All you need to know ahead of the NRL semi final match between the Warriors and Newcastle Knights at Mt Smart Stadium in Auckland.
What’s on: Warriors v Knights
Where: Go Media Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
When is kick-off time? 6pm Saturday NZT
What’s on the line?
The season. Win or go home. The victor of this one advances to a semifinal against the Brisbane Broncos.
What the players say
Warriors’ captain Tohu Harris acknowledged his side’s performance against the Panthers was below their usual standards - but they’ve learned some valuable lessons.
“Sticking to what we know and what we’ve done all year. That’s defensively, we’ve got to be a lot better there, we’ve got to be prepared to go the full 80 minutes.
“You can’t give those quality sides an easy way out of their own half and we’ve got to do a better job of building more pressure - we let them off the hook too many times.”
Knights’ backrower Tyson Frizell was quick to downplay the significance of the Warriors v Panthers scoreline, saying the Novocastrians are wary.
“They’ve been quite consistent all year and one game doesn’t change anything - they’re a top four side for a reason.”
“They’ve been able to play a certain type of game style with their back three eating a lot of metres and bringing their middle forwards into the game... they’ve got a good mixture right across the park.”
Talking points
The Warriors reportedly had photographers attending their training session on Thursday directed to set up at the opposite end of the field to where they were going through their paces.
They then added the NSW cup side firmly in between the first graders and camera lenses. One could theorise this was done to minimise Shaun Johnson’s camera exposure. A coy bit of media handling or is there something else afoot?
If there’s another game to come after this before the grand final, why’s this called a semi final?
Good question. The Warriors’ game against the Panthers was a qualifying final. Saturday’s against the Knights is a semi final and, should they win, they’d play the Broncos in a preliminary final.
The winners of the Week One qualifying finals earn a bye in Week Two and advance directly to the preliminary finals in Week Three. Meanwhile, the losers get a second chance in Week Two′s semi finals. On the other hand, the winners of the elimination finals progress to the semi finals, while the losers are eliminated from the competition.
Make sense?
Travel arrangements
Auckland Transport released an update Friday: “Heading to the game tomorrow? Auckland Transport (AT) is reminding customers to plan their journey as buses replace trains on sections of all lines tomorrow.”
This means Eastern, Onehunga, Southern and Western lines are all being replaced by buses.
Additionally, there are some issues with AT HOP services. “You should still tag on and tag off with your AT HOP card while travelling and if you are unable to top up your card, you will still be able to travel,” AT said in a release.
The weather
17C, mostly fine with a smattering of cloud is forecast for Penrose. A low of 9C expected during the evening. Bear in mind, however, this is Auckland we’re talking about.
How the sides line up
Warriors:
1 Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2 Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
3 Rocco Berry
4 Adam Pompey
5 Marcelo Montoya
6 Te Maire Martin
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Addin Fonua-Blake
9 Wayde Egan
10 Mitchell Barnett
11 Jackson Ford
12 Marata Niukore
13 Tohu Harris (c)
Interchange
14 Dylan Walker
15 Jazz Tevaga
16 Bayley Sironen
17 Josh Curran
Head coach
Andrew Webster
Knights:
Kalyn Ponga (captain), Dominic Young, Dane Gagai, Bradman Best, Greg Marzhew, Tyson Gamble, Adam Clune, Jacob Saifiti, Phoenix Crossland, Leo Thompson, Tyson Frizell, Dylan Lucas, Adam Elliott, Kurt Mann, Daniel Saifiti, Jack Hetherington, Mat Croker
TAB odds
Warriors: $1.54
Knights: $2.40
How to follow the action
Live updates on NZ Herald.
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 4 and live streaming on Sky Sport Now; an alternative commentary option from the Alternative Commentary Collective is available on SKY Sport 9.
All the key NRL fixtures for the Warriors.