Victory over second-placed St George Illawarra tomorrow will secure the One New Zealand Warriors’ first-ever New South Wales Cup minor premiership with four games to play.
The David Tangata-Toa coached side is on 40 points, seven clear of the Dragons going into the round 22 encounter at WIN Stadium in Wollongong (3.10pm kick-off local time; 5.10pm NZT).
If the Warriors extend their all-comers club record of consecutive wins to 15, they’ll have an unassailable nine-point lead at the top of the ladder to lock up a title the club has never won before following three second place regular season finishes in 2011, 2017 and 2023.
It will be only the fourth time a Warriors side has clinched a minor premiership in any grade. The others were in the NRL in 2002, the one-off Super League under-19 competition in 1997 and the now-defunct National Youth Championship in 2011. In each of those three instances the Warriors went on to reach their grand finals but only the NYC side won the title.
The Warriors' charge to the NSW Cup minor premiership continued when they spanked South Sydney 68-6 last week to register their 14th straight victory and their 18th in 19 starts so far.
Match: Dragons v Warriors
Round 22 -
home Team
Dragons
away Team
Warriors
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Dragons is number 1 Cody RamseyFullback for Warriors is number 1 Geronimo Doyle
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Winger for Dragons is number 5 Jesse WilliamsWinger for Warriors is number 2 Sio Kali
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Centre for Dragons is number 3 Cyrus Stanley-TraillCentre for Warriors is number 4 Moala Graham-Taufa
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Centre for Dragons is number 4 Hayden BuchananCentre for Warriors is number 20 Morgan Harper
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Winger for Dragons is number 18 Lyric Craft-Te MoananuiWinger for Warriors is number 5 Edward Kosi
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Five-Eighth for Dragons is number 6 Jonah GloverFive-Eighth for Warriors is number 6 Caleb Laiman
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Halfback for Dragons is number 7 Lachlan IliasHalfback for Warriors is number 7 Jett Cleary
Forwards
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Prop for Dragons is number 10 Jett LiuProp for Warriors is number 8 Bunty Afoa
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Hooker for Dragons is number 9 Connor MuhleisenHooker for Warriors is number 9 Makaia Tafua
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Prop for Dragons is number 20 Ben Murdoch-MasilaProp for Warriors is number 10 Rodney Tuipulotu Vea
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2nd Row for Dragons is number 11 Jacob Halangahu2nd Row for Warriors is number 11 Kayliss Fatialofa
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2nd Row for Dragons is number 12 Raymond Faitala-Mariner2nd Row for Warriors is number 12 Tom Ale
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Lock for Dragons is number 13 Jacob WebsterLock for Warriors is number 13 Kalani Going
Interchange
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Interchange for Dragons is number 8 Loko Pasifiki TongaInterchange for Warriors is number 3 Setu Tu
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Interchange for Dragons is number 14 Haele FinauInterchange for Warriors is number 14 Etuate Fukofuka
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Interchange for Dragons is number 15 Jarrah Gaia TreweekInterchange for Warriors is number 15 Jason Seu Salalilo
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Interchange for Dragons is number 16 Viliami FifitaInterchange for Warriors is number 16 Toby Crosby
Reserves
-
Replacement for Dragons is number 21 Tyler Peckham-HarrisReplacement for Warriors is number 17 Harry Durbin
Last updated:
Their winning run started against the Dragons with a 40-12 success at Go Media Stadium in mid-April but they will be tested to complete the double this week with their lineup affected by players required to step up due to the NRL squad’s injury toll.
They will again have a young halves paring steering them around the field.
Halfback Jett Cleary will be playing just his sixth NSW Cup match and standoff Caleb Laiman his 13th with most of his previous games involving limited minutes off the bench.
The Dragons fell to a big 16-40 loss to the Newtown Jets last week but will be boosted by returning to their home ground tomorrow.
