NZ Warriors - 20 Brisbane Broncos - 6
FULLTIME - Back-to-back wins for the Warriors, who claim a richly deserved victory. Click here for a full wrap.
78th min - Walsh converts the penalty and this one is done and dusted. (NZ 20-6)
77th min - Broncos knock on near their own line, then give away a professional foul and will lose their second man of the day to the bin.
76th min - Uh oh. Walsh leaves a ball to bounce in the in-goal and Cobbo races through, gets a hand on it and comes up claiming a try. This is very close. Nope, it's ruled a knock-on.
74th min - NZ keeping it simple here as the clock winds down.
72nd min - Walsh calls for the kicking tee and the Warriors claim the gift two points. Two converted try difference now. (NZ 18-6)
71st min - Nasty late tackle by Flegler on Murdoch-Masila, who is in some trouble here. Helped off the pitch. This will be a penalty for NZ. Flegler somehow escapes a second sinbin.
70th min - NZ at the Broncos' 20m. Can they build some repeat sets here?
Johnson grubbers for himself, looks to be sitting up perfectly but Oates saves the day. Six more on the way for NZ.
67 mins - Broncos with a shocker of a pass to gift the ball back to NZ at halfway. Curran - for some reason - grubbers. Broncos collect but give it straight back with an error. Both sides battling a bit here.
65 mins - Short ball to Curran by Johnson isn't taken on just the seocnd tackle. Another attacking chance squandered by NZ.
63 mins - Fonua-Blake taken in front of the posts. Ball floated to the right by Johnson and straight to Oates, who can't hold on. He would've gone 90m to score there. Fresh set for NZ.
61st min - Kosi takes the kick for NZ. Fonua-Blake carrying strongly to hlafway, as he has all day.
Johnson sends an awkwardly bouncing kick to the Broncos 20m, Cobbo catches it but knocks on in the tackle. Huge chance here for NZ.
60th min - Walsh on the last, dies with the football at the Broncos' 20m.
59 mins - Montoya taken out in the air, as he tries to take the bomb. NZ penalty.
58 mins - Dicey bounce from the Johnson bomb but the Broncos are able to regather near their own tryline.
55th min - Walsh does brilliantly to pull in a low kick, NZ move into the Broncos' half. Big hit on Katoa, who spills the ball.
52nd min - Warriors let a stray bomb bounce and the Broncos wrangle a fresh set, 10m out from the NZ line. Oates collects the crossfield kick but spills the ball as he tries to get it to ground.
50th min - The Johnson aerial raid continues, Niu up to the task. Well pinned inside his own 10m.
49th min - Backline play building but it breaks down, Aitken spilling it back into Broncos' hands.
48th min - Montoya continues to be a rock under the high ball. NZ win a penalty at the tackle, they'll tap and go at the Broncos' 40m.
47th min - Cobbo leaps to reel in the Johnson bomb at his own 20m.
45th min - Johnson hoists a bomb, drops perfectly in front of the posts for Walsh to charge through and tap it back, but the Broncos are able to wrap Arthars up for the handover.
44th min - Ball swings to Oates and the rangey wing leaps for the corner, looks like the cover defence got there in time for NZ, Johnson on the spot to make the save and put him into touch.
43rd min - Cobbo takes a good offload and peels off 30m. Penalty conceded at the tackle by NZ, Broncos on the attack.
42 mins - Montoya collects the bomb and returns to the NZ 20m.
41 mins - Here we go, can the Warriors keep this momentum going and seal victory? Walsh gets us restarted.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - Best half of the year from the Warriors in both attack and defence. Join us back here shortly to see if they can replicate it in the second.
40th minute - NZ look to the left again but they run out of space, ball floats into touch.
38 mins - Walsh breaks though the middle! Finds Egan, who links with Pompey. Johnson grubbers and forces the tryline dropout.
36 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Well-worked play down the left edge ends with Adam Pompey laying on a deft back-hand flick pass to a streaking Montoya, who dives to finish in the corner. Walsh can't convert. (NZ 16-6)
34 mins - Brilliant effort by Marcelo Montoya, rushing in to wrap up his man in a spot tackle to force the ball free. NZ surivive.
Piggyback penalty helps their cause, NZ with a chance to attack here now.
33 mins - Back-to-back penalties conceded by the Warriors, Broncos launch from the NZ 20m.
31st min - Great spot tackle by Arthars to shut down the final play and force a turnover.
30 mins - Walsh sends the restart sailing out on the full. The Broncos will launch again here, 30m out.
28 mins - TRY BRONCOS - Some individual brilliance from Reynolds, who grubbers for himself, regathers and goes in behind the posts. Somehting out of nothing there for the Broncos. (NZ 12-6)
26 mins - Broncos work their way to the 50m. Earn a penalty for a late tackle from the side by Tevaga. They'll tap and go from the NZ 20m.
22 mins - TRY WARRIORS - Second man play by Johnson, Walsh does really well to stay on his feet in the tackle to throw a long ball and take advantage of the overlap, putting Arthars over for his second of the day. Walsh curls his conversion over from the sideline. (NZ 12-0)
Set restart for NZ, in the shadow of the posts now. Albert Kelly down and hurt, referee calls a momentary halt to play. He's helped from the field, doesn't look good.
21 mins - Dangerous lift on Curran by Flegler, and Tevaga wants to have a word with him about it. Penalty NZ and Flegler will cop 10 minutes in the sinbin to boot.
NZ 20m out now.
20 mins - Defensive obstruction ruled against the Broncos and NZ escape back to thir own 30m.
17 mins - NZ making easy metres through the middle third. Johnson tries to push the pass on the 4th tackle and the ball go to ground, Niu collects and bolts back to the NZ 30m.
Harris-Tavita gets a hand on a pass, Broncos attacking scrum. Poor pass into touch on the first play but NZ give away an offside penalty.
15 mins - Johnson bombs on the last, well taken by Cobbo at his 20m.
13 mins - Harris-Tavita bombs on the last, ball spilled in he air but regathered by the Broncos in their in-goal. Goal-line droput and more attacking ball for NZ here.
Scratch that, the short dropout pays off and the Broncos have possession at their own 20m.
12 mins - Terrible hospital pass and Kosi takes the opportunity to lay a huge hit on Niu and force the mistake. His teammates loved that. NZ scrum near the Broncos 40m.
11 mins - Solid set out of their own half ends with a Johnson bomb, Farnworth pinned near his own 10m.
Penalty Broncos for holding down in the tackle, they move to the 50m.
9 mins - Walsh attempts to shift the ball quickly but Farnworth gets his leg in the way, regathers and streaks 40m clear. Set restart for the Broncos, Cobbo down the wing but his pass is forward. Warriors scrum near their own 20m.
7 mins - Dangerous contact and NZ have the penalty and another great attacking chance, 20m out.
5th min - TRY WARRIORS - Shaun Johnson makes his presence felt immediately, taking the ball to the line and hitting Jesse Arthars with a perfect short ball to go in untouched. Walsh slots an easy conversion. (NZ 6-0)
4th min - Farnworth with some space on the left. Niu chips over the top but Walsh is on the spot to clean up. Penalty Warriors. They'll restart from halfway.
3rd min - First test for Walsh under the patented Reynolds high ball and he's up to the task.
2nd min - Johnson bombs and Niu is underneath it, carries to his own 20m.
1st min - Adam Reynolds gets the match started, Warriors return through Matt Lodge to their own 20m.
We're underway...
4:59pm - Both sides make their way out to a sun-soaked pitch. Kick-off just moments away now.
4:55pm - Conditions look superb at Moreton Daily Stadium, where a sell-out crowd of over 15,000 is in attendance for the Warriors' 'home' clash with the Broncos.
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Kia ora and welcome to live updates of NZ Warriors, as they square off with Brisbane Broncos at Moreton Daily Stadium.
The Broncos enter Saturday's contest as slight favourites, despite a heavy defeat to North Queensland Cowboys last weekend.
While the Warriors' win over the struggling Tigers wouldn't have inspired a huge amount of confidence with their supporters, the early return of Shaun Johnson should give the side a boost, as they try to find some much-needed consistency with their selections in key positions.
Join us for all of the action from 5pm (NZ time).
TAB betting odds:
NZ Warriors - $2.13 Brisbane Broncos - $1.69
Team line-ups:
Warriors: 1-Reece Walsh, 5-Marcelo Montoya, 2-Adam Pompey, 3-Jesse Arthars, 25-Edward Kosi, 6-Chanel Harris-Tavita, 24-Shaun Johnson, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 9-Wayde Egan, 10- Matthew Lodge, 11-Euan Aitken, 13-Josh Curran, 14-Jazz Tevaga
Interchange: 7-Kodi Nikorima, 12-Eliesa Katoa, 15-Bunty Afoa, 20-Ben Murdoch-Masila
Broncos: 1-Tesi Niu, 2-Corey Oates, 3-Kotoni Staggs, 4-Herbie Farnworth, 5-Selwyn Cobbo, 6-Albert Kelly, 7-Adam Reynolds, 8-Ryan James, 9-Jake Turpin, 10-Payne Haas, 11-Keenan Palasia, 16-Teui Robati, 13-Patrick Carrigan
Interchange: 14-Thomas Flegler, 15-Kobe Hetherington, 17-Billy Walters, 23-Brenko Lee
Addin Fonua-Blake gratefully accepts role as NZ Warriors' stand-in captain
By Alex Powell
NZ Warriors prop Addin Fonua-Blake gratefully accepts the role of fill-in club captain after taking charge of the side to start the 2022 NRL season.
With regular captain Tohu Harris out with a knee injury until midway through the year, 26-year-old Fonua-Blake has stepped into the role of captaincy to begin the new season - with one win and two defeats from the first three matches of 2022.
After arriving at the Warriors from Manly Sea Eagles for the 2021 season, Fonua-Blake has quickly become an integral part of the side under coach Nathan Brown.
Fonua-Blake led the side in the absence of Harris and former skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck briefly in 2021 but now finds himself as the team's captain for an extended period.
And now as a key figure as part of the Warriors' 2022 campaign, the added incentive of leadership is something that Fonua-Blake is taking in his stride.
"It's not difficult but it's a change," Fonua-Blake said. "I never really had this role at my previous club but that's just a part of growth.
"Moving forward, if the boys need me to be more of a leader, that's what I want to do. I'm here to make this club better in any way I can.
"If my job is to be captain to help everyone grow, that's going to be my job.
"When it comes down on game days, it's the same sort of thing. I just do my own prep [sic] for games as well as I can.
"The only difference is I have to talk to the refs when I go out on the field."
It hasn't all been smooth sailing for Fonua-Blake though. After being bestowed the captaincy at such an unexpected time, the front-rower is still coming to terms with some of the responsibilities now on his shoulders.
"Sometimes I forget I can even go and talk to the ref," he added.
"I just sort of get back into line and carry on. That's one place I need to improve - getting a quick chat in with the ref to justify what's going on.
"It just doesn't come into my mind, because I'm not used to it at the moment. It's a work-on for me."
While inexperienced as a leader, Fonua-Blake is lucky enough to call on more than one teammate with captaincy experience playing alongside him.
"I've really leaned on a few of our older boys in our team. Obviously like Wadeo [Wayde Egan], Shauny [Shaun Johnson], Marcelo Montoya, Dallin [Watene-Zelezniak] and Lodgey [Matt Lodge].
"[They're] just trying to help me a bit. When things aren't going the right way, they help me deliver all those messages.
"Those boys have been around the game for a long time now, I just lean on them a little bit to help me in those sort of times."
