A desperate South Sydney have received a massive boost with NSW half Adam Reynolds to make a surprise comeback in Saturday's NRL match against Manly.
Reynolds had been expected to miss the next few weeks with appendicitis, however the club on Friday confirmed he would return against the Sea Eagles at Lottoland.
Michael Maguire's side will be without skipper Greg Inglis for the rest of the season after a torn ACL in last week's season opener and the sight of Reynolds running on in the No.21 jersey will be a welcome sight.
"He'll improve their side no end, and largely due to his kicking game," Manly coach Trent Barrett said.
"We'll prepare that he'll play. Robbie Farah's also been good for them and he'll be one we're going to watch."
Reynolds' return to partner Cody Walker means Luke Kelly drops out of the 17.
Barrett has urged his charges to address their ill discipline and instructed hitman Martin Taupau to eliminate the shoulder charge from his game.
Taupau, along with fellow forward Addin Fonua-Blake, will miss the team's next two matches for no-arm hits in their round-one defeat to Parramatta.
Barrett questioned why the shoulder charge was punished more harshly than the $1500 fine for punches, but still told his suspended duo to curb their aggressive instincts.
"You can't shoulder charge. That's something that Marty and Addin have got to address in their games because they're too important for us to miss," Barrett said.
"Marty's one, there was a fair bit of contact there, but Addin's one was he just lent into him more or less. And you don't get one for a punch. It is a bit of a grey area, I suppose."
The suspensions, together with injuries to Lloyd Perrett and Darcy Lussick, left Barrett scraping the barrel of his front-row depth.
Veteran Nate Myles has been promoted into the starting line-up, while newcomers Jarrad Kennedy and Shaun Lane will come off the bench.
"Obviously, it's not ideal losing the three blokes on top of Lussick. It's just something I've got to deal with. I'm happy with who we've brought in," Barrett said.
"I'm confident and comfortable with the blokes we've brought in and all the blokes on the bench are real goers. They won't die wondering."
Barrett also revealed he had met referees boss Tony Archer on Thursday to discuss a number of decisions that left his side with just 38 per cent possession against Parramatta.
The penalty count in the match was seven-to-five in the Eels' favour.
"I thought we did have some calls that were a bit harsh and probably some calls that didn't go our way. But in saying that, that's not to blame for our lack of respect for the ball," he said.
"He's in a tough position, too - you can't turn back the clock. Hopefully, we don't get so many of the ones we did in that game."
STATS THAT MATTER:
* South Sydney have lost their past eight matches without Greg Inglis playing, conceding 265 points while scoring just 62
* Jake Trbojevic has scored two tries in his past two games against the Rabbitohs - the only team he has scored more than one try against
* The Sea Eagles have not lost the opening two matches of a season at Lottoland since 2009, when they won just one of the opening four games at the venue
- Stats supplied by Fox Sports
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