NRL Late Mail round 22: Tim Johannssen to debut for Wests Tigers as Sione Fainu ruled out

Daily Telegraph

The Tigers have been forced into a late change for Thursday’s clash against the Cowboys, debuting a rookie who almost quit rugby league at the start of the year.

The Wests Tigers will debut young prop Tim Johannssen in Thursday night’s clash against the Cowboys.

Johannssen was ready to quit rugby league at the start of the year before joining the Ryde Eastwood Hawks as part of their Sydney Shield squad (fourth grade), and has quickly progressed to the Tigers NRL team. 

The 22-year-old was a part of the Bulldogs 2023 premiership winning Jersey Flegg team, before departing the club after their victory.

He will step in for Sione Fainu, who missed captain’s run on Wednesday morning.

Justin Olam also sat on the sideline for large parts of the session, but is expected to play.

If ruled out, Declan Casey is expected to fill in.

From Sydney Shield to NRL

Wests Tigers | Wed 31 Jul 2024, 7:50pm

Wests Tigers have trimmed their squad to 19 players ahead of Thursday’s Round 22 match against the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval.

In line to make his NRL debut is 22-year-old prop Tim Johannssen, who comes onto the bench in place of Sione Fainu.

Johannssen will be the eleventh player to make his NRL debut this season and will  become Wests Tigers Player #291.

Tim joined Wests Tigers this season from feeder club Ryde-Eastwood after winning the Jersey Flegg Cup with Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2023. 

The Swiss-born, South Tweed junior moved to Australia as an infant, joining Newcastle Knights as a 17-year-old before making a mid-season move to the Bulldogs in 2022.

He has played 12 games for Wests Magpies this season in the NSW Cup, scoring a 50 metre match-winning try against the Warriors in Auckland last Friday.

Round 22 Team List here.

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