Having been out-classed by Sydney Roosters last weekend, Aotearoa Warriors sit 2-2 after four games and their standing depends on your outlook. Objectively the Warriors are in a pretty good spot as they have played Gold Coast Titans, Newcastle Knights, Canberra Raiders and then Roosters to start the season. All four of those teams feel like they will finish in the top-eight or at least be contending with the Warriors to sneak into finals footy.

Being torched by the Roosters was the only result in which the Warriors were clearly not in the contest. The Knight loss on the other hand saw the Warriors toil hard and fall short. However you want to slice this, the Warriors have had a rugged start to the season and now enter a stretch where they will play Manly Sea Eagles twice, North Queensland Cowboys, St George Illawara Dragons and Melbourne Storm.

First four games were tough, next five games are slightly easier with that Storm contest thrown into the mix. The doosra here is that the Warriors depth is being tested along with many NRL clubs and while everyone loves to fizz about best-case scenarios in terms of team selections, now we are moving into a space where the full squad is required to contribute. Speaking of depth and Warriors squads...

We finally have all three levels of Redcliffe Aihe footy with the Hastings Deering Colts competition starting this weekend. This is Under 21s, while Mal Meninga Cup (Under 18) and Intrust Super Cup (reserve grade) have been playing for a few weeks. On top of this we had a funky scenario last weekend with various Warriors squad members playing for other NRL clubs' NSW Cup teams. All rather complex and weird, so here is a breakdown.

Kane Evans and Pride Petterson-Robati played for Newcastle Knights.

Hayze Perham and Tom Ale played for Parramatta Eels.

Perham has again been named in the Eels NSW Cup team for this weekend.

There was no Queensland ISC footy last weekend, so at least Evans and Ale enter the Warriors NRL team with some level of footy momentum. The Redcliffe Dolphins team this week only features Preston Riki, although we could see Warriors players filter back down to Redcliffe's ISC team on the weekend - maybe they'll pop up for a NSW Cup team. Here's how the Warriors juniors are spread across Redcliffe's Under 18 and Under 21s teams...

Redcliffe Under 18: Eric Vaafusuaga, Sebastyan Jack.

Redcliffe Under 21: Daeon Amituanai, Lleyton Finau, Kina Kepu, Valingi Kepu.

With covid shenanigans impacting Brisbane a few weeks ago, a bunch of Warriors players were pulled from Redcliffe's second game. Here's how Redcliffe's ISC team has looked with Warriors players across the two games they've played...

Round Tahi: Hayze Perham, Marcelo Montoya, Rocco Berry, Viliami Vailea, Edward Kosi, Paul Turner, Jackson Frei, Kane Evans, Josh Curran, Tom Ale, Pride Petterson-Robati, Preston Riki.

Round Rua: Preston Riki, Valingi Kepu.

A heart-stopper at Bishop Park as Norths Devils and Redcliffe Dolphins face off.

Now we have a Warriors vs Sea Eagles game tomorrow evening, with the Warriors stretching deep into their 30-man squad to cover injuries and suspension. At least the backline is fairly settled with Montoya starting at centre again and Sean O'Sullivan in the halves. The forward pack has Leeson Ah Mau, Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga starting as middle forwards. Eliesa Katoa and Jack Murchie on the edges, then Ben Murdoch-Masila, Tom Ale, Kane Evans and Josh Curran on the bench.

The extended bench is useful to help lay out Warriors depth. Rocco Berry covers the backline, Paul Turner covers the halves, Jackson Frei covers the forwards and Taniela Otukolo covers hooker. Otukolo's presence is the most interesting as the Warriors are light on hookers right now and they have two explosive running hookers in Otukolo and Tample Kalepo coming through. Egan has somehow played 80 minutes in each of his last three games which doesn't feel sustainable and Otukolo appears to be next in line.

This is a mix and match Warriors team, although it's not terrible and just looks a bit different. Conveniently, the Warriors face a Sea Eagles team that has lost all four games and to this point has kinda sucked. This game is at the Gosford whare and not Brookvale, which could also be helpful.

Even though Addin Fonua-Blake didn't play much vs Roosters, Warriors are still 1st in post contact metres. Sea Eagles are 13th.

Both teams have 45 offloads so far this season.

Warriors are 1st in penalties conceded, Sea Eagles are 10th. Warriors have conceded twice as many penalties as Sea Eagles; 21 vs 9.

Warriors are 1st in completion rate, Sea Eagles are 15th.

Warriors are 12th for missed tackles, Sea Eagles are 2nd.

In theory the Warriors just need to complete their sets, build pressure and they should be able to win this game. Having a bunch of changes makes this a wee bit more interesting though, especially as the Warriors took a dip with their vigor, attitude and intensity in the loss to Roosters. The blueprint to how the Warriors play, especially in the forwards should still be evident though as Tohu Harris and Jazz Tevaga will both start in the middle to push passes, offloads and target space.

With Murdoch-Masila still named on the bench, expect him to stick to his 30-minute entry to play at right edge. Alternatively, the Warriors could roll out the power through the middle with Murdoch-Masila and Tom Ale suited to this. There haven't been many signs that Murdoch-Masila will play middle to start this season though. Ale is the bloke to watch out for a we haven't seen much of him and along with Perham and Turner; Ale is one of the few Warriors juniors to crack NRL Warriors business in recent years.

For the Eels last week, Ale played 53mins with 9 runs for 94m @ 10.44m/run. Ale also made 10 tackles and missed 4, tackling @ 66.7 percent. Signs of Ale's power and some work to be done defensively, all of which makes for interesting viewing as he plays his second NRL game.

Peace and love.