Back rower Demitric Sifakula and fullback Taine Tuaupiki have been retained in the One New Zealand Warriors’ game day squad for Friday night’s round 22 NRL clash against Parramatta at Go Media Stadium (8.00pm kick-off; game day sponsor: Maxigesic).
Omitted from the extended 22-man list at the 24-hour deadline were halfback Te Maire Martin, winger Edward Kosi and prop Bunty Afoa.
Veteran halfback Shaun Johnson and fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad are both back from sideline stints for the sold-out contest.
Johnson has recovered from the long-standing chronic Achilles tendinopathy complaint which sidelined him following the round 16 loss to the Titans five weeks ago.
Match: Warriors v Eels
Round 22 -
home Team
Warriors
away Team
Eels
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Warriors is number 1 Charnze Nicoll-KlokstadFullback for Eels is number 1 Clinton Gutherson
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Winger for Warriors is number 2 Dallin Watene-ZelezniakWinger for Eels is number 2 Jake Tago
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Centre for Warriors is number 3 Ali LeiatauaCentre for Eels is number 3 Will Penisini
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Centre for Warriors is number 4 Moala Graham-TaufaCentre for Eels is number 4 Blaize Talagi
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Winger for Warriors is number 5 Roger Tuivasa-SheckWinger for Eels is number 5 Sean Russell
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Five-Eighth for Warriors is number 6 Chanel Harris-TavitaFive-Eighth for Eels is number 6 Dylan Brown
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Halfback for Warriors is number 7 Shaun JohnsonHalfback for Eels is number 7 Daejarn Asi
Forwards
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Prop for Warriors is number 8 Addin Fonua-BlakeProp for Eels is number 8 Reagan Campbell-Gillard
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Hooker for Warriors is number 14 Freddy LussickHooker for Eels is number 9 Brendan Hands
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Prop for Warriors is number 10 Mitchell BarnettProp for Eels is number 10 Wiremu Greig
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2nd Row for Warriors is number 11 Marata Niukore2nd Row for Eels is number 11 Shaun Lane
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2nd Row for Warriors is number 12 Kurt Capewell2nd Row for Eels is number 12 Bryce Cartwright
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Lock for Warriors is number 13 Dylan WalkerLock for Eels is number 13 Ryan Matterson
Interchange
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Interchange for Warriors is number 9 Wayde EganInterchange for Eels is number 14 Joey Lussick
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Interchange for Warriors is number 15 Tom AleInterchange for Eels is number 15 Joe Ofahengaue
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Interchange for Warriors is number 16 Jazz TevagaInterchange for Eels is number 16 Luca Moretti
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Interchange for Warriors is number 17 Leka HalasimaInterchange for Eels is number 17 Dan Keir
Reserves
-
Replacement for Warriors is number 18 Demitric SifakulaReplacement for Eels is number 22 Makahesi Makatoa
Match Officials
- Referee: Todd Smith
- Touch Judge: Phil Henderson
- Senior Review Official: Grant Atkins
Last updated:
Nicoll-Klokstad succumbed to a calf injury late in the first half of the 12-13 golden point loss to the Bulldogs on July 6 but has been cleared to slot back at fullback in his 13th match of the season.
Also coming off the injury list this week is standoff Luke Metcalf who will line up for the club’s New South Wales Cup side against the Eels on Friday night after being out since breaking his leg nine minutes into the round four contest with Newcastle more than four months ago.
While Johnson, Nicoll-Klokstad and Metcalf are set for comebacks, forward Jackson Ford is out until round 25 or 26 with a knee injury. It ends his run as the only player to have appeared in each of the Warriors’ 19 games so far this season.
Webster: Have to be more aggressive with our defence
The backline has undergone another shuffle with Johnson and Nicoll-Klokstad back.
In his 265th career appearance, Johnson will have goal kicker Chanel Harris-Tavita as his starting halves partner for the first time since late in the 2022 season although they were both in harness for most of the fourth-round match against Newcastle earlier this season after Metcalf was injured.
With Nicoll-Klokstad on deck again, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is switched to the left wing for Edward Kosi with Marcelo Montoya still out with a groin injury. Moala Graham-Taufa is again in the centres for his third NRL match for the club.
Jackson’s spot on the bench has been taken by Tom Ale, the Warriors’ 18th man against the Tigers last Friday night. He played 41 minutes in the New South Wales Cup curtain raiser, making 162 metres from 11 runs plus 21 tackles.
Walker: We relieve too much pressure and have to fix it
The starting pack remains the same for the fourth match on end following a dominant display against the Tigers when Addin Fonua-Blake (222 metres), Dylan Walker (163), Mitchell Barnett (138), Kurt Capewell (97) and Marata Niukore (88) were all impressive.
Parramatta has been among the One New Zealand Warriors’ least frequent visitors and opponents in recent years, this being the first time the Eels have played at Go Media Stadium in more than seven years, the last finishing in a 22-10 win for the Warriors in round six in 2017.
It’s also the seventh successive season that the two clubs have met just once.
