Teams named for Canterbury Cup and JFC

Author: Richard Becht & Photosport.nz
Timestamp: Tue 23 Apr 2019, 03:41 PM

Both Vodafone Warriors teams are on the road again this weekend chasing victories which could take them into the top eight in their Canterbury Cup NSW and Jersey Flegg Cup competitions.

The Nathan Cayless-coached Canterbury Cup side was well-placed leading 22-4 early in the second half on Sunday only to allow the top-placed Mounties to claim a 28-22 victory with a second half rally.

It was yet another tight match which went against the Vodafone Warriors after earlier losing by five points to Canterbury-Bankstown, drawing 18-18 with the Sea Eagles and losing 14-18 to South Sydney.

They’re up against the Bulldogs for the second time this season on Saturday, travelling to the Belmore Sports Ground. The home side sits ninth on the ladder, one place and one point ahead of the Vodafone Warriors.

Cayless has named a side featuring a solid pack built around a front row of Chris Satae, Karl Lawton and Preston Riki with an all-NRL back row of Ligi Sao, Blake Ayshford and Leivaha Pulu.

Set to make his first appearance of the season from the bench is former Sydney Roosters under-20s middle forward Jackson Frei, who appeared for the Wyong Roos in the old Intrust Super Premiership last year. The rangy Frei is making his comeback to the field after being side-lined with a long-term injury.

Greg Boulous and his Vodafone Junior Warriors are in a similar predicament to their Canterbury Cup counterparts. They also sit 10th on their points table just a point outside the top eight with a record of two wins, a draw and two losses.

They head to Melbourne to take on the new Victoria Thunderbolts, who are 12th with a draw and four losses from their opening five matches.

The Vodafone Junior Warriors picked up their second win of the season on the tough road trip to Canberra last weekend when they surged to a big 40-16 lead after just 47 minutes (scoring seven tries) before the Raiders came back to lose 34-40.