Saturday’s third NRL Round 19 match is between Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors with the opening kick to commence at 19:30 local time. The game is to be played at Suncorp Stadium which see’s home team Brisbane Broncos hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Brisbane Broncos and New Zealand Warriors.
Where and when: 19:30 | Saturday 19/07/2014 @ Suncorp Stadium
Preview:
The Broncos will face the Warriors only three games after losing to the New Zealand side at Mt. Smart Stadium 19 – 10.
On that occasion, it was a tough effort from the Broncos who had several players making the cross-Tasman trip after competing in the second State Of Origin and then losing several players during the course of the match.
Since then though, the Broncos have suffered two further losses.
A inexcusable 24 – 22 loss to the Sharks at home after leading 22 – nil at the break, before losing by a single point last Monday night when visiting Penrith 35 – 34.
These two losses now see the Broncos placed in a group of five times all hovering around the eighth spot position, making any further losses detrimental to final aspirations.
The same squad that faced the Panthers has been named for this clash.
The Broncos face a very stiff run home, with the likes of Melbourne (who they also meet in the final round of the year), Manly, Canterbury and South Sydney their schedule for the next month.
A win here is a must if the Broncos are to maintain their spot.
WARRIORS
The Warriors continued their impressive form with a dominant 48 – 0 win over the Eels last week, their fifth win from their past six matches.
It also saw the New Zealand team join South Sydney and the Roosters on twenty-two competition points and one win ahead off a bunch of five teams that includes the Broncos.
Halfback Shaun Johnson has been in scintillating form for the Warriors as has centre Konrad Hurrell who has scored four tries in his past three matches.
The flamboyant style of the Warriors has seen them post plenty of points in recent weeks but more pleasing has been their defence. Take out Souths’ 34 points in round 13, where they scored several tries in the final quarter of the game, and the Warriors have been able to limit their opponents to an average of 12.8 points per game since round 11.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Warriors last win over the Broncos made it three wins in a row over the Brisbane side and four from their last five.
Only one of those wins came out Suncorp though which was their first in four visits.
The Warriors are a team that play their best with momentum and confidence and they are two qualities they’ve got in spades at the moment.
The Broncos have lost five games this year by four points or less and with this game likely to be a hard fought contest, that record might haunt them late in the game.
Warriors to extend their record over Brisbane but only just.
Teams:
BRONCOS: Ben Barba, Daniel Vidot, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges, Dale Copley, Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Corey Parker, Alex Glenn, Corey Oates, Sam Thaiday. Interchange: Ben Hannant, David Hala, Todd Lowrie, Jake Granville, David Stagg.
WARRIORS: Sam Tomkins, David Fusitua, Konrad Hurrell, Dane Nielsen, Manu Vatuvei, Chad Townsend, Shaun Johnson, Jacob Lillyman, Nathan Friend, Suaia Matagi, Ben Henry, Simon Mannering, Sebastine Ikahihifo. Interchange: Feleti Mateo, Ben Matulino, Agnatius Paasi, Thomas Leuluai, Jayson Bukuya.
News:
Warriors hooker Thomas Leuluai says they are a completely different team under head coach Andrew McFadden.
The Kiwis stalwart will return from a groin injury against the Broncos in Brisbane on Saturday, having watched the Warriors climb nine places to sit sixth on the NRL ladder during his three-month absence.
Under McFadden the Warriors entered the top eight for the first time since July 2012 by upsetting the table-topping Panthers and last week claimed their seventh win in nine games with a 48-0 drubbing of the Eels.
The 36-year-old replaced Matthew Elliott, who parted ways with the club after they lost three of their first five games this season.
“I think the results speak for themselves,” Leuluai said.
“I knew he (McFadden) would turn us around. I’ve always thought of him as a great coach and I think he’s surprised everyone with how quickly he’s done it.”
While star fullback Sam Tomkins is in doubt with a hip injury he sustained at training, the Warriors head to Brisbane on a three-game winning streak and have not lost to the Broncos in as many encounters.
What should also have Anthony Griffin’s side on high alert is that the Warriors are now the best attacking side in the competition with 385 points scored.
McFadden has drawn an average of 26.2 points per game out of the Warriors – six more than Elliott and his predecessor Brian McClennan achieved in two seasons – while their average completion rate has risen by 20 per cent.
Against the Eels, Shaun Johnson converted all eight tries, including one of his own, as the Warriors notched the club’s third biggest ever win and produced one of their most clinical performances in recent years.
“It’s like I signed for a new club mid-season,” Leuluai added.
“The training sessions are a lot more intense. Our attitude on defence is a lot better, too. From when we started training at the beginning of the year until now, it’s completely different.”
The dramatic turnaround has made the Warriors the dark horses in a tight play-off race with seven rounds remaining.
After watching the Broncos fall agonisingly short against the Panthers last week, the Warriors must now prove their class whilst under pressure from a side desperate to break a three-game losing streak.
“Dealing with the expectation is something that we’ve got to learn to do,” McFadden said.
“We’re exactly where we want to be. We want to be talked about but our ability to stay consistent and stay focused on our performance is really going to be key.”