Josh Curran & Leka Halasima.
Photo: Photosport/RNZ
NZ Warriors v Canterbury Bulldogs
Kickoff: 9.35pm Saturday, 9 August
Accor Stadium, Sydney
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
History
In 45 previous meetings, the Bulldogs have won 23 and the Warriors 20, with two draws in 2000 and 2001. That advantage is 6-4 at Accord Stadium.
Canterbury have won their last two encounters – 34-18 at Shaun Johnson Stadium (Mt Smart) and 13-12 at Accor last season – but the Warriors took out the previous six, dating back to 2019.
The Bulldogs’ biggest win was 54-10 in 2004, when Kiwi winger Matt Utai scored four tries and Sonny Bill Williams also among the tryscorers that day.
The Warriors’ biggest win was 40-6 in 2019, when centre Solomone Kata scored two tries. The only survivor from that game is Warriors winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who played at fullback.
Both Warriors coach Andrew Webster and counterpart Cameron Ciraldo were assistants under Nathan Cleary at Penrith Panthers, before taking over their current teams in 2023.
Form
Both teams are coming off defeats, with the Warriors falling in the final play of the game against the Dolphins last week and the Bulldogs toppled by Wests Tigers.
Canterbury had a chance to regain top-of-the-table standing with victory, but now sit third, four points clear of the Warriors.
They had a three-game winning streak going, before their lapse against the Tigers, and led the competition from round 4 to round 17, when they fell to four-time defending champions Penrith.
The Warriors have lost back-to-back games for the second time this season, stumbling against then-bottom-placed Gold Coast Titans and then the Dolphins.
They have sat in the top four for much of the season, but fell to fifth on Friday night, when the Panthers won their ninth straight.
Victory over the Bulldogs would put them back in the top four, but defeat would leave them vulnerable to Cronulla Sharks, who face St George Illawarra Dragons on Saturday evening.
Teams
Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Adam Pompey, 4. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Tanah Boyd, 23. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Sam Healey, 10. Jackson Ford, 8. Marata Niukore , 12. Kurt Capewell, 13. Erin Clark
Interchange: 11. Leka Halasima, 14. Te Maire Martin, 16. Demitric Vaimauga, 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith
Reserves: 15. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 18. Freddy Lussick
The loss of second-rower Jacob Laban with a fractured leg, after last week’s hipdrop tackle, has been tempered by the likely returns of five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita, interchange forward Demitric Vaimauga and captain James Fisher-Harris.
James Fisher-Harris has been confirmed to return from his calf injury.
Photo: www.photosport.nz
Harris-Tavita and Vaimauga were named earlier in the week, pending fitness tests, and 24 hours out, Fisher-Harris was upgraded from the extended reserves to the starting line-up.
Sam Healey gets another start at hooker, with Wayde Egan cleared of concussion, but rehabbing a shoulder niggle.
Bulldogs: 1. Jacob Kiraz, 2. Jethro Rinakama, 3. Bronson Xerri, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Enari Tuala, 6. Matt Burton, 7. Lachlan Galvin, 8. Max King, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Sam Hughes, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Jacob Preston, 13. Jaeman Salmon
Interchange: 14. Kurt Mann, 15. Harry Hayes, 16. Josh Curran, 17, Bailey Hayward
Reserves: 21. Daniel Suluka-Fifita, 23. Toby Sexton
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has stuck with the line-up that fell to Wests Tigers last week, with Jacob Kiraz retained at fullback and Toby Sexton among the reserves, as Galvin nurses a hand complaint.
Player to watch
Lachlan Galvin’s mid-season transfer from the Tigers caused all kinds of controversy and the Bulldogs have had to make adjustments to an already winning line-up to accommodate him. He’s young, but talented and may just be the ingredient needed to put them over the top.
What will happen
The return of injured troops will bolster the Warriors, who have surely been shaken out of their slumber and will respond with a much-needed win to keep their playoff prospects alive.
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