Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 2 clash between the Warriors and Sea Eagles.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
New Zealand Warriors Vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Venue: Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Date: Friday March 14, 6:00pm (AEDT)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Taine Tuaupiki 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Luke Metcalf 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark 14. Dylan Walker 15. Jackson Ford 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Leka Halasima 18. Samuel Healey 20. Te Maire Martin 21. Eddie Ieremia 22. Bunty Afoa 23. Edward Kosi
Sea Eagles: 1. Tom Trbojevic 2. Jason Saab 3. Tolutau Koula 4. Reuben Garrick 5. Lehi Hopoate 6. Luke Brooks 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Jazz Tevaga 10. Josh Aloiai 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Ben Trbojevic 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Corey Waddell 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Toafofoa Sipley 18. Clayton Faulalo 19. Tommy Talau 20. Gordon Chan Kum Tong 21. Jakob Arthur 22. Dean Matterson
Referee: Adam Gee
Bunker: Chris Butler
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
There were vastly different fortunes for the Warriors and Sea Eagles in the opening round of the 2025 NRL season. Full of optimism, the Warriors were brought crashing back down to earth courtesy of 30-8 defeat to Canberra in Las Vegas. Manly meanwhile launched a ferocious attacking raid on North Queensland at 4 Pines Park, racing to a 42-0 lead with 25 minutes remaining before easing up and winning 42-12.
The Warriors sold out every game at Go Media Stadium in 2024 and will be hoping that support continues into their first home game of 2025, which will also mark the first home game for James Fisher-Harris.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster has opted against changes, naming the exact same squad that travelled to Las Vegas to face the Raiders.
Unsurprisingly, Anthony Seibold has only made one change, with Siosiua Taukeiaho out with bone bruising after taking a knock to the knee in round one. Josh Aloiai comes straight into the team at prop.
With such high hopes, the opening round loss for the Warriors would have been particularly deflating. While it was to be expected that their attack might take a while to gel following the retirement of Shaun Johnson, defence proved to be a bigger issue, conceding 17 offloads and making 28 ineffective tackles, with a further 44 missed. With the Sea Eagles having similar strike power across their backline, the Warriors will need to fix their defence up if they are to win this game.
Manly showed how devastating their attack could be against the Cowboys, running in three tries in the opening 10 minutes of the match and following it up with a similar burst soon after half-time as the right edge of Haumole Olakau’atu, Reuben Garrick, and Jason Saab combined with Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic to rip the Cowboys apart. A few lapses in the final 10 minutes allowed the Cowboys to score some late points, something that Anthony Seibold will be keen to prevent from happening again.
The Warriors like to perform for their home fans early in the season, only losing their first game at Go Media Stadium twice since 2012 (2016 and 2024). Their home record was less encouraging through 2024 though, losing six of the 10 games they played there.
The record in matches between the two teams heavily favours Manly, with the Sea Eagles winning 28 of their 42 all-time matches, including 11 of the 17 played at Go Media Stadium (with one draw).
Despite Manly’s dominance, it has been a relatively even match-up in recent years, with both teams recording three victories in their past seven meetings, along with a 22-all draw in their last match-up in Auckland in 2024. The Sea Eagles won their other meeting at 4 Pines Park 24-10.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Warriors by 4 points.
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
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