Round 2 of the BRL In Safe Hands Cup features the ‘battle of the big cats’ at Suzuki Stadium, Langlands Park with the Tigers hosting the Panthers.
Tigers coach David Krause will look to go the full 80 minutes against the Panthers. Last week, Easts led with 13 minutes to go against Valleys before being run down, eventually losing 30-14.
For Easts, Round 1's four-try hero Brett Kelly will be one to watch, especially around the big men. The likes of Maeli Seve and Evander Cummins can be just as much of a handful as their fullback should Kelly draw too much attention from the defence.
Easts have named giants Foisa Peni and Gene Ropoama in the starting 13, however, the Panthers repelled an equally massive pack last week on their way to victory over the Gulls.
The Panthers won an ugly game last week against the Wynnum-Manly Seagulls at Kougari Oval, with coach Wayne Weekes acknowledging Wests can play a lot better.
Wests have James Sharkie returning, named on the bench along with Simona Vavega who was outstanding when he entered the fray last week. Kyle Van Klaveren had a solid outing for the Red and Blacks and will be better for the run.
Elsewhere, Souths Magpies take on Valleys and they will look to bounce back after a hammering against the Dolphins last week. Souths played the majority of the game in their own half, and possession was below 50%.
The flying Bernard Mosby joins prolific try scorers Luke Archer and Benaiah Bowie in the Magpies back three. Former Dolphin Johnnie ‘The Chiropractor’ Fox has been named in an 18-man squad.
For Valleys, they will look to go back-to-back in the opening rounds of their title defence. They came home strongly last week over the Tigers, buoyed by support from a massive crowd packed in for Old Boys Day.
Coach Don Gailer has a mobile and consistent pack led by Liam Herrington who continually produces 80 minutes of mistake-free football.
Gailer has made a habit of using his smaller men to gain quick metres in their own quarter to great effect. Both Tom and Sam Collins have been outstanding making easy metres from dummy half.
Lastly, the Seagulls will play host to the Redcliffe Dolphins. Wynnum Manly would have spent a lot of training time addressing their handling errors from last week’s loss against the Panthers.
Coach Ron Troutman would have been disappointed after their opening game, however, the Seagulls preseason trials were disjointed due to the weather, and on paper they have a squad that can match it with the best.
The Gulls forwards will look to take it to the Phins pack, but it is the outside men that could produce the biggest headache for the home side.
Redcliffe have some serious wheels out wide. Curtis Johnson and Trai Fuller have been joined at the back by Obed Kahwin. Kahwin crossed three times in a decisive win last week.
Tigers v Panthers at Suzuki Stadium, Saturday, March 24 - 3pm
Livestream PANTHERTV
Tigers
1. Brett Kelly 2. David McKenna 3. Connor Jones 4. Maeli Seve 5. Evander Cummins 6. Michael Rasmussen 7. Ollie Olds 8. Gene Ropoama 9. Jack Walters 10. Foisa Peni 11. Jayden Hunt 12. Harry Pondekas 13. Jesse Uhlmann 15. James Salter 17. Andrew Thompson 19. Jack Schaffer 20. Heath Wilson
Coach: David Krause
Panthers
1. Kyle Van Klaveren 2. Shaun Rees 3. Sunny Monroe 4. Kennedy Pettyborne 5. James Olds 6. Logan Spaander 7. Zach Strasser 8. Jack Leehang 9. Mikaere Beattie 10. Michael Molo 11. Troy Swift 12. Billy Rogers 13. Dominic Biondi 16. James Sharkie 17. Drae Aiono 18. Kane Zalewski 19. Simona Vavega 16.
Coach: Wayne Weekes
Magpies v Diehards at Davies Park, Sunday, March 25 - 1.15pm
Magpies
1. Benaiah Bowie 2. Bernard Mosby 3. Dan Russell 4. David Pritchard 5. Luke Archer 6. Joe Burchell 7. Lorenzo Chung-Kwan 8. Ian King 9. Brad Frith 10. Jordan Mago 11. Matt Boyce 12. Dan Tamou 13. Sam Elliott 14. Matty Brown 15. Justin Fai 16. Cody McIntosh 17. Will Samuel 18. Johnnie Fox - one to be omitted
Coach: Steve Bretherton
Diehards
1. Hayden Lipp 2. Tom Collins 3. Rowan Klein 4. Sam Collins 5. Regan Glyn 6. Brett Doherty 7. Hayden Herbert 8. Liam Herrington 9. Chris Aiton 10. Patrick Akauola 11. Jacob Kelly 12. Iain Riccardi 13. Dalton Phillips 14. Jack Miers 15. Mattais Heimuli 16. Michael White 17. Joe Mc Kenna
Coach: Don Gailer
Seagulls v Dolphins at BMD Kougari Oval Sunday, March 25 - 4.45pm
BRLTV Livestream
Seagulls
1. Matthew Milson 2. Jack Goodsell 3. Dallas Anderson 4. Jacob Tonge 5. Tumoana Halkyard 6. Aaron Booth 7. Ben Jackson 8. Lachlan Lee 9. Mitchell Moore 10. Billy Solah 11. Keenan Palasia 12. Kelly Tate. 13. Stedman Lefau 14. Kalolo Saitaua 15. Corey Davis 16. Jaz Nahu-Main 17. Tamati Ioane
Coach: Ron Troutman
Dolphins
1. Trai Fuller 2. Curtis Johnston 3. Jake Sparey 4. Sam Leach 5. Obed Kahwin 6. Reece Braun 7. Joshua Fauid 8. Bailey Butler 9. Tristan Hope 10. Ben King 11. Agassi Stowers 12. Corban Daniels 13. Jacob O’Shea 14. Tauaalo Vaipulu 15. Brayden Lee 16. Jordan Pinnock 17. Rinsma Saueha
Coach: Daniel Green
* John Devine is the BRL A Grade correspondent for the QRL
