Players with strong pathways experience dominate the One New Zealand Warriors’ first squad of the season for Sunday’s round one SG Ball Cup (under-19) encounter with the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Bruce Pulman Park in Manukau City (11.30am kick-off).
Of the 19 players named by head coach Shannon Rushworth a total of 13 represented the club at either SG Ball or Harold Matthews Cup (under-17) level last season.
Included among them are eight players who will make their SG Ball debuts after being in the squad which won the Harold Matthews premiership for the second year running last season.
Justice Pua, Soane Ma’asi, Parekaahu Keepa, Hinckley Ioka, Bishop Neal and Krushil Koteka all played in the grand final while influential captain Tyson Hansen was cruelly ruled out. As well as those seven, hooker Amasio Tiatia is included from the premiership-winning squad.
Returning from the Warriors’ 2025 SG Ball side are fullback Joseph Ratcliffe, a Harold Matthews grand final winner in 2024, centre-winger Connor Bowden, halfback Rico Lemalie, captain Gordon Afoa and prop-second rower Militoni Sikuvea along with 2024 Harold Matthews premiership winner Lennox Tuiloma, who missed last year’s campaign through injury.
Match: Warriors v Sea Eagles
Round 1 -
home Team
Warriors
away Team
Sea Eagles
Venue: Bruce Pulman Park, Takanini
Micah Sula is another pathways product making his SG Ball debut in the front row. After two under-17 appearances in 2024, he was in the wider under-19 squad last year.
The newcomers are De La Salle product Mark Sikuvea on the wing, ex-St Paul’s College student AJ Balchin at loose forward – back home from stint with the Bulldogs – and bench selections Rene Frame (Lincoln High School, Christchurch) and Lucas Carmine (St Paul’s Collegiate, Hamilton), signed from a rugby union background.
The Warriors’ season-opener is a repeat match-up of last year’s first round when they lost to the Sea Eagles in Sydney. Militoni Sikuvea and Bowden are the only two survivors from that match.
