Source: Radio New Zealand
Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi scores a pre-season try for the Warriors against Manly. Kerry Marshall/Photosport
NRL pre-season: Warriors v Dolphins
Kickoff: 8pm Friday, 20 February
Leichhardt Oval, Sydney
Live blog updates on RNZ
Still smarting from a subpar performance in their first pre-season hitout, NZ Warriors will seek a drastic improvement, when they take on the Dolphins at Sydney’s Leichhardt Oval on Friday.
Coach Andrew Webster was probably eight players short of his top starting line-up against Manly last weekend, but still expected more than the disorganised 33-18 defeat to a makeshift Sea Eagles outfit in Napier.
“Parts were disappointing, definitely,” he said. “We would have liked to represent our fans a bit better, particularly down the road.
“I thought our tackling and our contact was really good, but was disappointed in our tryline defence – I thought we leaked some simple points there. Our attack was probably a bit clunky, we had some missing pieces.
“We trained 28 guys that week to give them all a go.”
His players were just as frustrated.
“You obviously want to go into a game, whether it’s a trial or a round game, and you want to win,” lock Erin Clark reflected. “We had a tough pre-season and wanted to put into play what we’d been practising.
Erin Clark frustrated with the Warriors performance against Manly. Kerry Marshall/Photosport
“It felt like, in patches, defensively we did, but I felt we missed the mark on attack and that’s definitely something we have to work on this coming week.
“We’ve got a few new players and need to get combinations going. Pre-season is about getting fit and game fitness only comes from playing footy, but it’s mainly about combos.”
For his second team of the year, Webster will welcome back several players from Māori-Indigenous duty to a gameday squad much closer to his round one selection in two weeks.
No-one wins a championship before round one, so it’s way too early to sound alarm bells, but winning is also a habit that requires practice and no time is too early to establish that routine.
“We want to win everything we do,” Webster insisted. “We talk about winning every day.
“You’re always going to have that scenario at the back of your mind, but never at the cost of subs and how many minutes people play and how we do it – we’ll always stick to that.
“It’s about a little bit of practice, but more about getting ready for game one.”
Among the rubble were a handful of individual performances that gave hope for the coming season.
Young forward Tanner Stowers-Smith came off the interchange to lead most of his team’s statistical categories, notably tackle count (39) and run metres (134).
“Tanner’s probably been our best trainer this off-season,” Clark observed. “He’s grown in confidence, after getting that taste last year.
Tanner Stowers-Smith led the Warriors in most key statistical categories against Manly. Kerry Marshall/Photosport
“He was good last year, but far out, the way he has come back to pre-season has not surprised everyone, but he’s gone to a new level.
“I reckon he was our best player on the weekend. He just came on and did all the tough stuff well.
“We’ve got to take a leaf out of his book, a few of us this week, get over the [advantage] line and be tough.”
Stowers-Smith, 21, made his debut last May against the Dolphins and logged 13 games to earn a contract extension through the 2028 season.
Another to show out was centre Ali Leiataua, who promised so much in 2025, but could not shake off an injury bug that limited him to just eight games. Against Manly, he scored two first-half tries to open his account for the season and his presence will be important, as midfield partner Rocco Berry recovers from two off-season shoulder surgeries.
“I’ve got a lot of time for Ali,” Webster admitted. “He hasn’t had much luck, but he’s had a good pre-season and put a lot of sessions together now, so I’m really happy for him.”
Perhaps the biggest silver lining to come from defeat were the final moments, when a long bench filled with age-group and reserve-grade prospects had a chance to show their wares.
Winger Motu Pasikala was called into the starting line-up, after veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck tweaked a hamstring in training, while fellow winger Harry Tauafiafi-Iutoi scored a late try and hooker Makaia Tafua also bamboozled the defence with a weaving 30-metre run to cross.
“I thought our regular first-graders put a lot into it, but you could see the kids’ spirit and how much it meant to them,” Webster said. “They were playing like it was their grand final and they did a great job.
Centre Ali Leiataua had a first-half try double for the Warriors against Manly. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz
“I said to them before the game, this is an opportunity for every single person in the room to elevate their career, either cementing a spot in round one, being closer to round one or, if you’re a young guy, showing ‘Oh, he’s got something’. I think they learnt a lot and I loved the way they went about it.”
Clark was even more impressed.
“We get to see a few of those boys, when they come in and help us out at training,” he said. “My mum texted me after the game and said the Warriors are in a good place.
“The future is so bright and I was so proud of them, just the simple things they did really well.”
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Haizyn Mellars, 6. Luke Hanson, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Kurt Capewell (c), 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark
Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Morgan Gannon, 16. Leka Halasima, 17. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava
Reserves: 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 21. Kayliss Fatialofa, 22. Jack Thompson, 23. Makaia Tafua, 24. Motu Pasikala, 25. Sio Kali, 26. Caelys-Paul Putoko, 27. Geronimo Doyle, 28. Rodney Tuipuiotu-Vea, 29. Paea Sikuvea
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
