Verified Lineup: Walker-Harris swap once more
For the One New Zealand Warriors’ 15th-round NRL match against the Melbourne Storm tonight at a sold-out Go Media Stadium (7.30pm kickoff; game day partner: Dynasty Sport), a late substitution has once again been made to the starting lineup.
Head coach Andrew Webster started Dylan Walker at loose forward in the first half of last week’s game against the Cowboys, sending captain Tohu Harris to the interchange.
Wayde Egan will take on the captaincy duties for the opening period of the contest.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been confirmed as 18th man with Tom Ale 19th man.
Returning to halfback for the eagerly awaited matchup with the league-leading Storm is seasoned Shaun Johnson.
With a pectoral injury, the 33-year-old has missed the team’s last three games. This will be his 263rd career appearance.
In his fourteenth NRL season, Johnson makes his 11th appearance, forcing Te Maire Martin—who has played standoff the past three games—to switch to halfback.
Practicality In order to cover a variety of positions, Chanel Harris-Tavita, the starting #6 against the Dolphins and North Queensland, has been named on the interchange.
The starting forward group from last week is still in place, although Dylan Walker replaced captain Tohu Harris on the bench. The remainder of the defense is unaltered.
Following their most comprehensive performance of the season, the Warriors defeated Penrith three times in a row (22–20), the Dolphins in fourth place (24–20), and North Queensland (42–12) in a row.
With two more points from their 13th round bye, the One New Zealand Warriors have increased their total to 15 points and moved up to 10th place, only one point outside the top eight.
Important players Charnze-Nicoll Klokstad, Rocco Berry, Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan, Tohu Harris, and Kurt Capewell returned last week, and now Johnson returns to bolster the team even more.
In their second consecutive victory in Townsville, the Warriors absolutely destroyed the Cowboys last Saturday night.