{"id":593878,"date":"2026-09-08T12:22:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/593878\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T12:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:22:15","slug":"warriors-v-dolphins-jackson-ford-named-to-return-for-qualifying-final-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/593878\/","title":{"rendered":"Warriors v Dolphins: Jackson Ford named to return for qualifying final clash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watene-Zelezniak remains sidelined after surgery on a broken collarbone sustained in last month\u2019s win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The winger is back training but wearing a non-contact bib as he recovers. He\u2019s expected to return later in the finals.<\/p>\n

With Watene-Zelezniak unavailable, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad remains on the right wing, with last week\u2019s hat-trick hero Taine Tuaupiki retaining his fullback position.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are at full strength for their first finals match, with winger Selwyn Cobbo (ankle), back-rower Kulikefu Finefeuiaki (knee) and five-eighth Kodi Nikorima (hamstring) all returning from rest to overcome niggling injuries.<\/p>\n

Expect another tight battle between the two sides, with their six NRL clashes all decided by four points or fewer.<\/p>\n

In round eight, the Warriors overcame a 12-point deficit to claim a 20-18 win on Anzac Day<\/a> in Wellington.<\/p>\n

Then in round 17 in Brisbane, the Warriors thought they had snatched victory before a Selwyn Cobbo try in the final two minutes meant the Dolphins clinched a 26-24 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The winner this weekend will advance straight to the preliminary final in two weeks, while the loser will face either the South Sydney Rabbitohs or Newcastle Knights in a sudden-death semi-final next week.<\/p>\n

Should the Warriors win and advance to the final four, it is expected the match will be played at Eden Park.<\/p>\n

Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Leka Halasima, 5. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Te Maire Martin, 8. James Fisher-Harris, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Mitchell Barnett, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark<\/p>\n

Interchange (from): 14. Sam Healey, 15. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 16. Demitric Vaimauga, 17. Jackson Ford, 18. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, 20. Adam Pompey, 21. Jett Cleary, 22. Luke Laulilii, 23. Makaia Tafua.<\/p>\n

Dolphins: 1. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Jack Bostock, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Isaiya Katoa; 8. Thomas Flegler, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Tom Gilbert, 11. Max Plath, 12. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 13. Morgan Knowles.<\/p>\n

Interchange (from): 14. Kurt Donoghoe, 15. Ray Stone, 16. Francis Molo, 17. Connelly Lemuelu, 18. Felise Kaufusi, 19. Bradley Schneider, 20. Jake Averillo, 21. Brian Pouniu, 22. Tevita Naufahu<\/p>\n

Ben Francis<\/a> is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watene-Zelezniak remains sidelined after surgery on a broken collarbone sustained in last month\u2019s win over the South Sydney…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[9092,51,1863,3019,284754,33224,5904,2082,6210,19134,30641,10136,111,139,69,45434,10715,1527,1534,49115,213,2737,165,61,3006,284755,1845,33345],"class_list":["post-593878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-against","tag-auckland","tag-back","tag-clash","tag-dallin","tag-dolphins","tag-final","tag-for","tag-ford","tag-forward","tag-jackson","tag-named","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-qualifying","tag-remains","tag-return","tag-saturday","tag-sidelined","tag-sports","tag-star","tag-their","tag-to","tag-warriors","tag-watenezelezniak","tag-welcome","tag-winger"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}