WILL Smith shifts to the halves and two players debut as title holders Newcastle prepare for Sunday's NSW Country Championships semi-final against the Northern Tigers at Singleton.
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Former NRL player Smith will wear the No.7 jersey and partner Rebels captain Chad O'Donnell while winger Will Nieuwenhuise gets a start and ex-Eels forward Peni Terepo comes onto the bench.
They were the main changes outlined by Newcastle representative coach Garth Brennan following Wednesday night's training session at Dudley.
Matt Soper-Lawler now moves to that edge alongside Nieuwenhuise, who was called up for injured Timanu Alexander (knee), while Brennan opted to "err on the side of caution" with playmaker Dylan Phythian (concussion).
Terepo swaps with Nick Ritter (calf) while Matt Moon replaces Mitch Black as 18th man.
The Tigers have former Newcastle RL player of the year Adam Clydsdale named at hooker.
Kick-off is scheduled for 2pm.
REBELS: Cameron Anderson, Honeti Tuha, Blake Ferguson, Matt Soper-Lawler, Will Nieuwenhuise, Chad O'Donnell (c), Will Smith, Jayden Butterfield, Luke Huth, James Taylor, Lewis Hamilton, Lincoln Smith, Ben Stone, Ryan Glanville, Jack Welsh, Liam Wiscombe, Peni Terepo, Matt Moon.
Josh Callinan
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
My name is Josh Callinan and I'm a sports journalist at the Newcastle Herald. I started with the newspaper in 2016 after a decade at the Maitland Mercury.
