Penrith coach Steve Georgallis has thrown exciting young playmaker Harry Seijka in for his NRL debut for Saturday night's must-win clash against North Queensland.

Seijka, who has starred throughout the Panthers junior ranks, will line up in the No.6 jumper in place of Travis Burns, who will be out for 2-4 weeks with a fractured hand.

Burns will undergo surgery on Wednesday, his loss compounded by an ankle injury which is expected to sideline fullback Lachlan Coote for up to a month.

"It's tough luck for Lachlan, he's had a bad run of it," Georgallis said.

"He was just finding his feet again, and now this, he's taking it pretty hard."

David Simmons will fill-in at fullback, while Georgallis rated Luke Lewis an 80 per cent chance of returning from a shoulder injury.

The Cowboys will again be without injured skipper Johnathan Thurston, but will be buoyed by the fact they have won two of their last three games without him.

Lote Tuqiri's season of frustration took another turn for the worse with the Wests Tigers winger out for four weeks with a torn quadricep muscle.

The dual international has played just five matches in 2011 after suffering a broken arm and ankle injuries earlier in the year, the latest setback set to keep him out until just before the finals.

Matt Utai will take his place on the wing for Friday night's trip to Gosford to play Manly, while Wade McKinnon has won a recall on the bench.

The Sea Eagles have named Anthony Watmough to come back from a shoulder complaint.

Parramatta coach Stephen Kearney has stuck with Jarryd hayne in the No.6 jumper but switched Justin Horo and Reni Maitua for Monday night's game against Melbourne.

Horo will line up in the centres with Maitua at lock, while Shane Shackleton returns at the expense of Joseph Paulo.

St George Illawarra will welcome back skipper Ben Hornby from a broken hand against South Sydney on Sunday, the Dragons needing a win to consolidate their spot in the top four.

His return means Nathan Fien goes back to hooker, with Mitch Rein named on an extended bench.

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