{"id":4802,"date":"2026-05-05T02:01:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T02:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/4802\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T02:01:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T02:01:25","slug":"nrl-2026-two-teenagers-in-line-for-debuts-as-broncos-lose-14-players-through-suspension-or-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/4802\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Two teenagers in line for debuts as Broncos lose 14 players through suspension or injury"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brisbane Broncos<\/a> could be without as many as 14 players for the Round 10 trip to Manly after the crisis at the NRL<\/a> premiers went from bad to worse over the weekend. But it’s opened the door for teenagers Antonio Verhoeven and Phillip Coates to earn special career-firsts for Michael Maguire<\/a>‘s depleted squad.<\/p>\n

Brisbane were already missing a host of premiership-winning regulars such as Payne Haas (knee), Corey Jensen (blood clot) and Ben Hunt (knee) during last week’s loss to the Roosters. They were boosted by the return of superstar fullback Reece Walsh but have been hit with fresh injury and suspension drama ahead of Saturday night’s showdown against the Sea Eagles.<\/p>\n

\"Broncos<\/p>\n

Broncos coach Michael Maguire (R) could be forced to turn to a pair of teenagers with Brisbane facing up to 14 players out for the Round 10 clash with Manly. Pic: Getty<\/p>\n

Skipper Adam Reynolds (concussion) and winger Deine Mariner (thigh) are both set to miss the Manly game. While gun centre Kotoni Staggs has been slapped with a two-game ban after copping a Grade 2 dangerous contact charge for an elbow on Hugo Savala.<\/p>\n

Josiah Karapani is also in doubt after going off with an ankle injury late in the 14-point loss to the Roosters. The Broncos will assess how Karapani’s ankle holds up this week before determining his availability. But it’s forced Maguire to consider his options if the winger fails to prove his fitness.<\/p>\n

Teenage stars pushing for call-ups into Broncos squad<\/p>\n

One of them is 19-year-old Kiwi sensation Verhoeven, who made his NRL debut off the bench against the Titans in Round 5, when Walsh came from the field with a fractured cheekbone. But Verhoeven could be in line for his starting debut if Karapani is ruled out – potentially replacing Staggs at centre.<\/p>\n

Hayze Perham would likely take Karapani’s spot on the opposite wing to Jesse Arthars, having filled in for Walsh at fullback previously. While fellow Broncos young gun Coates – the brother of Storm and Maroons winger Xavier – is in the frame to make his NRL debut after pushing for a call-up to Brisbane’s 19-man squad.<\/p>\n

\"Teenagers<\/p>\n

Teenagers Phillip Coates (L) and Antonio Verhoeven (R) are both in line for NRL call-ups at the depleted Brisbane Broncos. Pic: Burleigh Bears\/NRL<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old Coates has been turning heads for the Burleigh Bears in the Queensland Cup, where he’s scored six tries in his last four games. The young flyer has frequently been compared to his oder brother Xavier and has a similar knack for finding the tryline.<\/p>\n

The Broncos have huge raps on the academy star after handing him a one-year extension earlier this year. And Maguire is confident that Coates and Verhoeven are both ready for NRL call-ups if required. \u201cWe have Phil and young Nio available,\u201d the Brisbane coach told News Corp<\/a>. \u201cThey have been in the system for years and train with the first-grade guys. They are ready to go when the opportunity is there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey train with us every day. Watching them grow is something we all enjoy. The leaders are enjoying helping the younger players because they understand where we are at the moment. Everyone in the squad is needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former Cowboys star Tom Duffy has already played two games for the Broncos this season and impressed at halfback in the absence of Reynolds. And the 22-year-old is expected to get another shot in the No.7 jersey against Manly with the skipper sidelined due to concussion.<\/p>\n

Potential Broncos squad for Round 10 game against Manly<\/p>\n

1. Reece Walsh 2. Jesse Arthars 3. Gehamat Shibasaki 4. Antonio Verhoeven 5. Hayze Perham 6. Ezra Mam 7. Tom Duffy 8. Ben Talty 9. Cory Paix 10. Jack Gosiewski 11. Xavier Willison 12. Jordan Riki 13. Patrick Carrigan Interchange\/Reserves: 14. Josh Rogers 15. Jayden Hunt 16. Va\u2019a Semu 17. Preston Riki 18. Aublix Tawha 19. Phillip Coates<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brisbane Broncos could be without as many as 14 players for the Round 10 trip to Manly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[808,4164,646,99,637,6097,770,1406,6096,664,6098],"class_list":["post-4802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brisbane","tag-adam-reynolds","tag-ankle-injury","tag-antonio-verhoeven","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-broncos","tag-manly","tag-michael-maguire","tag-nrl","tag-phillip-coates","tag-reece-walsh","tag-verhoeven"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}