Shaun Johnson is out of the One New Zealand Warriors’ NRL Heritage Round encounter against Brisbane at Go Media Stadium on Saturday (kickoff at 5:00 p.m.; match day sponsor: One New Zealand). Mitchell Barnett, Kurt Capewell, and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak are back.
For Origin II in Melbourne tomorrow night, Barnett will be the 18th man for New South Wales, while Capewell will be on Queensland’s interchange bench.
Capewell returns to the bench role he played in his last two games against North Queensland and Melbourne, while Barnett slides back into the second row with Dylan Walker back in the interchange. It is anticipated that they will both back up for the Warriors three days later.
Following a one-game suspension, Watene-Zelezniak is also returned, taking Edward Kosi’s place on the right wing.
The One New Zealand Warriors will be without the services of the highly experienced Johnson, who has been out for at least four weeks due to a persistent Achilles tendon injury, despite being bolstered by the return of the trio.
In his absence, observe Te Maire Martin changed to halfback, and Chanel Harris-Tavita called a standoff; Freddy Lussick, a hooker, took Harris-Tavita’s spot on the bench. Jazz Tevaga, Walker, Lussick, and Capewell round out the exchange. Tom Ale, the prop, and Jacob Laban, the back rower, slide onto the extended bench.
The picked 17 is the same as the lineup from the 42-12 victory against North Queensland on June 8, with the exception of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck starting in the centers in place of the injured Rocco Berry.
Warrior Capewell, a rookie, will play his first game against his old Brisbane team, bringing him one game closer to reaching the 150-game mark.
When playing the Broncos, the One New Zealand Warriors will don their 2024 heritage jersey, a reimagining of the team’s original 1995 away uniform.
The day also serves as the Warriors’ yearly old boys’ reunion, which a large number of former players are expected to attend.
