Changes have been made to the spine and the pack for the Warriors’ third-round NRLW match against St George Illawarra at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off local time; 2.30pm NZT).
With the Warriors hunting a season-ending victory, coach Brad Donald has made moves at halfback and hooker with veteran Hilda Peters switched to the dummy half role and Naomi Kara brought in for her NRLW debut at halfback.
Peters, coming in for Kanyon Paul, will fill her third different position after being used on the wing against Brisbane and on the interchange bench against the Dragons after being named in the second row initially.
Kara (34) will become the 16th player to debut for the Warriors and the 11th to make her NRLW debut this season. She replaces Simone Smith.
Match: Dragons v Warriors
Round 3 -
home Team
Dragons
away Team
Warriors
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Dragons is number 1 Samantha BremnerFullback for Warriors is number 1 Karina Brown
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Winger for Dragons is number 5 Jaime ChapmanWinger for Warriors is number 2 Madison Bartlett
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Centre for Dragons is number 2 Rikeya HorneCentre for Warriors is number 3 Shontelle Stowers
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Centre for Dragons is number 3 Jessica SergisCentre for Warriors is number 4 Evania Pelite
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Winger for Dragons is number 14 Teagan BerryWinger for Warriors is number 5 Ellia Green
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Five-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Keeley DavisFive-Eighth for Warriors is number 6 Kirra Dibb
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Halfback for Dragons is number 16 Jade EtherdenHalfback for Warriors is number 7 Naomi Kara
Forwards
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Prop for Dragons is number 8 Ellie JohnstonProp for Warriors is number 8 Crystal Tamarua
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Hooker for Dragons is number 9 Aaliyah Fasavalu-Fa'amausiliHooker for Warriors is number 9 Hilda Peters
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Prop for Dragons is number 10 Stephanie HancockProp for Warriors is number 15 Taimane Levu
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2nd Row for Dragons is number 11 Georgia Page2nd Row for Warriors is number 12 Tazmin Gray
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2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Talei Holmes2nd Row for Warriors is number 14 Teaghan Hartigan
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Lock for Dragons is number 19 Maddison WeatherallLock for Warriors is number 13 Georgia Hale
Interchange
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Interchange for Dragons is number 13 Elsie AlbertInterchange for Warriors is number 10 Samantha Economos
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Interchange for Dragons is number 15 Christine PauliInterchange for Warriors is number 11 Shaniah Power
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Interchange for Dragons is number 17 Mahalia MurphyInterchange for Warriors is number 17 Michaela Peck
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Interchange for Warriors is number 20 Laken Paitai
Match Officials
- Referee: Belinda Sharpe
- Touch Judge: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
- Touch Judge: Drew Oultram
Last updated:
The Cambridge-born Kara plays for Wests Tigers in the New South Wales premiership and comes from a strong rugby league family; her brother Kurt Kara spent two seasons with the Vodafone Junior Warriors in the National Youth Competition in 2008-2009 before forging an impressive career in the New South Wales Cup. He appeared in a record 150-plus reserve grade games for the legendary Newtown Jets before retiring in 2017.
The other changes in the starting line-up see Sam Economos brought in at prop for Kayla Sauvao and Shaniah Power replacing Brianna Clark in the second row.
Named on the extended bench are Teaghan Hartigan, Taimane Levu, Smith, Michaela Peck, Clark, Laken Paitai, Steph Ball and Paul.
Coming off losses to Brisbane (14-28) and the Roosters (12-20), the Warriors are
out of contention for the grand final as are the Dragons, who have also lost twice.
In a losing side workhorse captain Georgia Hale and Australian rugby union sevens player Evania Pelite made solid individual contributions, Hale yet again with a game-high tackle count of 36 and just one miss while she also made 106 metres from 12 runs.
Pelite was a try scorer for a second straight week, her stunning 70-metre effort helping her to a game-high 165 metres. She also had six tackle breaks and made 16 tackles with one miss.
