Knights legend Andrew Johns has given a hint about a possible late line-up change by Newcastle coach Justin Holbrook and it could be a massive story.
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Speaking on the Sunday Footy Show, Johns thinks Holbrook may take a chance and debut teenager hooker Diesel Hagan in the Sunday night’s Grand Final.
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The last player to make their first grade debut in a Grand Final was Eddie Lockhart in 1936.
Hagan doesn’t even have a top-30 contract after playing SG Ball and NSW Cup this season, but Johns thinks he could run out onto Accor Stadium tonight.
“I just keep hearing a whisper he’s going to start,” Johns said on The Sunday Footy Show.
“Then Harrison Graham will come on after 20-25 minutes… I just keep hearing this young guy, if he gets a tap on the shoulder he will be ready. What a way to debut.”
SECRET ROOSTERS MEETING REVEALED
Roosters superstar Mark Nawaqanitawase playing his final game in the NRL tonight?
The winger will head off to rugby union for the next two years, but his future beyond that is unknown.
He’ll be 28 when his contract with Japanese Rugby side Saitama Wild Knights is finished and will have plenty of good years left in him.
Fox League’s Luke Keary said after Nawaqanitawase helped the Roosters get into the Grand Final with a sensational display against the Dolphins that his move to rugby would be a “devastating loss for the game, not just for the Roosters”.
He hasn’t talked about what he plans to do after his rugby contract runs out, but Sydney Morning Herald journalist Danny Weidler has reported that there was a meeting last week between Roosters chairman Nick Politis and his management.
It was there that Nawaqanitawase’s team revealed that he was considering making the move back to the NRL once his rugby stint finishes.
Nawaqanitawase’s mother Fiona told Weidler that she wants her son to return to the Roosters because she’s loved the way the club has looked after him.
“It’s all Mark’s decision in the long run, but he knows how much I’ve fallen in love with the club that he’s at and the people who are there, and I wish he was staying,” she said.
If he comes back, the Roosters are prepared to make him the highest-paid winger in the game which would help in fighting off future approaches from rugby union.
GRAND FINAL DAY SCHEDULE
*All times AEDT
1pm – Gates open at Accor Stadium
1.20pm – State Championship kick-off, Panthers v Dolphins
3.20pm – NRLW Grand Final Pre-Game Show
4pm – NRLW Telstra Premiership Grand Final kick-off, Roosters v Broncos
7pm – Pre-Game Show
7.30pm – NRL Telstra Premiership Grand Final kick-off, Roosters v Knights
MATCH CENTRE: Roosters v Knights live scores
LIVE BLOG: Follow along for the latest updates! Can’t see the blog? CLICK HERE
TEAMS
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Robert Toia 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Daly Cherry-Evans 7. Sam Walker 8. Naufahu Whyte 9. Reece Robson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Salesi Foketi 12. Siua Wong 13. Victor Radley 15. Angus Crichton 16. Nat Butcher 17. Spencer Leniu 18. Hugo Savala 19. Cody Ramsey 20. Benaiah Ioelu 22. Egan Butcher
Knights: 1. Kalyn Ponga 2. Dominic Young 3. Dane Gagai 4. Bradman Best 5. Greg Marzhew 6. Fletcher Sharpe 7. Sandon Smith 8. Tyson Frizell 14. Harrison Graham 10. Cody Hopwood 11. Jermaine McEwen 12. Francis Manuleleua 13. Mathew Croker 15. Lachlan Crouch 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Dylan Lucas 18. Fletcher Hunt 19. Thomas Cant 20. Kyle McCarthy 21. Diesel Hagan
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