New Zealand Warriors have an intriguing weekend of NRL, NRLW, NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup coming up and it's led by tricky encounters for the premier teams. The NRL team hosts Dolphins on Friday night, followed by NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg Cup games vs Dragons on Saturday in Sydney and then the wahine play Cowboys in Newcastle as part of the NRLW Magic Round.

There are a few concerning patters to digest for the NRL team...

Biggest NRL crowds at Mt Smart this year

vs Raiders: 26,512 - loss
vs Panthers: 25,012 - loss
vs Titans: 24,212 - loss

Results vs Dolphins

2023: win, loss
2024: win, loss
2025: win

Both wins vs Dolphins prior to this season were at Mt Smart so that is a positive and the 2024 win featured a second-tier NZW team holding it down, which is similar to the situation this week. NZW have been ravaged by injuries and the fact that they can field a competitive team without their two best middle forwards, two best halves and their best hooker shows how important depth is in a ruthless competition like the NRL.

Brush aside the details and zone in on the general framing for the NRL/NRLW teams because these two games will inform fans about what NZW are capable of in either competition. Dolphins are a dangerous team with the speed, size and funky attacking motions that NZW have struggled with, plus they are in eighth right now and need wins to maintain their spot in finals footy.

This is a highly lose-able game for NZW and that's amplified by their stinky Mt Smart vibes, as well as their injury woes. The women's team has struggled to settle into an NRLW groove (1-3) and they face a Cowboys team than is fourth, with a 3-1 record that is shared by two dominant teams in Broncos and Knights (Roosters are 4-0).

The wahine also have a concerning theme in their mahi this season as they are one of the two worst teams in some key stats (12 teams)...

Possession: 11th
Linebreaks: 11th
Missed tackles: 2nd
Penalties conceded: 2nd

That is a recipe for bad rugby league and they haven't won a game in Australia so far. Like the blokes team, there are some changes to the group who lost to Titans but those details are overshadowed by the general perspective of learning about what the NRLW Warriors can achieve this season.

Right now they do not look like team capable of playing finals footy. The loss to Titans was a bummer because both teams are in the bottom half of the ladder and NZW were out-classed on their home turf by a that has a similar for/against despite their extra win...

Titans: 2-2 | 54 points for | 86 points against
NZW: 1-3 | 50 points for | 86 points against

NZW conceded 30+ points in losses to Roosters and Knights, now they face another top-four team in Cowboys. Cowboys are the only team in the top-five who have scored less than 100 points and they are well below that on 68 points, so there is hope for the wahine and that's boosted by not having to travel to Townsville.

The dominant NSW Cup Warriors take on Dragons who are the second best team. The fact that this game is in Australia shouldn't matter to NZW as they are 8-0 in away games this year and with a bunch of changes to the NRL team, the reserve grade outfit again skews towards younger players.

The best NSW Cup spine for Warriors this year has been Taine Tuaupiki, Te Maire Martin, Tanah Boyd and Samuel Healey. All four are in the NRL team this weekend and the NSW Cup has been winning without Martin or Boyd, churning out four consecutive wins since Boyd stepped up to the NRL squad to join Martin...

vs Sea Eagles: 26-4
vs Magpies: 22-14
vs Bears: 32-18
vs Rabbitohs: 68-6

There are a eight players named in the initial team who are still eligible for Under 21 Jersey Flegg Cup with the additions of Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea, Etuate Fukofuka and Harry Durbin to the team who smoked Rabbits. The U21 bracket doesn't include Caleb Laiman and Toby Crosby though who are one year out of Jersey Flegg Cup, so this can be adjusted for 10 U22s in the NSW Cup squad to play Dragons.

U22s named for NSW Cup vs Dragons: Sio Kali, Caleb Laiman, Jett Cleary, Makaia Tafua, Rodney Tuipulotu-Vea, Kayliss Fatialofa, Etuate Fukofuka, Jason Salalilo, Toby Crosby, Harry Durbin.

In Jersey Flegg Cup, NZW are ninth and Dragons are 10th. Like the NRL team (6-3) and the NSW Cup team, the U21s have a winning record (4-3) in away games which is better than their home record (4-6). They are also 3-1 in their last few games and won their other game vs Dragons earlier in the year 36-30 at Mt Smart.

The U21 team has been boosted by Motu Pasikala, Patrick Moimoi and Nganatatafu Vake playing more footy over the past month. These three are named again with Pasikala on the wing, Moimoi at centre and Vake on the bench. Dezman Laban has been another funky addition the the U21s team, playing two games in the weeks before last round's bye and he was in the Harold Matthews Cup team last year but didn't play any SG Ball Cup footy earlier this year.

U19s named for Jersey Flegg Cup vs Dragons: Joseph Ratcliffe, Maui Winitana-Patelesio, Jack Thompson, Emosi Ravosai, Dezman Laban, Paea Sikuvea, Kahu Capper (Tepatasi Laumalili in the squad).

There is also Aussie Mitchell Bebbington who has played four games for the U21s this year and is named on the bench. Tallan Egan is part of the wider squad this round with Norris and Thompson in their usual roles for the U21 team, while Cleary holds it down as the only player from Australia named in NSW Cup. With Healey getting his opportunity in the NRL, this reinforces the impressive recruitment of NZW in Australia.

Our next newsletter will include more NZ Warriors wrinkles ahead of the weekend's footy so make sure you are signed up for that. Every dispatch every Monday and Thursday evening features lots of Aotearoa rugby league matters, covering the blokes and wahine equally.

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Peace and love.