South Sydney stands between the One New Zealand Warriors and a second consecutive Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) grand final appearance when the two sides meet in Sunday’s preliminary final at Redfern Oval in Sydney (11.00am kick-off local time; 1.00pm NZT).
The Warriors rocked the competition when they sneaked into the playoffs and then went all the way to win the premiership in their debut campaign last year.
This time they qualified comfortably finishing third in the regular season and then accounting for the second-placed Sydney Roosters 20-4 in their week one playoff to give them a direct path to week three.
With a top eight format in place this year, the Rabbitohs finished seventh but have gone on to eliminate the sixth-placed Sea Eagles 18-14 and then the minor premiers the Illawarra Steelers by the same score last week.
Despite finishing in the top four, the Warriors don’t earn home ground advantage in the Harold Matthews competition and now must face the Rabbitohs at their home venue.
Match: Warriors v Rabbitohs
Finals Week 3 -
home Team
Warriors
away Team
Rabbitohs
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Warriors is number 1 Jeremiah LemanaFullback for Rabbitohs is number 1 Darcy Feltham
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Winger for Warriors is number 2 Alexander PuaWinger for Rabbitohs is number 2 Dennishely Taukafa
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Centre for Warriors is number 3 Parekaahu KeepaCentre for Rabbitohs is number 3 Clayton McGoon
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Centre for Warriors is number 4 Soane Ma'asiCentre for Rabbitohs is number 4 Taj Aufai-Farani
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Winger for Warriors is number 5 Hinckley IokaWinger for Rabbitohs is number 5 Hudson Warren
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Five-Eighth for Warriors is number 6 Tyson HansenFive-Eighth for Rabbitohs is number 6 Payton Tarau
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Halfback for Warriors is number 7 Alapati Tusa SoagiaHalfback for Rabbitohs is number 7 Charlie Bateup
Forwards
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Prop for Warriors is number 8 Lucian MikaeleProp for Rabbitohs is number 15 Anthony Mailangi
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Hooker for Warriors is number 9 Dreytin MarriottHooker for Rabbitohs is number 9 Zane Hill
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Prop for Warriors is number 10 Krushil KotekaProp for Rabbitohs is number 16 Benjamin Kaberry
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2nd Row for Warriors is number 12 Bishop Neal2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 11 Diezel Guillonta-McCarthy Brandt-Hamilton
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2nd Row for Warriors is number 17 Dougal Grant2nd Row for Rabbitohs is number 21 Soane Naufahu
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Lock for Warriors is number 13 Ronan ByfordLock for Rabbitohs is number 13 Keone Anitelea Tsioussis
Interchange
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Interchange for Warriors is number 11 Satali Asolelei FrettonInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 8 Jahzelle Lokeni
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Interchange for Warriors is number 14 Amasio TiatiaInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 14 Jayden Rooke
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Interchange for Warriors is number 15 Tusi FanoluaInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 17 Ziggy Lester
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Interchange for Warriors is number 16 Kenny LafituanaiInterchange for Rabbitohs is number 24 Asher Pung
Reserves
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Replacement for Warriors is number 18 Christiano EliaReplacement for Rabbitohs is number 18 Kai O'Brien
Last updated:
When the two sides met in round eight last month, the Warriors were down 14-18 in the final seconds of the game before scoring and converting for a remarkable 20-18 victory in Pukekohe.
Now the slate is clean as the One New Zealand Warriors take aim at Souths again with a place in the premiership decider possibly just 60 minutes away.
Meeting in the other preliminary final are the Newcastle Knights and the Central Coast Roosters, who finished fourth and fifth in the regular season.
