Andrew Pelechaty previews the Friday night clash between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
New Zealand Warriors Vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Date: Friday July 21, 6:00pm (8:00pm NZ time)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Rocco Berry 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Luke Metcalf 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Bunty Afoa 11. Jackson Ford 12. Marata Niukore 13. Tohu Harris 14. Dylan Walker 15. Mitchell Barnett 16. Tom Ale 17. Freddy Lussick 18. Bayley Sironen 20. Josh Curran 21. Ronald Volkman 22. Taine Tuaupiki 23. Viliami Vailea
Raiders: 1. Sebastian Kris 2. Albert Hopoate 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Jack Wighton 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Zac Woolford 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Corey Horsburgh 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Ata Mariota 18. Matt Frawley 19. Nick Cotric 20. Trey Mooney 21. Hohepa Puru 22. Ethan Strange
Referee: Todd Smith
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Canberra heads to New Zealand for the first time since 2019: while the 2019 Raiders won comfortably against a struggling Warriors side, the 2023 Warriors are flying and all but guaranteed to play finals – and maybe finish top four?
They destroyed Cronulla-Sutherland 44-12 at Mt Smart Stadium last weekend, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scoring two of the Warriors’ eight tries as they ran in 38 straight points.
And while Canberra has won 10 of their last 12 (and are somehow in the top four), few of the wins have been convincing – they’ve continually sacrificed big leads and have been lucky to escape with the two points.
The Round 19 win against St George Illawarra followed that pattern: Canberra led 30-10 after 50 minutes (two tries to Matthew Timoko) and they should have erased some of their horrendous -65 differential. But they conceded three tries in only seven minutes: Mikaele Ravalawa exploited a Raiders left-edge defence that was thinner than Paper Mario to score his second and third tries. A Sebastian Kris try finally sealed Canberra’s unconvincing 36-26 win.
Even coach Ricky Stuart seems fed up, saying in the press conference after the Dragons game – “We used to be a team who would be just happy to win those games…we’ve got to change that attitude and mindset to being more ruthless and going on with it.” Could this be the kick in the pants that the Raiders need in the home stretch to the finals?
The Warriors will be confident after a huge win at Round 15. Bruce Stadium was full to celebrate Jarrod Croker’s 300th game, but the Warriors weathered Canberra’s early emotional high and put the game away with three tries in 12 minutes in the second half (Tom Ale, Luke Metcalf, Wayde Egan).
Marata Niukore returns from suspension for the Warriors, while Bunty Afoa also returns.
There’s three big ins for Canberra: Josh Papalii, Corey Horsburgh, and Pasami Saulo. Ata Mariota goes back to the bench and Trey Mooney – despite an impressive 25 minutes against St George Illawarra – drops out, along with Peter Hola.
While they Warriors have the dreaded five-day turnaround, at least they’ll be staying in New Zealand, where they have a 5-3 record (including Auckland, Wellington, and Napier).
That home ground advantage should be enough for a comfortable win here.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Warriors 5, Raiders 5
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Warriors by 14 points.
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