A leg injury suffered in the Sharks scrimmage session earlier this week has failed to heal sufficiently, with Matt Moylan ruled out of the Sharks team for the game against the Eels on Saturday night.
It had been hoped Moylan would recover in time to play, however his late withdrawal has resulted in Trent Hodkinson being included in the Sharks 21-man squad.
The star five-eighth suffered the injury at training on Wednesday night and the club has been given an exemption by NRL head of football Brian Canavan to bring Hodkinson into the side.
The Sharks did not name Hodkinson in their 21-man squad on Tuesday night but he will be allowed to make his first Telstra Premiership appearance in Sharks colours.
The Club was allowed to make the late inclusion because Canavan was comfortable that "a rigorous process was applied in ensuring the right outcome was reached".
The Sharks were allowed to make the late inclusion because Moylan was not carrying a pre-existing injury and they had no players in their original squad who could be used to fill in his position in the halves.
The decision not to originally include Hodkinson in the 21-man squad also involved the injury clouds surrounding Luke Lewis and Paul Gallen, with coach Shane Flanagan needing forwards on his interchange and reserves bench to cover for their potential loss.
While Lewis is unlikely to be fit to play, Gallen trained today at the Sharks Captain’s run and looks set to take his place in the team tomorrow night
