No risking Nicho as clubs exercise caution with Origin stars

The Sharks will take no risks with Nicho Hynes on the back of Wednesday's Origin series opener, while a number of other clubs are also set to exercise caution with their representative talent in Round 14.

• NRL Team Lists: Round 14

Facing the prospect of playing three games in the space of eight days between Origin One and Round 15, Hynes – who has been battling a calf issue which caused him to miss Round 10 and sit out the second half of Cronulla's loss to the Panthers in Round 12 – has been left out of coach Craig Fitzgibbon's 22-man squad named on Tuesday. 

Sitting out Saturday's clash with the Broncos in Brisbane will also allow the 2022 Dally M Medal winner to miss two interstate flights and have an eight-day break, ahead of Cronulla hosting top four rivals the Dolphins on Thursday night next week. 

Hynes is likely to be one of several Origin stars who misses the upcoming round of club action, with both the Cowboys and Dragons leaving their state players out of the playing 17 for the time being and instead listing them among their wider reserves. 

St George Illawarra's trio of Ben Hunt, Zac Lomax and Jaydn Su'A face a 48-hour turnaround from Origin I into their meeting with the Wests Tigers, while North Queensland and their six Origin reps have an extra day of rest before their Round 15 fixture against the Warriors, but have to contend with the added toll of a flight back to Townsville from Sydney. 

After being denied an Origin debut by a quad concern which saw him withdraw from the Blues' squad on Sunday, Dylan Edwards is unlikely to be risked by the Panthers but has been included in Ivan Cleary's wider reserves for the time being.  

As they seek a bounce back from a last-up defeat to the Dragons, the premiers have named Blues players Isaah Yeo, Liam Martin and Jarome Luai to play against the Sea Eagles. 

Brisbane meanwhile have selected all four of their Origin players to start in their usual roles, with centre Selwyn Cobbo – who will likely play a smaller-minute bench role for the Maroons on Wednesday – a particularly good chance of suiting up for club duties. 

Both the state captains, Daly Cherry-Evans and Jake Trbojevic, are expected to play for the Sea Eagles on Sunday at this stage, along with New South Wales rookie forward Haumole Olakau'atu. 

Provided they get through Origin I unscathed, Blues centre Stephen Crichton and Maroons debutant J'maine Hopgood are the players best positioned to play for their clubs in Round 15, with the pair having the benefit of a five-day turnaround between the interstate clash and the meeting between the Bulldogs and Eels on Monday afternoon in Sydney. 

In addition to not being impacted by Origin, with their lone selected player, Mitch Barnett, not making the final 17 and released from camp last week, the Warriors have received an injection of over 800 games worth of NRL experience ahead of Round 15. 

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Rocco Berry, Wayde Egan, Tohu Harris and Kurt Capewell all return from injury, while powerhouse forward Addin Fonua-Blake is available again after serving a club-imposed suspension in Round 12 following a breach of team standards. 

The group rejoin a side who are back in the mix for the top eight following consecutive victories, which came after a five-game winless run between Round 6-10. 

Halfback Shaun Johnson has been kept on ice this week as he works through a pectoral injury, but he remains a chance of returning for the following week's showdown with the Storm in Auckland.