Match 2026 NRL Round 15 - Cronulla Sutherland Sharks vs New Zealand Warriors. 5:30pm (AEST) Saturday 13 June @ Go Media Stadium, Auckland

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Apparently the team flew out for NZ this morning. Would you believe today, tomorrow and Saturday are forecasted to be rain free days in Auckland. Still cold with tops of 16 and 17 degrees but not a rainfest where the going is tough.
 
Sir Chadley said:
Apparently the team flew out for NZ this morning. Would you believe today, tomorrow and Saturday are forecasted to be rain free days in Auckland. Still cold with tops of 16 and 17 degrees but not a rainfest where the going is tough.
Click to expand...
Why is that hard to believe mate?
 
I am so pumped for this game/ It really is the perfect gauge of where our team is at even with outs. We show up here and I think we go on a run and go top 4.

Warriors have 6+ players out but have built their system that any player can do the job rather than bring in guys like Metcalf. What a reality check for Metcalf, Dragons may pay you $1m a season but you can play reserve grade here in the mean time. Their system truly mirrors that of the Panthers system of team play and player development, which makes sense given Andrew Webster was the Panthers attack coach for years with Ivan Cleary.

Some key match-ups will decide this one. These look to be the SWING POINTS - Who wins these?

William Kennedy Vs. Taine Tuaupiki - Both players often have a moment where they will just rip the game open. Kennedy is more athletic but Tuaupiki is more electric. Intriguing match up. I have Kennedy edging this.
KL Iro Vs. Ali Leiataua - Both gamebreakers, physical. I give Iro the edge here but Leiataua has the ability to be a nightmare to deal with.
Sam Stonestreet Vs. Alofiana Khan-Pereira - Stonestreet is due a ripper of a game. He can not give AFP an inch of space. The guy is lightning fast and has burned most opposition this year. HIGH ALERT!!
Braydon Trindall Vs. Chanel Harris-Tavita - Tricky has all the tricks in the bag but CHT is easily the best defensive half in the game and has been a perfect link man this year as he is not a glory seeker. Key battle this one. Trindall is the more gifted player here with far more upside.
Jesse Colquhoun/Toby Rudolf Vs. Tanner Stowers-Smith/Jackson Ford - Warriors love to dominate the middle and grind teams down. No JFH helps us but the warriors will be relentless so we have get up and physical and disrupt their momentum. TSS is the perfect modern prop. Robust, tough as teek and has an engine that like Ford could go 80 mins. This is my concern point for this game. They will have fast ruck speed.
Cameron McInnes Vs. Erin Clark - McInnes is a class operator but is he at his best currently? Vs. Clark who is an absolute machine. Probably the best lock in the NRL last year. Looks to be matching it this year too. Would like to see McInnes run Clark around a bit more and get him tired to limit his damaging runs.
Siosifa Talakai Vs. Demitric Vaimauga - Talakai can be so damaging and will badly need him to be a wrecking ball when he comes on. Vaimauga is a beast when he wants to deliver the hurt. Unsure what version turns up against us this week. Some games he just does his job. Other weeks he is a man possessed and bully's teams. Even battle.

The Wild cards that concern me.

Makaia Tafua - Making his debut for the Warriors. Hopefully only gets a 10 minute stint. I have a sneaky suspicion he will score on debut. Warriors hit the jack pot with this kid. Imagine a more explosive Cameron smith/Issac Luke hybrid. Under the radar danger.

Kayliss Fatialofa - Finally making his much awaited debut. Its just his footwork and speed for a second rower. Extremely dangerous and almost a like for like replacement for Leka Halasima. Not quite as strong but faster.
 
Pacific Shark said:
Massive sharks supporter here in New Zealand. Can't wait to see the boys run out and rip into the Warriors.

I am so pumped for the game and expect us to win but I am worried about the Warriors bench. They have some unreal sneaky talent they have named that we need to be well and truly wary of.

Warriors have a few players out but we should still be ready for an ambush. The Warriors young guns are ripping in. Tanner Stowers-Smith is basically a James Fisher Harris replica. He goes real good and has earnt his starting role, he wont stop running hard so they will lose nothing there except for JFH leading their line speed on defense.

Some guys who Sharks fans won't know but could know about after the weekend are Makaia Tafua, Kayliss Fatialofa and Jason Salalio. All three rookies named on the bench to make their debut against the Sharks.

Makaia Tafua is a gun hooker. I expect this kid within a few years to be a top 3 NRL hooker. He hits very hard and scores a lot of tries. When he comes on the tempo will lift so we need to watch out for that.

Kayliss Fatialofa is a like-for-like swap for Leka Halasima. They say he has been close to an NRL debut for a year now but the Warriors depth has kept him out. Panthers/Cleary signed him for this season but Warriors got him to back out in the cooling period last year. Will probably be the fastest forward in the NRL. We need to watch him really carefully when he comes on. Id love for the Sharks to sign him. His pathway at the Warriors looks pretty blocked. Good target for us and would make a perfect player to compliment Nikora. Would make a great combination for the future with Felix Fa'atili etc

Jason Salalio is absolute cement and highly combative. Very much in the Moses Leota type of player. He hurts people often running straight at them. Another guy we can't take lightly.

Here is a video below of Kayliss - i'm sure the sharks coaching team are clued up on him but yeah... we got to be ready!! Let's go boys!!!!

Click to expand...


Welcome to the forum mate and thanks for taking the effort to breakdown the debutants for us.

As someone who's been a huge fan of Leka since watching him carve up the Jets as a 17 year old your summary on Kayliss has certainly piqued my interest.
 
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Pacific Shark said:
I am so pumped for this game/ It really is the perfect gauge of where our team is at even with outs. We show up here and I think we go on a run and go top 4.

Warriors have 6+ players out but have built their system that any player can do the job rather than bring in guys like Metcalf. What a reality check for Metcalf, Dragons may pay you $1m a season but you can play reserve grade here in the mean time. Their system truly mirrors that of the Panthers system of team play and player development, which makes sense given Andrew Webster was the Panthers attack coach for years with Ivan Cleary.

Some key match-ups will decide this one. These look to be the SWING POINTS - Who wins these?

William Kennedy Vs. Taine Tuaupiki - Both players often have a moment where they will just rip the game open. Kennedy is more athletic but Tuaupiki is more electric. Intriguing match up. I have Kennedy edging this.
KL Iro Vs. Ali Leiataua - Both gamebreakers, physical. I give Iro the edge here but Leiataua has the ability to be a nightmare to deal with.
Sam Stonestreet Vs. Alofiana Khan-Pereira - Stonestreet is due a ripper of a game. He can not give AFP an inch of space. The guy is lightning fast and has burned most opposition this year. HIGH ALERT!!
Braydon Trindall Vs. Chanel Harris-Tavita - Tricky has all the tricks in the bag but CHT is easily the best defensive half in the game and has been a perfect link man this year as he is not a glory seeker. Key battle this one. Trindall is the more gifted player here with far more upside.
Jesse Colquhoun/Toby Rudolf Vs. Tanner Stowers-Smith/Jackson Ford - Warriors love to dominate the middle and grind teams down. No JFH helps us but the warriors will be relentless so we have get up and physical and disrupt their momentum. TSS is the perfect modern prop. Robust, tough as teek and has an engine that like Ford could go 80 mins. This is my concern point for this game. They will have fast ruck speed.
Cameron McInnes Vs. Erin Clark - McInnes is a class operator but is he at his best currently? Vs. Clark who is an absolute machine. Probably the best lock in the NRL last year. Looks to be matching it this year too. Would like to see McInnes run Clark around a bit more and get him tired to limit his damaging runs.
Siosifa Talakai Vs. Demitric Vaimauga - Talakai can be so damaging and will badly need him to be a wrecking ball when he comes on. Vaimauga is a beast when he wants to deliver the hurt. Unsure what version turns up against us this week. Some games he just does his job. Other weeks he is a man possessed and bully's teams. Even battle.

The Wild cards that concern me.

Makaia Tafua - Making his debut for the Warriors. Hopefully only gets a 10 minute stint. I have a sneaky suspicion he will score on debut. Warriors hit the jack pot with this kid. Imagine a more explosive Cameron smith/Issac Luke hybrid. Under the radar danger.

Kayliss Fatialofa - Finally making his much awaited debut. Its just his footwork and speed for a second rower. Extremely dangerous and almost a like for like replacement for Leka Halasima. Not quite as strong but faster.
Click to expand...
Wow., you really are an asset , please keep up your GREAT input.
It's appreciated
 
Pacific Shark said:
Cameron McInnes Vs. Erin Clark - McInnes is a class operator but is he at his best currently? Vs. Clark who is an absolute machine. Probably the best lock in the NRL last year. Looks to be matching it this year too. Would like to see McInnes run Clark around a bit more and get him tired to limit his damaging runs.
Click to expand...
I'm intrigued how this is possible with a middle?
 
HaroldBishop said:
I'm intrigued how this is possible with a middle?
Click to expand...
Clarke covers middle edge. Would like to see McInnes carry the ball more to Clark's middle/edge and get him stretching out a bit more. Take some yardage off Clark's runs (Normally dead through the middle).
 
Sir Chadley said:
Apparently the team flew out for NZ this morning. Would you believe today, tomorrow and Saturday are forecasted to be rain free days in Auckland. Still cold with tops of 16 and 17 degrees but not a rainfest where the going is tough.
Click to expand...

here in auckland we've had one arvo of rain in 4 weeks, its gunna make for a squally spring. cold tho 4° at night with these clear skys
 
Pacific Shark said:
Massive sharks supporter here in New Zealand. Can't wait to see the boys run out and rip into the Warriors.

I am so pumped for the game and expect us to win but I am worried about the Warriors bench. They have some unreal sneaky talent they have named that we need to be well and truly wary of.

Warriors have a few players out but we should still be ready for an ambush. The Warriors young guns are ripping in. Tanner Stowers-Smith is basically a James Fisher Harris replica. He goes real good and has earnt his starting role, he wont stop running hard so they will lose nothing there except for JFH leading their line speed on defense.

Some guys who Sharks fans won't know but could know about after the weekend are Makaia Tafua, Kayliss Fatialofa and Jason Salalio. All three rookies named on the bench to make their debut against the Sharks.

Makaia Tafua is a gun hooker. I expect this kid within a few years to be a top 3 NRL hooker. He hits very hard and scores a lot of tries. When he comes on the tempo will lift so we need to watch out for that.

Kayliss Fatialofa is a like-for-like swap for Leka Halasima. They say he has been close to an NRL debut for a year now but the Warriors depth has kept him out. Panthers/Cleary signed him for this season but Warriors got him to back out in the cooling period last year. Will probably be the fastest forward in the NRL. We need to watch him really carefully when he comes on. Id love for the Sharks to sign him. His pathway at the Warriors looks pretty blocked. Good target for us and would make a perfect player to compliment Nikora. Would make a great combination for the future with Felix Fa'atili etc

Jason Salalio is absolute cement and highly combative. Very much in the Moses Leota type of player. He hurts people often running straight at them. Another guy we can't take lightly.

Here is a video below of Kayliss - i'm sure the sharks coaching team are clued up on him but yeah... we got to be ready!! Let's go boys!!!!

Click to expand...
Can you find out more about this breeding program the Warriors are running to produce all this fast skilful back row talent?
 
Michael Gabrael and Blake Hosking drop off the Sharks team list as named Tuesday, with the pair likely to play for the Jets in a curtain raiser to the NRL match.
 
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