Injuries, form slumps and the desire for more X-factor or defensive stability can prompt NRL coaches to roll the dice on the selection table at finals time.
As the 2026 playoffs unfold, Warriors fans are fiercely debating whether their club should gamble on departing half Luke Metcalf when fit, while seemingly season-ending injury diagnoses for Roosters halfback Sam Walker and Knights back-rower Dylan Lucas may be reversed as the finals wear on.
Here’s some of the most surprising and controversial finals series selection calls from down the years.
Willey punts on schoolboy
Brad Fittler dazzled when he came off the bench for heavyweights Penrith in the last two regular season matches of 1989.
But crusty Panthers coach Ron Willey stunned everyone by pitching the 17-year-old into the starting five-eighth spot for the finals, leaving cast-iron veteran Chris Mortimer – a NSW Origin No.6 earlier in the season – on the bench.
Fittler performed admirably as the Panthers sunk to back-to-back losses, scoring a try against Balmain, but Willey’s outlandish selection policy was not appreciated by the club’s management and he was punted at the end of the year.
History would show Fittler was selected as the Blues’ five-eighth in an Origin decider opposite Wally Lewis at just 19, before becoming one of the best to ever play the position.
Stuart injury puts Raiders in sticky situation (1993)
Canberra was the firm premiership favourite in 1993 until linchpin Ricky Stuart broke his leg in the penultimate round of the regular season.
Diminutive rookie Trevor Schodel was thrown the No.7 jumper, but after a 32-8 loss to Canterbury that cost the Raiders the minor premiership, coach Tim Sheens opted to reshuffle some of his big guns for the ensuing finals clash with St George.
Laurie Daley started at halfback for the only time in his career, while skipper Mal Meninga shifted from centre to five-eighth – and the Raiders went down 31-10.
The Test stars reverted to their customary positions the following week, with utility Steve Stone taking over at halfback, but the Green Machine were bounced out of the playoffs by Brisbane.
Moran rakes in debut on big stage (1997)
Brian Smith, who employed a renowned ‘horses for courses’ policy throughout his coaching career, rolled the dice ahead of the club’s sudden-death encounter with North Sydney in 1997, drafting in 20-year-old debutant Dennis Moran to the starting pack and demoting former Test hooker Aaron Raper.
The livewire performed creditably in a 24-14 defeat, but he was not called upon by Smith again until the final round of the following season.
Moran played just 36 first grade games for the Eels – including a further six finals matches – but carved out a reputation as a tryscoring machine with London and Wigan after heading to the Old Dart in 2001.
‘Chook’ Herron’s stunning recall (1998)
Smith sprung another surprise in 1998, shaking up his Eels squad despite a commanding 25-12 win over the Bears in the opening week of the playoffs.
Playmakers Jason Smith and Jason Bell started on the bench to take them out of the tough opening exchanges against Brisbane, but the biggest shock came courtesy of veteran winger Ian ‘Chook’ Herron’s call-up for his first game since the previous year’s finals series.
Replacing the injured Clinton Schifcofske, turtle-paced Herron kicked three vital goals in a 15-10 upset of the Broncos in what would be his last NRL appearance, with Schifcofske returning for the Eels’ next match.
Another of Smith’s notable head-scratchers occurred in 2000, when back-rowers Ian Hindmarsh and Jim Dymock were the starting hookers in Parramatta’s three finals assignments.
Anderson puts club over family (1999)
Melbourne coach Chris Anderson made an agonising selection decision that played a crucial part in the club’s 1999 premiership success.
Ben Anderson had worn the No.6 in 12 straight games after regular five-eighth Scott Hill was ruled out for the season, but he was axed by his dad after the Storm’s 34-10 loss to St George Illawarra in the first week of the finals.
Winger Matt Geyer was shifted to five-eighth, where he was integral to the team’s remarkable sudden-death charge to grand final glory. Geyer went on to become a regular five-eighth fill-in during a decade with the Storm, but Ben Anderson never played first grade again.
Teenaged Bird steps in for injured great (2002)
Chris Anderson was forced into another big five-eighth call during the Sharks’ 2002 finals campaign after former international Matthew Johns succumbed to a neck injury during their semi-final victory over the Dragons.
Skilful rookie Greg Bird had made just seven interchange appearances during the regular season, but a tryscoring performance against the Saints after coming on for Johns convinced Anderson to give the 18-year-old his maiden NRL start in the preliminary final.
The Sharks were edged out 16-10 by the Warriors, but Bird held his own and – though he became better known as a ball-playing back-rower – he later earned his first Test and Origin starts in the No.6 jumper.
Buttriss’ unlikely No.7 role (2008)
Canberra hooker Glen Buttriss’ impressive 2008 rookie season took an interesting twist when the finals kicked off.
Todd Carney’s sacking and a season-ending injury to replacement Marc Herbert saw versatile captain Alan Tongue don the No.7 for the last two regular season rounds, before coach Neil Henry pitched unlikely saviour Buttriss into the halfback role for the Raiders’ showdown with Cronulla.
The Raiders were eliminated via a 36-10 loss at Shark Park and Buttriss played exclusively at hooker or off the bench for the remaining seven seasons of his NRL career.
Broncos back-rowers handed halves roles (2007-11)
Ill-timed halves injuries frequently forced the Broncos’ hand ahead of must-win finals in the half-decade following the club’s 2006 premiership triumph – and their coaches have made some curious selection calls.
A season-ending injury to Darren Lockyer in 2007 saw Wayne Bennett turn to Sam Thaiday to fill the five-eighth role in the Broncos’ qualifying final clash with Melbourne, a 40-0 loss that also saw winger Alwyn Simpson play his one and only NRL match.
When Peter Wallace was forced out of Brisbane’s preliminary final date with the Storm in 2009, Ivan Henjak named Alex Glenn in the No.7, though Tonie Carroll eventually started alongside Lockyer in the halves in a 40-12 defeat.
Anthony Griffin surveyed several options to replace Lockyer when a fractured cheekbone forced the retiring talisman out of the 2011 preliminary final, before settling on Matt Gillett, who was one of the Broncos’ best in a 26-14 loss to Manly.
Bennett shuffles spine after Boyd injury (2017)
With gun fullback Darius Boyd ruled out of Brisbane’s 2017 qualifying final assignment against Sydney Roosters, Wayne Bennett opted to shift winger Jordan Kahu to the fullback spot and made the huge call to bench incumbent halfback for Benji Marshall.
After a 24-22 loss, Nikorima was restored to the starting line-up at fullback – just the second time he had played there at NRL level – for the semi-final clash with Penrith, which the Broncos won 13-6.
Boyd returned for the preliminary final, so Nikorima reverted to halfback and Marshall was bench as the Broncos crashed to a 30-0 loss to Melbourne.
Naden axed for prelim (2020)
Rangy three-quarter Brent Naden became a permanent fixture in the Penrith backline during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, scoring 12 tries in 16 games.
But despite not playing in a losing team all season, the athletic but occasionally erratic Naden was brutally axed by coach Ivan Cleary for the Panthers’ preliminary final against Souths with utility Tyrone May selected at centre instead.
Naden was recalled at centre for the grand final loss to Melbourne, though he was demoted to the bench in a late change with May again starting.
Taaffe gets nod after Mitchell ban (2021)
Latrell Mitchell’s lengthy ban for an ugly shot on former Sydney Roosters teammate Joey Manu in the penultimate round of 2021 left South Sydney in need of a new fullback for the finals.
Experienced guns Alex Johnston and Cody Walker had filled in at the back earlier in the season, but Wayne Bennett entrusted rookie Blake Taaffe – who had made a couple of appearances in the custodian role – with the No.1 jersey.
More accustomed to the halves, Taaffe was superb as the Rabbitohs rolled into the grand final, where they were gallant in a 14-12 loss to Penrith.
But Taaffe’s career failed to hit similar heights with Souths and Canterbury, eventually joining Super League club Castleford in 2026 after a mere 43 NRL appearances.