Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 7 clash between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the New Zealand Warriors.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
St George Illawarra Dragons Vs New Zealand Warriors
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Date: Friday 19 April, 6:00pm AEST
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dragons: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Christian Tuipulotu 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Kyle Flanagan 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Hame Sele 11. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Tom Eisenhuth 14. Jesse Marschke 15. Blake Lawrie 16. Jack de Belin 17. Ben Murdoch-Masila 18. Michael Molo 19. Mathew Feagai 20. Toby Couchman 21. Viliami Fifita 22. Fa’amanu Brown
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Rocco Berry 4. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Te Maire Martin 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Jackson Ford 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Tohu Harris 14. Chanel Harris-Tavita 15. Tom Ale 16. Jacob Laban 17. Adam Pompey 18. Zyon Maiu’u 20. Taine Tuaupiki 21. Ali Leiataua 22. Edward Kosi 23. Paul Roache
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
For the Dragons, Shane Flanagan has made one forced change after last week’s 24-12 win over the Tigers, with Jack Bird ruled out after failing his HIA. Christian Tuipulotu comes into the side on the wing with Zac Lomax shifting to centre.
Moving Lomax back to centre is an intriguing move given his form on the wing so far this year. He’s been one of the form wingers in the competition and arguably the best under the high ball, especially when the Dragons put up attacking kicks. His role shouldn’t change too drastically at centre, so we can expect more kicks targeting Lomax; however, it will be his combination with Ben Hunt and Tyrell Sloan that’s the key to the Dragons scoring enough points to get the win.
For the Warriors, Andrew Webster also has one forced change, with Jazz Tevaga succumbing to a hamstring injury. Adam Pompey moves into the 17 to take his place on the bench. Fresh off the back of a grueling 22-all draw against Manly last week, the Warriors will feel they deserved the two points, after coming back from 16-0 down. Despite falling short of the win, they’ve undoubtedly proven they’re one of the most resilient teams in the competition.
With Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returning at fullback over the past few weeks, the Warriors’ attack has gone from strength to strength and they’re not showing any signs of slowing down. In this corresponding fixture at WIN Stadium last year, the Warriors scored 48 points, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scoring four tries himself. We may be in for a repeat of that performance if the Dragons’ defence isn’t at its best.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 7 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Warriors by 12 points.
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