Winger Alofi’ana Khan-Pereira and second rower Morgan Gannon have been omitted from the One New Zealand Warriors’ 20-man game day squad for Sunday’s round five NRL clash against Cronulla Sutherland at Ocean Protect Stadium in Sydney (2.00pm kick-off local time; 4.00pm NZT).
Centre Ali Leiataua, listed in jersey #23, remains among the reserves.
There was only one change made to the six-man interchange named on Tuesday with co-captain Mitchell Barnett omitted after breaking his right thumb against Wests Tigers last week in just his second match back from knee surgery.
Demitric Vaimauga, an unused reserve against the Tigers, comes back into the mix in the top 17 in jersey #16 with second rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava added to the reserves.
The 31-year-old Barnett was forced to wait 293 days to make his comeback from knee surgery but after just two games (and 87 minutes) he is now out for a yet be determined period.
As well as Barnett the other senior NRL players still unavailable are second rower Kurt Capewell (calf), halfback Te Maire Martin (leg) and centre Rocco Berry (shoulder).
Last week’s first loss of the season has left the One New Zealand Warriors second behind the Panthers, the competition’s only unbeaten side after four rounds.
It ended a brief one-week reign holding down first spot on the ladder, just the third time the Warriors have claimed the #1 position in their 31-year history (first for a week after round one in 2019 and first after round 26 – and winners of the minor premiership – in 2002).
With a 3-1 record the Warriors now face a Sharks side with a 2-2 scorecard sitting ninth on the ladder after mixed performances.
They dominated the Titans 50-10 in round one but then fell 6-26 to the Panthers and 10-38 to the Dolphins at home before beating the Raiders 34-22 in Canberra on Sunday.
The One New Zealand Warriors have come away winners in their last three visits to the newly named Ocean Protect Stadium.
They put on their best performance of last year’s campaign when they won 40-10 there in round 14 (the week after losing Barnett for the season) while they finished ahead in two-point thrillers in 2024 (30-28) and 2023 (32-30).
Overall the Sharks have a 29-22 advantage in 51 meetings between the two clubs.