NRL

Last year it was the Panthers and Raiders who left their stars at home in the closing rounds of the NRL home and away season, with both ultimately falling short of their premiership ambitions.

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This time it’s the Roosters and Sharks who have decided to rest multiple (healthy) stars in preparation for a tilt at the 2026 NRL Finals Series which begins on September 11 — two sides that are both heading into the finals amidst worrying form slumps.

The Roosters will rest nine regular first-graders this weekend against the Rabbitohs — including a completely new spine — while the Sharks will give four the weekend off, including arguably their two most important spine players, Blayke Brailey and Nicho Hynes.

The jury remains firmly out as to the value of such bold and potentially destabilising selection moves and, as it is every season, only time will tell if it was the right move from Trent Robinson and Craig Fitzgibbon.

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On the up side, resting stars en masse gives players a chance to rest sore and tired bodies ahead of an intense month of finals football in a late season freshen up.

On the down side, of course, is the risk of undermining established combinations and eroding confidence by fielding seriously understrength line-ups ahead of the most important month of season.

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Just look at the 62-24 mess the Dolphins made of 2025 minor premiers Canberra in Round 27 last year for proof of that. The Raiders failed to win another game after that Sunday afternoon bloodbath in Redcliffe and were bundled out of the 2025 finals in straight sets.

The issue of the mass-resting of players has also triggered concerns around NRL betting and the integrity of the competition when final ladder positions are still undecided.

Not without some irony, Ivan Cleary — the coach who has become synonymous with resting his stars in recent seasons — has named a basically full-strength Panthers side for the Round 27 clash with the Wests Tigers.

New Zealand Warriors boss Andrew Webster has also opted not to leave out a swathe of healthy stars, prioritising momentum over freshness, as has Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf ahead of his side’s maiden NRL finals campaign.

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Rest, or play? What would you do if you were an NRL coach?