Following the completion of the fourth round of the 2025 NRL season, several teams will look to change up their team, while others will enter Round 5 with the exact same line-up.
Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers), Thomas Hazelton (Cronulla Sharks) and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (Melbourne Storm) are just a few players that are set to be available for selective heading into Round 5.
However, while some return, the likes of Brian To'o (Penrith Panthers), Tom Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles), Jarome Luai (Wests Tigers), Kayal Iro (Cronulla Sharks) and Alex Johnston (South Sydney Rabbitohs) have been ruled out for this week.
Canterbury Bulldogs vs Newcastle Knights
While Reed Mahoney escaped suspension from the Match Review Committee (MRC) the same couldn't be said for back-rower Sitili Tupouniua who was hit with a one-game ban.
His exclusion from the side will see Kurtis Morrin re-enter the team after being a late omission from last week's match and Jack Todd retain his spot on the interchange bench.
In a surprising turn of events, winger Jacob Kiraz (back) could potentially appear in his first match of the season this week and is a "slight chance" to take the field as he nears a return.
“Kiraz is a slight chance of playing this weekend, but we'll see how he goes at training during the week,” Ciraldo said on Tuesday morning via News Corp.
Projected Round 5 Team: 1. Connor Tracey 2. Blake Wilson 3. Bronson Xerri 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Bailey Hayward 7. Toby Sexton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 11. Josh Curran 12. Jacob Preston 13. Kurt Mann 14. Jack Todd 15. Kurtis Morrin 16. Harry Hayes 17. Jaeman Salmon
It's hard to see the Knights making any changes from their Round 3 side with Dylan Lucas (hamstring), Leo Thompson (knee) and Kai Pearce-Paul (suspension) all set to be unavailable until at least the following week.
Lucas is the most likely of the trio to return after being a late omission against the Gold Coast Titans, but isn't a certainty to feature in Round 5 with Jermaine McEwen being used as his coverage.
Projected Round 5 Team: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. James Schiller 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Fletcher Sharpe 7. Jack Cogger 8. Jacob Saifiti 9. Phoenix Crossland 10. Brodie Jones 11. Thomas Cant 12. Adam Elliott 13. Tyson Frizell 14. Jayden Brailey 15. Jack Hetherington 16. Jermaine McEwen 17. Mat Croker
