Roger Tuivasa-Sheck try. Photo: NRL Photos / www.photosport.nz
Warriors v Raiders
Kickoff: 10pm, Friday 19 July (NZT)
GIO Stadium, Canberra
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
With dubious decisions from the NRL officials being the flavour of the month right now, you could not come by two more hard done by teams than Andrew Webster's Warriors or red hot Ricky Stuart's Canberra Raiders who find themselves squaring off head-to-head tonight in an absolutely must win match-up.
The loss of club captain Tohu Harris will rock the Warriors, who now find themselves in 12th on the NRL ladder at the business end of the season. The Warriors have to win at least five out of their last eight games, with the 11th placed Raiders being an excellent place to start.
Here is a look at the teams:
Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Te Maire Martin 7. Chanel Harris-Tavita 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett (c) 11. Marata Niukore 12. Kurt Capewell 13. Dylan Walker
Interchange: 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Jackson Ford 16. Jazz Tevaga 17. Leka Halasima
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Jordan Rapana 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papalii 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliot Whitehead (c) 13. Morgan Smithies
Interchange: 14. Danny Levi 15. Trey Mooney 16. Ata Mariota 17. Zac Hosking
Warriors selections
With Harris now out for the season, the forward pack sees a much-needed boost in Origin heavyweights Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell backing up after solid efforts on Wednesday night. Marcelo Montoya and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad are out with injuries, replaced by Taine Tuaupiki at fullback, and Ali Leiataua in the centres. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck finds himself on the wing where he can hopefully bring more of an attacking spark for the team.
Mitch Barnett is tackled. Penrith Panthers v New Zealand Warriors. NRL Rugby League Finals, BlueBet Stadium, Penrith, NSW, Australia, Saturday 9th September 2023. Copyright Photo: David Neilson / www.photosport.nz Photo: David Neilson
Raiders Selection
The Raiders have some great reinforcements coming in after being plagued with injuries throughout the year: halfback Jamal Fogarty playing his first game for the club in months alongside the return of star forward Hudson Young.
Jamal Fogarty of the Raiders. Photo: John Davidson/Photosport
The last time they met
Warriors 18-10 Raiders
The Warriors ground out a much-needed win over the Raiders down in Christchurch in round three. In a scrappy back and forth game the Warriors team's combinations began to show form and a solid foundation, it ended up one of the few close matches this year they've ended up on the right side of.
Prediction
Another week and the feelings of panic and urgency sweep over the Warriors as they look to salvage what's been an extremely up and down 2024 NRL season, but exactly the same can be said for the Raiders. All hope isn't lost for both clubs but a loss tonight for either side would be catastrophic as they both push towards the NRL finals series.
Historically over the past five years games have been extremely tight, especially when being played over in Canberra. Field goals and golden point overtime are extremely likely as both teams fight tooth and nail to get ahead with tonight's game bringing a real sense of urgency with everything to play for.
