Halfback
Tanah Boyd will make his club debut,
Taine Tuaupiki starts at fullback and winger
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returns from injury for the One New Zealand Warriors’ sold-out round 19 NRL clash against the Wests Tigers at Go Media Stadium on Sunday (4.00pm kick-off).
At the same time, Queensland second rower
Kurt Capewell has been named on the extended bench and could be a late inclusion depending on how he comes through tomorrow night’s State of Origin series decider in Sydney.
With halfback
Luke Metcalf’s season ended by an ACL injury in the loss to the Broncos, One New Zealand Warriors head coach
Andrew Webster has called up the seasoned
Boyd who has been outstanding for the club’s table-topping New South Wales Cup side.
The 24-year-old, who will become Warrior #293, arrived this season after 69 NRL games for Gold Coast. Noted for his general kicking game, he’s also a top-flight goal-kicker with an 80 per cent success rate at first-grade level.
In 13 outings for the Warriors’ NSW Cup side this year – all wins – he has scored 137 points with an 80.49 per cent goal-kicking strike rate while he has 16 try assists, an average 300 kicking metres a game, nine tackle breaks and an average 68 running metres a game.
With first-choice fullback
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad sidelined with a knee injury,
Tuaupiki returns for his 21st career appearance and his 10th this season; he started at fullback in the round seven win over the Broncos while he was used on the wing in his other eight outings.
Watene-Zelezniak is back from an ankle injury suffered in the round 16 loss to Penrith, his sixth match back following a delayed start to the campaign from wrist surgery.
Apart from the backline changes,
Webster has named
Jackson Ford to start in the front row with
Marata Niukore – used as a starting prop in four of the last five games – listed in the second row with
Leka Halasima.
As it stands now, the interchange comprises utility
Te Maire Martin and three of the club’s young brigade in
Jacob Laban,
Demitric Vaimauga and
Tanner Stowers-Smith.
The Warriors come into the match off their third and final bye after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season against the Panthers and the Broncos.
They remain in fourth place on 26 points with a 10-5 record, four points ahead of fifth-placed Brisbane and five ahead of sixth-placed Penrith.
The Tigers will be buoyant after snapping a six-match losing streak with a 30-28 win over the Roosters on Sunday which moved them to 14th on the ladder, four points off eighth spot.
When the two teams met at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in round four, the Warriors grabbed a dramatic 26-24 win, their ninth victory in their last 10 games against the Tigers.
The NRL match is the main event of an historic doubleheader at home with the NRLW side facing Parramatta in the curtain raiser kicking off at 1.50pm.
It’s the first time the club’s NRL and NRLW sides have shared the same game day at Go Media Stadium and only the second time the Warriors have had an NRLW home game (the first being a stand-alone against the Dragons in 2019).
