Warriors confirm Boyd for club debut
- Dave Worsley
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
Halfback Tanah Boyd will make his club debut, Taine Tuaupiki starts at fullback and winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returns from injury for the NZ Warriors sold-out round 19 NRL clash against the Wests Tigers at Go Media Stadium on Sunday.
At the same time, Queensland second rower Kurt Capewell has been named on the extended bench and could be a late inclusion depending on how he comes through tomorrow night’s State of Origin series decider in Sydney.
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With halfback Luke Metcalf’s season ended by an ACL injury in the loss to the Broncos, One New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster has called up the seasoned Boyd who has been outstanding for the club’s table-topping New South Wales Cup side.
The 24-year-old, who will become Warrior #293, arrived this season after 69 NRL games for Gold Coast. Noted for his general kicking game, he’s also a top-flight goal-kicker with an 80 per cent success rate at first-grade level.
In 13 outings for the Warriors’ NSW Cup side this year – all wins – he has scored 137 points with an 80.49 per cent goal-kicking strike rate while he has 16 try assists, an average 300 kicking metres a game, nine tackle breaks and an average 68 running metres a game.
With first-choice fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad sidelined with a knee injury, Tuaupiki returns for his 21st career appearance and his 10th this season; he started at fullback in the round seven win over the Broncos while he was used on the wing in his other eight outings.
Watene-Zelezniak is back from an ankle injury suffered in the round 16 loss to Penrith, his sixth match back following a delayed start to the campaign from wrist surgery.
Apart from the backline changes, Webster has named Jackson Ford to start in the front row with Marata Niukore – used as a starting prop in four of the last five games – listed in the second row with Leka Halasima.
As it stands now, the interchange comprises utility Te Maire Martin and three of the club’s young brigade in Jacob Laban, Demitric Vaimauga and Tanner Stowers-Smith.
The Warriors come into the match off their third and final bye after suffering back-to-back losses for the first time this season against the Panthers and the Broncos.
They remain in fourth place on 26 points with a 10-5 record, four points ahead of fifth-placed Brisbane and five ahead of sixth-placed Penrith.
Warriors: 1. Taine Tuaupiki, 2. Adam Pompey, 3. Kurt Capewell, 4. Rocco Berry, 5. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. James Fisher-Harris (c), 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Leka Halasima, 12. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark.