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Wests Tigers
22
Match Complete
New Zealand Warriors
30
| S. To'a |  | 77 | ||
| 77 |  | A. Pompey | ||
| 76 | | A. Fonua-Blake | ||
| 68 |  | S. Johnson | ||
| A. Koroisau | | 58 | ||
| D. Laurie | | 57 | ||
| 50 | | A. Pompey | ||
| 49 | | T. Harris | ||
| 32 | | D. Watene-Zelezniak | ||
| A. Koroisau | | 19 | ||
| L. Brooks | | 18 | ||
| A. Koroisau | | 17 | ||
| S. To'a | | 16 | ||
| 15 | | A. Pompey | ||
| 13 | | A. Pompey | ||
| 8 | | S. Johnson | ||
| 6 | | L. Metcalf |
| 4 | Tries | 5 | ||
| 3 | Conversions | 4 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 1 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
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Round 24 of the NRL premiership continues this afternoon when the Wests Tigers take on the New Zealand Warriors at FMG Stadium in Waikato. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 5:30pm (AEST).
The Warriors have been lucky in recent weeks. They almost blew a near-insurmountable lead at home to the Raiders, only to be saved by Jarrod Croker’s missed conversion. They stalled badly and nearly succumbed to the 12-man Titans last weekend, only to scrape home in the dying stages.
They’ve effectively been playing at home throughout, with an actual home game in Auckland, a vociferously pro-Warriors crowd at Robina and now, an ‘away’ game to the Tigers just down the road from home in Hamilton.
Which raises a few questions. Are niggling injuries and general fatigue starting to take a toll? Are internalised pressure and weight of external expectations weighing on the collective mind? Have teams started to figure the Warriors out? Would they be better served by a stroll or a genuine contest against the wooden-spooners-elect this evening?
A stroll is more likely given it’s the Tigers – they’re running last for several reasons. But they did fight hard in Canberra last Sunday and have shown few signs of throwing in the proverbial towel.
Tigers coach Tim Sheens and his charges have probably noticed that Shaun Johnson has been having a little more trouble finding his passing lanes lately, with opponents disrupting their inner edge play and Luke Metcalf not yet an effective secondary playmaker.
There’s a good chance the Tigers will get in the Warriors’ faces and jam their passing lanes, at least for a while, forcing Johnson, Wayde Egan and the edge back-rowers to problem-solve on the run. And the Tigers aren’t a bad team to do that against – they can present problems, just not very difficult ones, and the Warriors might find some more nuance and cohesion in the process.
In team news, the Warriors will be without Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad due to concussion protocols, with Taine Tuaupiki to start at fullback, while the Tigers welcome back Shawn Blore and representative prop Stefano Utoikamanu.
There’ll be a lot of focus on the Warriors given they’re still chasing a top-two finish and are expected to win easily. But the Tigers aren’t irrelevant in this, and they’re likely to make the Warriors solve a problem or two. The Warriors will get home, though, it’s just a matter of by how much and in what manner? Warriors by 16
Venue: FMG Stadiumk, Waikato
Kick-off: 5:30pm (AEST)
TV: Fox Sports
Streaming: Kayo Sports, Foxtel
Odds: Tigers $4.85 Warriors $1.18 – odds via PlayUp
Tigers: 1. Jahream Bula 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Starford To’a 4. Asu Kepaoa 5. Junior Tupou 6. Daine Laurie 7. Luke Brooks 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. David Klemmer 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. John Bateman 13. Fonua Pole 14. Jake Simpkin 15. Alex Seyfarth 16. Alex Twal 17. Shawn Blore 18. Justin Matamua 19. Aitasi James 20. Triston Reilly 21. Josh Feledy 22. Kit Laulilii
Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Rocco Berry 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Luke Metcalf 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Jackson Ford 12. Marata Niukore 13. Tohu Harris 14. Dylan Walker 15. Jazz Tevaga 16. Bayley Sironen 17. Josh Curran 18. Freddy Lussick 20. Edward Kosi 21. Bunty Afoa 22. Viliami Vailea 23. Ronald Volkman
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