of an extended squad with Josh Reynolds, Chris McQueen and Russell Packer.
Packer’s return is another boost for Wests Tigers, with the experienced prop included in the squad for the first time since Round 10 when he sustained a foot injury playing for the club’s Canterbury Cup side Western Suburbs Magpies.
In addition to Marshall’s pending milestone, hooker and fellow life member Robbie Farah (296 games) is also closing in on the elusive 300 game club while Matt Eisenhuth (46 games for Wests Tigers) and Alex Twal (44 games for Wests Tigers) are also on track to tick off minor milestones for the club in the next few weeks.
For the Roosters, coach Trent Robinson will be without James Tedesco and Boyd Cordner due to State of Origin commitments, while Sio Siua Taukeiaho also is ruled out with injury.
THE TEAM IS:
1 Corey Thompson
2 Robert Jennings
3 Paul Momirovski
4 Esan Marsters
5 David Nofoaluma
6 Benji Marshall
7 Luke Brooks
8 Josh Aloiai
9 Robbie Farah
10 Alex Twal
11 Ryan Matterson
12 Chris Lawrence
13 Matthew Eisenhuth
INTERCHANGE
14 Jacob Liddle
15 Thomas Mikaele
16 Elijah Taylor
17 Michael Chee-Kam
