NZ Warriors host another quirky attacking team at Daniel Anderson Stadium on Friday night and they will be eager to grab their sixth win in a row against Manly Sea Eagles. Warriors also face Sea Eagles in NSW Cup with the reserve grade outfit sitting second on the ladder. This means Warriors are third in NRL and second in NSW Cup, while Sea Eagles are 12th in NRL and seventh in NSW Cup.

Wins against Titans and Tigers were niggly with Warriors operating below their best but still grabbing important wins. While Warriors couldn't quite flex their crisp attack or rugged defence against teams who are out of the finals footy mixer, their run of five wins in a row does feature dominant performances against Sharks and Eels. Warriors won those games with a combined tally of 90 points scored and 22 points conceded.

Let alone the fact that Warriors have won five games in a row and either side of their loss to Rabbitohs, Warriors have won eight of their last nine games. This is where we balance the niggle of tricky performances against weaker teams with the need to simply get wins and Warriors have been winning, so it's wise to flush the dunny and keep it grooving.

Biggest crowds for round 24

Broncos vs Eels: 29,005
Warriors vs Tigers: 25,118
Knights vs Bulldogs: 23,464#KiwiNRL https://t.co/ptauyndfBI
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 13, 2023

Sea Eagles do present a similar challenge to Titans and Tigers. In their loss to Panthers last round, Sea Eagles tried a few funky moves and approached that game with an intention to disrupt the Panthers flow. All season The Niche Cache has highlighted similarities in how Panthers and Warriors operate, offering intrigue as to how Sea Eagles approach this game.

One notable nugget about Sea Eagles is that they are 17th for kick return metres. This is aligned with the control from Shaun Johnson's kicking game and how Warriors complete their sets, pin their opponent down their end and settle into the grind. Warriors have strong kick-chase on both edges and they have consistently won early tackles all season, which starts with dominating the kick returning run.

The 3 starting NZ Warriors middles had a linebreak or try vs Tigers#LetsGoneWarriors pic.twitter.com/ZlQFoM5BTU
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 12, 2023

Josh Schuster also seems likely to play as an edge forward and this won't matter too much for Warriors, who will target him where ever he defends. Schuster will probably play left edge, alongside Jakob Arthur who will take Schuster's halves spot, Morgan Harper and Raymond Tuiaimalo-Vaega. The Kiwi-NRL perspective means less of a target of Ngaruawahia's Harper and Marist junior Tuiamalo-Vaega, more focus on Marata Niukore running at Schuster and Arthur.

Whether Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad is part of these attacking raids or not will be interesting. Nicoll-Klokstad is named to start at fullback but he has had a few head knocks this season and coach Webster may roll with Taine Tuaupiki as a late change to give Nicoll-Klokstad more healing time. Either way, this is all good for Warriors.

Nicoll-Klokstad's defensive mahi would have helped stopped Tigers tries last week. Partly thanks to his tackling and positioning, more so because of his communication in setting up the defensive line. Tuaupiki will benefit from another dose of NRL fullback duties and while he lacks Nicoll-Klokstad's classy execution, Tuaupiki's zip as a runner can trouble NRL defenders.

The thread of coach Webster managing his roster still loiters with Bunty Afoa and Tom Ale building up their minutes in NSW Cup over the past few weeks, as well as Dylan Walker and Jazz Tevaga having their minutes managed.

NZ Warriors tries in NSW Cup win over Magpies

Ft. Patrick Moimoi, Selumiela Halasima, Viliami Vailea, Setu Tu x2#LetsGoneWarriors #KiwiNRL pic.twitter.com/LWEkwt3nJf
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) August 12, 2023

Afoa is back at starting prop, replacing an injured Mitchell Barnett. In the win over Magpies last weekend, Afoa played 49mins with 9 runs - 82m @ 9.11m/run, with 30 tackles @ 94%. Afoa is best deployed at starting prop alongside Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris, but the consistency of his role was tweaked in the last few months. This features two games against Raiders in which Afoa played 14 and 13 minutes, perhaps pointing to a stylistic match up that coach Webster wanted against the slower Raiders forwards.

As noted in our Monday newsletter, Walker and Tevaga have played less minutes in recent weeks. Jazz Tevaga's first stanza this season featured five games of 40+ minutes, three of which were 60+ minutes. Since returning from injury, Tevaga has played 21 and 22mins. Walker has played 40+ minutes in every game this season except the last two with 30mins vs Titans and then 20mins vs Tigers.

Walker and Fonua-Blake will be playing against their former team and this match up against Sea Eagles may suit the smaller, more mobile Warriors forwards. Warriors have plenty of starch in their middle with Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris complimenting each other. Below are their stats this season that fit together like a jigsaw...

Minutes per Game

Tohu Harris: 67.2
Addin Fonua-Blake: 58.7

Tackles per Game

Tohu Harris: 38.4
Addin Fonua-Blake: 28.5

Metres per Game

Tohu Harris: 132.4
Addin Fonua-Blake: 174.1

Linebreak Assists per Game

Tohu Harris: 0.4
Addin Fonua-Blake: 0.1

Tackle Breaks per Game

Tohu Harris: 0.9
Addin Fonua-Blake: 3.1

Offloads per Game

Tohu Harris: 0.3
Addin Fonua-Blake: 1.2

There will probably be changes to the NSW Cup team named to face Sea Eagles prior to the NRL encounter, but it's still stacked with young local talent. Below is a list of the notable youngsters from Aotearoa and their involvement in the second best NSW Cup team...