Via Warriors Media
Utility Dylan Walker returns on the bench and Rocco Berry is back in the centres for the One New Zealand Warriors’ 17th-round encounter with the St George Illawarra Dragons at WIN Stadium in Wollongong on Friday night (8.00pm kick-off local time; 10.00pm NZT).
The 28-year-old Walker will make his 198th career appearance after a toe injury kept him out of the club’s last three matches against Brisbane, the Dolphins and Canberra.
He comes onto the interchange for Mitchell Barnett, who’s suspended for one match on a careless high tackle charge he picked up in the club’s 36-14 win over the Raiders on June 9.
Walker joins forwards Josh Curran, Bayley Sironen and Tom Ale on the bench.
Berry was sidelined for the clash in Canberra after being concussed in the victory over the Dolphins on June 3 but now returns for Ali Leiataua, ruled out of contention after suffering a hamstring injury in his NRL debut against the Raiders.
Berry lasted just 13 minutes of the match against the Dolphins after being the victim of a Jarrod Wallace shoulder charge. Wallace wasn’t sin binned but was later suspended for three games.
For the third week running One New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster has been able to name an unchanged starting pack with Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan and Bunty Afoa in the front row and Jackson Ford, Marata Niukore and Tohu Harris in the back row.
Second rower Curran plays his 50th match for the One New Zealand Warriors this week while four of his teammates move within two appearances of potentially reaching major milestones in the same match against Parramatta on July 8.
Halfback Shaun Johnson plays his 198th game for the club as he eyes becoming just the fifth member of the One New Zealand Warriors’ 200-game club.
Walker moves to 198 career games, Fonua-Blake chalks up his 148th appearance overall and Egan his 98th.
The One New Zealand Warriors head to Wollongong sitting sixth on the ladder on 20 points with eight wins and six losses while the Dragons are 15th with four wins and 10 defeats. However, in their last start before the bye they beat fourth-placed South Sydney and toppled the Roosters in round 12 while they pushed Penrith all the way before losing 18-26.
The last time the two teams met in Wollongong coincided with the Warriors’ first and only success over St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium. On that occasion, they eked out an 18-12 victory following a run of 10 straight losses dating back to 2000.
St George Illawarra Dragons vs Warriors at WIN Stadium, 8.00pm AEST
Dragons team: 1. Tyrell Sloan 2. Mathew Feagai 3. Moses Suli 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Jayden Sullivan 7. Ben Hunt 8. Francis Molo 9. Jacob Liddle 10. Blake Lawrie 11. Jack Bird 12. Jaydn Su’A 13. Jack de Belin 14. Talatau Amone 15. Michael Molo 16. Ben Murdoch-Masila 17. Zane Musgrove 18. Jaiyden Hunt 19. Moses Mbye 20. Max Feagai 21. Toby Couchman 22. Billy Burns
Warriors team: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Rocco Berry 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Luke Metcalf 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Bunty Afoa 11. Jackson Ford 12. Marata Niukore 13. Tohu Harris 14. Dylan Walker 15. Josh Curran 16. Bayley Sironen 17. Tom Ale 18. Freddy Lussick 20. Brayden Wiliame 21. Ronald Volkman 22. Kalani Going 23. Zyon Maiu’u
Categories: Team News + Stats, WARRIORS NEWS
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