Live Blog: Back in winning touch in historic encounter

9th minute: The Raiders are putting on a show this afternoon and we've just had one of the best tries we'll see all year. Ethan Sanders put up a bomb that was reeled in by Zac Hosking, there were multiple offloads to keep the ball alive on the last, Hudson Young had a wraparound play with Matt Timoko, before he put the ball on the toe and Owen Pattie won the race to the ball for his side's second try of the day. Storm 0 - Raiders 10. 

3rd minute: It's a dream start for the visitors who instantly silence a big Melbourne crowd. A Moses Leo error handed the Raiders an early chance and they quickly capitalised. Canberra attacked to the left, halves Ethan Sanders and Ethan Strange combined and Savelio Tamale scored a relatively simple try. Storm 0 - Raiders 4. 

Kick-off: We are underway at AAMI Park, with Cam Munster leading the team out for his 250th NRL match. It's a crucial game for both teams, with time fast running out to launch a surge up the ladder. The Storm currently sit 12th, with the Raiders down in 16th but both teams finished in the top four last year and this promises to be a high-quality contest. Storm 0 - Raiders 0.

Late Mail

Storm: One major change on gameday, with Queensland star Harry Grant shifting to the interchange. Trent Toelau will start at hooker in his place. Fellow Origin stars Cameron Munster and Trent Loiero have been cleared to start. Jack Howarth (quad) and Tyran Wishart (ankle) will make their returns from injury in a major boost for the Storm. One other minor change in the 90-minute update, Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown replacing Josiah Pahulu on the six-man bench. 

Raiders: Canberra have also changed their hooker on gameday, Owen Pattie coming into the starting side in jumper No.14. Tom Starling reverts to the bench as a result. Blues duo Ethan Strange and Hudson Young will take their places in the Raiders team after pulling up okay from Wednesday's match. Ricky Stuart receives a big boost with Savelio Tamale on track to return from a concussion suffered a fortnight ago. 

Numbers Game

• The Storm have scored 94 points in three successive wins at AAMI Park.
• The Raiders have won five of their last seven games at AAMI Park.
• Storm winger Will Warbrick has scored seven tries in his last nine games at AAMI Park.
• Ricky Stuart will bring up 800 games as player (243 games) and coach (557 games).
• Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster makes his 250th NRL appearance.

 

Warriors v Cowboys at One NZ Stadium, Christchurch

Stowers powers: Tanner Stowers-Smith entered the game in the 20th minute off the bench and produced 48 minutes of absolute quality in the middle with 18 runs for 180m and 32 tackles.

Full-time: That's a 10th win of the season for the Warriors who simply had too many weapons for a Cowboys side that had just 45 per cent of possession and came up with 13 errors.

77 min: A late consolation try for the Cowboys as Jeremiah Nanai takes a pass off Jake Clifford and races 35m to score. That's the first try of the season for Nanai in his return from a shoulder injury. Warriors 38-20

74 min: Taine Tuaupiki slices his way over for a try to put an exclamation mark on the Warriors' victory after Wayde Egan goes to the line and sucks in two defenders before delivering the pass to his fullback. Adam Pompey converts. Warriors 38-16

70 min: Te Maire Martin launches a bomb, Scott Drinkwater spills it, Adam Pompey picks up the scraps and plunges over for a try with two Cowboys trying to deny him. The ball appears to touch the hands of Taine Tuaupiki in the contest but the bunker rules no touch by the Warriors and it's a try. Pompey converts. Warriors 32-16

65 min: The Cowboys go inside the red zone but Heilum Luki comes up with an error as he tries to force a pass.

62 min: The Scott Drinkwater masterclass continues as he puts Braidon Burns over for a double with a 20-metre bullet pass. Jake Clifford converts. Warriors 26-16

59 min: Erin Clark goes on report for raising his elbow and collecting defender Heilum Luki in the throat.

58 min: The Cowboys are penalised for an obstruction coming out of their own end. They challenge the call and come up trumps. Cowboys play the ball 32m out from their own line.

55 min: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak gets in on the tryscoring action after brilliant lead-up by Te Maire Martin who bamboozles the defence before delivering a pinpoint pass to his wingman. That's 15 tries in 14 games in 2026 for DWZ. Adam Pompey converts. Warriors 26-10

53 min: Jason Taumalolo goes to the sin bin for a lifting tackle on Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and the Cowboys are down to 12 for the next 10 minutes.

52 min: A big moment in the game as Te Maire Martin comes up with a trysaver to deny Jaxon Purdue who looked certain to score after regathering a chip kick.

50 min: Tanner Stowers-Smith hurls himself at the defence but comes up with an error. The Warriors throw in a challenge alleging a strip but the bunker says 'no'. The challenge is lost and the Cowboys are hard on attack.

48 min: Make it FOUR for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as the left side clicks again with the halves handling before Adam Pompey delivers the final pass to his winger. Pompey adds the extras. Warriors 20-10

47 min: Murray Taulagi scrambles for a loose ball in the in-goal but Te Maire Martin gets back to make it a contest and the Cowboys winger knocks the ball on.

46 min: The Warriors are penalised for a leg lift in a tackle allowing the Cowboys to march down field.

45 min: Chanel Harris-Tavita is held up just short of the line in a three-man Cowboys tackle. 

43 min: Scott Drinkwater puts up a bomb and Jake Clifford takes it on the full but is swamped by the Warriors defence 10 metres out.

Drinky dazzles: After conceding two early tries the Cowboys needed to lift and their No.1 gun Scott Drinkwater came up with a key intercept to deny the Wahs a third try before setting up Braidon Burns for a try and then crossing for one of his own.

Triple treat: A stunning first half from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as he ran in three tries and chalked up a team high 140 run metres. Just behind CNK for metres gained was Blues Origin prop Mitch Barnett, who got through a power of work with 14 runs for 119 metres and 21 tackles.

Half-time: The Warriors had 61 per cent of possession and completed five more sets than the Cowboys but the visitors hung tough to trail by only four points.

40 min: Demitric Vaimauga sends an inside ball to Te Maire Martin as the Wahs chase late points but the halfback can't handle and the Cowboys cling on.

37 min: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad looks to have a stunning fourth try for the half but the excitement is short lived as the last pass is ruled forward.

34 min: That's a hat-trick for Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad as Chanel Harris-Tavita delivers a sublime pass and the winger races 30 metres to the line. CNK is the first Warrior to grab a first-half hat-trick since David Fusitu'a in Round 1, 2017 against the Knights at Mt Smart.

33 min: A turnover by the Cowboys on halfway as Tom Mikaele has his pass intercepted by Ali Leiataua.

30 min: A close thing for the Warriors as Jacob Laban does a great job to climb high and bring down a bomb but he loses control just short of the line as he reaches out to try and score.

29 min: Marata Niukore leaves the field for a HIA which he passes.

27 min: The Cowboys go bang-bang as Scott Drinkwater has too much speed for Chanel Harris-Tavita and slices through for his eighth try of the season. Jake Clifford converts. 10-10

26 min: Jake Clifford nails the fifth 40-20 of his career and the Cowboys are in prime attacking position again.

23 min: The Cowboys hit back with Braidon Burns strolling over in the corner in his return from a hamstring injury. Scott Drinkwater's long pass was a pearler to set up the winger. Jake Clifford misses the conversion. Warriors 10-4

22 min: The Cowboys get their first penalty when the Warriors fail to get square at marker. A chance for the visitors to get some field position after doing plenty of defence.

21 min: Jackson Ford leaves the field with what appears to be a pec injury and he is done for the day.

19 min: Heilum Luki is also pinged for a high shot that takes the penalty count to 5-0 to the Warriors.

18 min: The Warriors have had 65 per cent of possession and go inside the red zone again on the back of a penalty against Griffin Neame for a high shot.

15 min: A clean line break by Jaxon Purdue has the Cowboys on the attack but Jake Clifford's cross field kick is expertly defused by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

12 min: A huge play by Scott Drinkwater with the Wahs threatening again as he takes an intercept and races 60 metres before the defence tracks him down.

10 min: Jacob Laban is cut down five metres out, Wayde Egan jumps into dummy half and sends a superb cut-out pass to Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad who dives into the corner to make it an early double. Adam Pompey fails to convert. Warriors 10-0

7 min: Slick hands to the left edge with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad finishing off the work of Te Maire Martin, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Adam Pompey inside him. Pompey converts. Warriors 6-0

6 min: A high tackle penalty against Scott Drinkwater has the Cowboys under the pump on their own line.

4 min: The first penalty of the match goes to the Warriors after Jaxon Purdue is pinged for a strip and the home side takes a quick tap.

House full: An unbelievable atmosphere at a sold-out One NZ Stadium with 25,000 fans under the roof and ready to cheer their team on.

Late Mail

Warriors: Mitch Barnett has been promoted to the starting side on game day with Tanners Stowers-Smith moving to the bench. Barnett will line up after playing just 25 minutes in Origin Two but Maroons forward Kurt Capewell is being rested. Barnett will make his first appearance for the Warriors since their 42-12 win over Brisbane in Round 11. Hooker Sam Healey has failed to come up from a thumb injury and dropped out of the squad on Saturday with Luke Metcalf added to the bench in No.20. 

Cowboys: Coach Todd Payten has made two late changes with Griffin Neame and Coen Hess coming into the starting side for Tom Mikaele and Jason Taumalolo, who revert to the bench. Maroons reps Heilum Luki, Murray Taulagi and Reuben Cotter are all backing up. Samoan representative Jeremiah Nana plays his first match since Round 9 after recovering from a shoulder injury, while Matt Lodge also comes back from injury on the six-man bench.

Numbers Game

• The Warriors have won their last four games against the Cowboys.
• The Cowboys have not won in New Zealand since 2019.
• The Warriors have won five of their last seven games in Christchurch.
• Cowboys centre Tom Chester has scored four tries in his last five games.
• Warriors halfback Te Maire Martin has scored four tries in his last four games.

 

Roosters v Sharks at Allianz Stadium