Roar Guru
The Brisbane Broncos face a very tough trip across the Tasman as they face a New Zealand Warriors side on a four match winning streak. Join us for live scores and commentary from 2.00pm AEST.
Six weeks ago, the Warriors were coming off an historic 56-point defeat at the hands of the Panthers. New Zealand had officially hit rock bottom.
Since that terrible defeat, the Warriors have brought their season back to life, courtesy of a four match winning streak that has seen them defeat premiership contenders Manly and Sydney in consecutive weeks.
New Zealand will be favoured to notch up their fifth win on the trot today when they face a Broncos outfit who they beat convincingly just four weeks ago.
The Broncos however were missing their Origin stars on that occasion and are back to full strength for this match-up.
With that said, the Warriors are currently playing with the skill and belief that saw them make the 2011 grand final and will be very difficult to stop at home this afternoon.
Prediction
Brisbane are going to have their hands full containing a Warriors team full of confidence at the moment.
Key Warriors stars Feleti Mateo, Ben Matulino, Russell Packer, Elijah Taylor and Sam Rapira are all playing strongly at the moment and will take a power of stopping upfront today.
Brisbane certainly possess the forwards to match the Warriors pack, and it may very well take Origin-like performances from the likes of Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett and Ben Hannant for the Broncos to stand toe to toe with the home side.
While Brisbane do have the muscle upfront to make a game of this, their attack remains a huge cause for concern, particularly if Justin Hodges and Josh Hoffman are kept under wraps.
The Warriors on the other hand have all their key attacking weapons in great form, with Manu Vatuvei, Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai and Glen Fisiiahi causing huge havoc against the opposition of late.
If the Warriors are allowed to get on the front foot early, New Zealand will most likely run away with this contest, given the rich vein of form and confidence at their disposal.
Warriors by ten.