Check out the match preview and prediction for the 2025 National Rugby League round 12 clash between the New Zealand Warriors and the Canberra Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
New Zealand Warriors Vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Date: Sunday May 25, 4:05pm (AEST)
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Adam Pompey 4. Kurt Capewell 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Luke Metcalf 8. Jackson Ford 9. Wayde Egan 10. Bunty Afoa 11. Leka Halasima 12. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark 14. Te Maire Martin 15. Jacob Laban 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith 18. Tom Ale 20. Samuel Healey 21. Tanah Boyd 22. Ali Leiataua 23. Taine Tuaupiki
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Savelio Tamale 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Xavier Savage 6. Ethan Strange 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Corey Horsburgh 9. Tom Starling 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Simi Sasagi 12. Zac Hosking 13. Morgan Smithies 14. Owen Pattie 15. Noah Martin 16. Josh Papali’i 17. Ata Mariota 18. Jed Stuart 19. Trey Mooney 20. Danny Levi 21. Pasami Saulo 22. Chevy Stewart
Referee: Adam Gee
Bunker: Kasey Badger
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
The shortened round 12 concludes with a Las Vegas rematch between the New Zealand Warriors and Canberra Raiders. All the hype this week is around the upcoming State of Origin, but this match-up between second and third has the potential to be just as good a contest and the perfect curtain-raiser before Wednesday.
The Warriors go into this game as slight favourites and have won all four games at home so far to start the season. They’ve made two changes to the team that found a gritty 20-16 win against a determined Dolphins team at Suncorp Stadium. Mitch Barnett was selected for NSW and will be replaced by Jackson Ford who returns from concussion; James Fisher-Harris got himself into some trouble and will miss this game to suspension, and will be replaced by Bunty Afoa who is available after recovering from a knee injury. Fisher-Harris and Barnett are significant losses to the Warriors forward pack who will have to be on their game against a firing Raiders pack.
The Raiders’ major change comes from Origin selection – with Hudson Young’s form being too good to resist for Blues coach Laurie Daley. Simi Sasagi comes into the starting line-up for Young. Sasagi played very well off the bench last week in Canberra’s 40-24 rout of the Titans, and was very unlucky not to have a try of his own after scoring under the sticks, only to be denied by every rugby league fan’s best friend the Bunker. Replacing Sasagi’s now vacant bench spot is Noah Martin, who will make his NRL debut in New Zealand at just 20 years of age. Good luck to him.
The Raiders haven’t won in New Zealand since their grand final-appearing year in 2019, where they won 46-12. Tapine and Papalii are the only try scorers from that game still playing in this current Canberra line-up. Canberra have had the last laugh head-to-head with their round 1 30-8 win in Las Vegas. Since then the Warriors and Raiders have been the surprise teams in the competition and this is a game where one can make the ultimate statement over the other.
The battle of the wings will be my featured player match-ups going into this game. On one side of the field we have Dallin Watene-Zelezniak up against Xavier Savage. Dallin has been one of the most feared wingers in the NRL over the years, and more times than not you look at the box score of a match and he is in the try scoring column. The man nicknamed “DWZ” has even gone on to score 15 tries in his last 17 appearances at Go Media Stadium. Savage has been hotter than the Queensland sun at times this season, on the radar for Queensland Origin selection but falling agonisingly short. The issue with Savage though is he can also be as cold as the Canberra winter when he is not playing with confidence. This consistency is slowly improving, Ricky Stuart is starting to get elite performances from his winger, and he has a huge chance to get one up over Watene-Zelezniak. On the opposite edge we have NRL rookie of the year so far, Savelio Tamale, up against Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. A master versus apprentice battle where the apprentice looks more than capable of holding his own. Tamale will have to be on his game in defence, with Tuivasa-Sheck scoring in his last four games against Canberra, and he will be keen to make it five in a row. Strap in, Origin is around the corner and what a contest we have here.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Raiders by 2 points.
Check out our round 12 predictions here.
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