Penrith celebrate their fourth NRL crown last season. Photo: Photosport
Warriors v Panthers
Kickoff: 5pm Saturday, 21 June
Go Media Stadium, Auckland
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NZ Warriors fans should not be fooled by the prospect of a depleted and seemingly out-of-form Penrith Panthers side arriving at Go Media Stadium on Saturday.
The four-time defending NRL champions have not played in Auckland since 2019 - before their premiership run began - but have so far struggled in their bid for a fifth straight crown, currently languishing one point outside the playoff picture in ninth with five wins, seven losses and a rare draw.
A five-game losing streak set them on their heels early and, as recently as four weeks ago, they sat bottom of the table, but back-to-back wins and a bye week have considerably boosted their hopes.
"Obviously, it's not where they want it to be, that's pretty clear," Warriors coach Andrew Webster observed. "They normally have more wins on the board, but you can see they're building to something.
"They know when to put the foot down and compete at a high level when it matters. I think you'll definitely see them challenge in this competition.
"They're a strong club that are very proud and they'll find a way to get back to where they want to be."
Coach Ivan Cleary has ruled out his five State of Origin stars for this fixture, lamenting a shortage of flights available to bring son Nathan, captain Isaah Yeo, fullback Dylan Edwards, winger Brian To'o and second-rower Liam Martin from Perth to Auckland with time to sufficiently recover.
"The Origin players won't be playing because they can't," Cleary said. "I don't think it's fair that we can't play... we should be able to make that decision. Through flights, we just can't get them there."
The Origin window has often been a difficult period for Penrith, but if the Warriors needed a reminder to never underestimate their rivals, it came in July 2017, when they travelled to the foot of the Blue Mountains to face a seemingly impotent line-up without its star-studded halves combination of Nathan Cleary and James Maloney.
Instead, the visitors were shredded 36-4 by rookie Jarome Luai, who scored a try double and kicking 6/8 off the tee, for a personal haul of 20 points in just his second first-grade appearance. These days, Luai is also an Origin veteran, but has taken his talents to Wests Tigers.
Only Roger Tuivasa-Sheck remains of that Warriors side, but ironically, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, James Fisher-Harris and Wayde Egan of the current squad turned out for Penrith that night.
That encounter also somehow fell between the gaps in Webster's career, somewhere between his first stint at Mt Smart and his move to the Panthers, as Ivan Cleary's assistant.
"That's a long time ago, I wasn't at either club - I was at the Tigers probably," he recalled. "I was living in Penrith and probably went to the game."
Ivan Cleary (right) won't have son Nathan to steer the ship on Saturday. Photo: AAP/www.photosport.nz
Webster and Cleary have forged a strong relationship over the years, from the time they first hooked up at Wests, then a two-year period together at Penrith.
Webster helped the Panthers to the first two titles of their dynasty, before returning across the Tasman to the Warriors with Cleary's recommendation for the top job.
This will be their fourth head-to-head meeting, with Cleary ahead 2-1, but the Warriors took the most recent victory at 'Magic Round' in Brisbane last year, when their own revamped line-up shocked the titleholders with a late converted try to fullback Taine Tuaupiki.
Webster admitted the significance of meeting his old club and mentor probably wasn't as strong as it once was.
"Early on, the first couple of times you do it, you look into it a bit," he said. "Still got some fond memories and some people there I've got a lot of respect for, particularly Ivan, but that's kind of dwindled now.
"They're the ex team, and you've got to go out and win. There are two points up for grabs and we're motivated to get better at what we want to do.
"I'm just glad that the fans get the champions at our stadium."
Ivan Cleary. Photo: Photosport
Both teams are coming off a bye week and both have lost coming off their previous byes this season. The Warriors barely fired a shot in the first 40 minutes of a 42-14 defeat to Melbourne Storm in April, while the Panthers dropped a real headscratcher 25-6 against Newcastle Knights three weeks ago.
Sitting third on the table, the Warriors produced probably their best performance of the season to vanquish Cronulla Sharks 40-10 two weeks ago, but lost an opportunity to build on any momentum from that outing.
"We've got a chance to build on it now," Webster insisted. "It only seems like the other day we played, not like a month ago or six weeks ago.
"We've still got an opportunity to build on what we did."
The Warriors focused on themselves to start the week, but likely turned their attention towards their opponents nearer to gametime.
"Their defence is very aggressive," Webster said. "Their line speed, they go after you, so you've got to make sure you earn your way out of trouble - we've got to have a hard edge about us there.
"You have to make sure you have your own backyard in order, earning plenty of momentum with the ball and defending well.
"If you start watching everyone and wondering what to do, you start losing focus on yourselves."
Meanwhile, Webster has resisted the temptation to name Cleary's youngest son, Jett - born in Auckland during his dad's tenure with the Warriors and now back playing for the club's U21 side - for a surprise NRL debut against his father's team.
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