Matchday Details
Friday, 13 March 2026 – 6:00pm AEDT – Go Media Stadium, Auckland
📺 Kayo / Foxtel
Referee: Peter Gough | Senior Review Official: Liam Kennedy
New Zealand Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. James Fisher-Harris (c), 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Kurt Capewell, 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark, 14. Sam Healey, 15. Demitric Vaimauga, 16. Leka Halasima, 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 20. Morgan Gannon, 21. Alofiana Khan-Pereira, 22. Marata Niukore, 23. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava
Canberra Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes, 2. Savelio Tamale, 3. Simi Sasagi, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Ethan Sanders, 8. Morgan Smithies, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joseph Tapine (c), 11. Hudson Young, 12. Noah Martin, 13. Corey Horsburgh, 14. Jayden Brailey, 15. Zac Hosking, 16. Ata Mariota, 17. Matthew Timoko, 18. Daine Laurie, 19. Joe Roddy, 20. Owen Pattie, 21. Jed Stuart, 22. Chevy Stewart
Match Preview
All eyes will be on Go Media Stadium this Friday evening as the New Zealand Warriors will be looking to give the Canberra Raiders the same treatment they inflicted on the Sydney Roosters in the season opener.
The Roosters came into last week as one of the competition favourites, but the Warriors came out and gave them an early reality check in the form of a 42-18 hiding. Last year’s minor premiers got off to a shaky start and finish at 4 Pines Park: trailing 14-0 early, being up 28-14 with six minutes to go, and then winning in Golden Point 29-28. Is there anything more Canberra Raiders than that?
In team news the Warriors coach Andrew Webster has gone for the “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” approach, opting for the same 19-man team that was so convincing against the Chooks. The only changes come on the reserves list, with promising signs for new recruit Alofiana Khan-Pereira edging closer to a club debut being named here. Also close to a return is Marata Niukore, who will be itching to get back into action, especially with this forward pack rotation firing early.
For Ricky Stuart’s Canberra team Josh Papali’i exited last week’s season opener early after failing his HIA. This means Morgan Smithies will start in the front row, with young forward Joe Roddy taking the vacant bench spot eager for another first grade audition. Matt Timoko was given a week in NSW Cup to prove his fitness and has been named on the bench to potentially be a part of the 80 minute rotation. Versatile centre Simi Sasagi can play in the back row for when Ricky decides he wants to inject Timoko at some stage. Otherwise another similar line up to what got the job done in Manly.
Looking through these line-ups it’s hard to separate these two sides. I feel this game will be won by whichever forward pack can get the best of the other. The Warriors will have to try and test Canberra’s discipline in the ruck by trying to frustrate them to not play at their tempo. We saw in the early stages of the Manly game that Canberra gave away set restart after set restart due to ill discipline in the ruck. This resulted in them not seeing the ball for 11 minutes straight and being 14-0 down. The Warriors will have taken note of this, and with experienced enforcers like James Fisher-Harris and Jackson Ford for the Warriors, they will be seeing if they can get under the skin of the men in green and lay that platform for the likes of Chanel Harris-Tavita and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to exploit on that left edge. The Raiders have Joe Tapine, Hudson Young, and Corey Horsburgh headlining their forward pack, but it was young Noah Martin who stole the show last week with a mammoth effort on defence and two tries. Like Martin, the Warriors have a young second rower in Jacob Laban who’s been given the early starting nod by his coach as well. Whilst on opposite edges, both will want to be as impactful as each other for their respective teams.
It’s also worth shouting out the two halves Tanah Boyd for the Warriors and Ethan Sanders for the Raiders. Both were integral parts in important round 1 wins, with Sanders showing experience beyond his actual experience by kicking the winning field goal in slippery conditions in Golden Point. Boyd won’t want to have his perfect start to the season disrupted in his own backyard by the new kid on the block: another nice head-to-head battle for Friday’s game.
Some streaks worth mentioning going into the game include Tuivasa-Sheck bringing up 150 games for the Warriors. His teammates will want to celebrate this milestone appropriately, but the Raiders have now won their last three matches in a row against the Warriors, proving to be a minor bogey side in the short term.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Raiders by 6 points.
Bold call: Savelio Tamale (Canberra) and Tuivasa-Sheck (Warriors) to be the first tryscorers for their respective teams.
Related
- NRL Round 2 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 2 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
