Live coverage has concluded, please click here for the full wrap.
Warriors 30 Rabbitohs 32
FULLTIME
Unreal. Sixty seconds to play, the Warriors trail by two, and they'll have the ball.
Asi takes the kick-off, and Fonua-Blake takes the first tackle. Katoa takes the second, and Afoa the third.
Walsh and Vailea combine on the fourth, 10 seconds to go.
Johnson tries a two-point field goal - but it's charged down!
There's a scramble for possession, but the Rabbitohs have it! The siren goes, and that's game - or is it?
The Warriors call for a captain's challenge for offside. Accidental offside is the call from the charge down, Nikorima's knocked it on, but so has Lussick.
That'll be game, so close but so far from the Warriors!
79 mins - TRY WARRIORS
Lussick takes the first tackle, and Fonua-Blake the second to run to the 10m line.
Walsh goes to Pompey, who finds Montoya unmarked on the left - and he scores!
Walsh lines up the kick, the clock is ticking! And he's got it! It's a two-point game!
WAR 30 RAB 32
78 mins
Havili knocks on, so the Warriors will restart, Arrow stays down hurt after a tackle.
Warriors' scrum. Walsh runs off the back and wins a penalty.
Johnson finds touch to restart deep in the Rabbitohs' half.
77 mins
Right then, can the Warriors pinch this?
Arrow kicks off, and Afoa takes the first tackle. Murdoch-Masila the second, Katoa the third.
Walsh runs at the line, but Walker somehow manages to force a knock on.
Will that be the game? Souths' scrum.
75 mins - TRY WARRIORS
Warriors restart, and Fonua-Blake takes the first tackle.
Afoa does the same on the second from dummy half. Johnson offloads to Pene on the third, and that'll be six more as well.
Asi runs straight through a gap - and he scores!
Walsh to convert from in front, and does just that.
WAR 24 RAB 32
74 mins
Johnson fumbles 5m out from the Warriors line, as Afoa runs the ball out of danger on the fifth.
Walsh kicks on the last, and Taaffe gathers it cleanly. Vailea does well to intercept the ball and give the Warriors possession inside the opposition half.
Johnson kicks on the second, and the bounce is kind - but he's knocked it on! We'll check with the bunker to see if Johnson was held back in his chase.
It looks fine, but now they're checking if Cook impedes Walsh. The Bunker will deem that he has, but that's harsh.
No try is the call, but the Warriors will have the ball, and Cook is sent to the sin bin for the rest of the game.
72 mins
The Warriors have the ball from the restart, huge 10 minutes to come.
Johnson puts a bomb up on the last, Johnstone makes no mistake.
Ilias kicks on the Rabbitohs last, and Montoya spills it - but the ball goes backwards as the Warriors regather.
69 mins - TRY WARRIORS
Ilias goes short from the dropout, straight to Pompey who takes the first tackle.
Tevaga offloads to Pene, who takes the second tackle, 5m out.
Tevaga goes again from dummy half, and he dives at the line to score!
Walsh to convert, and nails it from right in front.
WAR 18 RAB 32
68 mins
Cook looks to offload, but only finds Asi - who's as surprised as anyone.
The Rabbitohs give a penalty away against Pompey, and the Warriors can restart from the opposition 40.
Johnson is tackled on the third as he takes the ball to the 20. Asi kicks on the fourth, but Taaffe fumbles it to force a dropout.
66 mins
Fonua-Blake takes the first tackle from the restart, and Lodge bounces off Arrow before taking the second.
Pene looks to break, but he's hauled in, Murchie takes the fourth. Murdoch-Masila is tackled as Johnson kicks on the last.
Walsh and Taaffe compete in the air, but the ball ends up back with the Rabbitohs.
64 mins - TRY WARRIORS
Ilias kicks on the last, and Watene-Zelezniak wins it again, before he's tackled.
Lodge is tackled but offloads to Johnson who breaks the line! Johnson takes the tackle, before Walsh kicks on the last and finds Montoya, who taps it back inside for Pompey - and he's through to score!
Walsh looks to convert the try he played a huge part in, and he hits both posts before the ball goes over!
WAR 12 RAB 32
61 mins
Taaffe kicks to Asi from the dropout. Fonua-Blake runs to the 20, as Lodge gets to the 10.
Walsh tries to step through and wins six more for offside. The Warriors try to go through the hands, but Walsh spills it.
The Rabbitohs can break through Graham, who finds Johnstone outside him.
They go wide as Walker tips on to Milne, with the Rabbitohs getting into the 10.
Nikorima has the ball, but kicks it dead for his first act as a Rabbitoh.
58 mins
Fonua-Blake intercepts an offload from Knight, and the Warriors can counter.
Murchie takes the second tackle, as Walsh runs to the 30 on the fourth. Johnson kicks on the last down to Johnstone, who walks it dead for a dropout.
57 mins
Ilias kicks on the last for the Rabbitohs, straight to Watene-Zelezniak.
Johnson kicks on the fourth, straight down to Johnstone as the Rabbitohs can have the ball.
55 mins
The Rabbitohs kick to Montoya on their last, and he takes the first hit-up of the Warriors' set.
Fonua-Blake carries the ball past the 30, as the ball goes wide to Watene-Zelezniak.
Johnson kicks on the last, and the ball's batted back to Fonua-Blake, still on the last.
Asi kicks, but straight to Johnstone.
50 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
The Rabbitohs restart, and Johnstone has acres of space down the left thanks to Walker.
He gets the ball away to Ilias, who goes for the line. Tevaga looks like he's held him up, but Ilias somehow manages to ground it, and the try is awarded.
The Rabbitohs score first after the break. Taaffe to convert, but he misses.
WAR 6 RAB 32
49 mins
The Warriors restart in their own half. Harris puts Afoa into a gap, and he's away but has no support.
Afoa runs into the 10 as Lussick takes the fourth before winning six again through Asi.
Johnson and Asi combine on the third, as Katoa dives for the line on the fourth.
Katoa is confident as we go to the bunker, no try is the call. Katoa's knocked it on in goal.
No try the call, but better from the Warriors.
47 mins
Walsh breaks and nearly puts Pompey through, but he's dropped it too.
The Rabbitohs can attack, but Graham's knocked it on as well.
That'll be a Warriors scrum.
46 mins
Lussick is offside to concede a set restart for the Warriors, inside their own half.
Cook finds Taaffe and nearly puts him into score, but he's tackled short.
Walker is tackled on the last and the Warriors have the ball back. Strange play from the Rabbitohs.
45 mins
Johnson forces an error from Walker on the Rabbitohs' last, and the Warriors will restart on their own 40.
Watene-Zelezniak wins a set restart as the Warriors enter the Rabbitohs' half. Walsh runs from dummy half, and catches the Rabbitohs napping!
Asi nearly puts Katoa into score, before Johnson kicks on the last.
Watene-Zelezniak gets up to win it, but knocks on before he can ground it!
Huge chance goes begging for the Warriors.
42 mins
Walker puts a bomb up on the last, and Watene-Zelezniak is safely under it.
Afoa and Walsh do well to make post-contact metres, before Johnson kicks to Johnstone on the last.
41 mins
We're back for the second half, and Walsh kicks off to start the second 40.
HALFTIME - TRY WARRIORS
Nearing the end of the first half, and Harris wins a penalty. Johnson finds touch and they'll restart 35m out.
Afoa takes the first tackle of the set. They go to Johnson and Walsh on the second, before moving back out left on the third through Katoa.
Graham touches the ball to mean six more for the Warriors. There's an overlap on the left as Johnson finds Asi, who throws a cutout pass to Montoya - and he dives in to score in the corner!
Walsh will convert from the left touchline, and it's a brilliant kick!
That's halftime.
WAR 6 RAB 26
39 mins
The Rabbitohs break down the left through Johnsone, before he kicks with the outside of the boot - and the ball falls perfectly to Ilias! Ilias has no-one in front of him, and dives in to score!
We'll check the grounding, but he's ruled to have lost it! The Warriors have gotten lucky there.
38 mins
The Rabbitohs run on the last, and lose the ball inside the Warriors' half.
Harris throws a sloppy pass, but Walsh gathers it and breaks before he's tackled. Asi kicks on the last, Montoya gathers it, and he's tackled to end the set.
36 mins
Ilias kicks on the third for the Rabbitohs, and Walsh gathers it. Pompey does well to beat Milne before he's tackled on the second.
Montoya takes the third, Harris the fourth. Murchie takes the fifth tackle, and Lussick kicks on the last, straight to Taffee.
34 mins
Yet again, Walsh kicks off.
The Rabbitohs get to halfway before Ilias kicks on the last. Walsh gathers it.
Montoya takes the second tackle, and Walsh again on the third. Murchie is tackled on the fourth, and Asi is tackled on the fifth.
Johnson runs on the last, and finds Lussick who runs before losing the ball in the tackle.
32 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
Six again is called as a kick is deflected off Tevaga! They're caught napping, and Damien Cook holds off attempted tackles from Harris, Lussick, Walsh and Montoya to score!
Taaffe to convert, and does. It gets worse for the Warriors.
WAR 0 RAB 26
31 mins
Line dropout to restart after Vailea was tackled in goal.
The Rabbitohs look to move it, but Asi intercepts! He's tackled, but the Warriors have it.
Johnson kicks on the first?! Johnstone gathers it and runs out of danger.
Dumb from the Warriors.
29 mins
The Rabbitohs restart deep in the Warriors' half.
Walker kicks on the last, but Vailea does well to get there first and stop a try as Arrow chases.
Tevaga has passed his HIA, Harris is on report for that last penalty.
28 mins
The Rabbitohs run again, before Ilias kicks on the last.
Montoya slips as he looks to ground it in goal. Milne grounds it, but did Montoya do it before he slipped?
It looks like he did, but he wasn't in complete control. The Bunker sides with the Warriors, and we go back for a penalty from Harris.
27 mins
Walsh kicks off, again.
Walker kicks on the last and Walsh attacks it. He's drive right back in the tackle though.
Montoya takes the second tackle and Watene-Zelezniak the third. Harris has his first hit-up on the fourth, as Afoa does on the fifth.
Asi kicks on the last, straight to Taaffe.
24 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
Tohu Harris enters the fray, as the Rabbitohs restart inside the Warriors' half.
Straight away the Rabbitohs get a set restart. Cook finds Walker, who kicks through - where Taaffe pounces to score his side's fourth of the half.
Taaffe lines up to convert his own kick, and does.
WAR 0 RAB 20
22 mins
Walker kicks over the top on the Rabbitohs' last, and Walsh keeps his composure to gather it.
The Rabbitohs give away a penalty, and Johnson finds touch.
Afoa runs on the first, Lodge on the second. Murchie takes the third, but he's knocked it on.
20 mins
Walsh kicks off, again.
They get inside the Warriors half with their five tackles, before Ilias kicks on the last.
Walsh takes it cleanly. Watene-Zelezniak and Montoya both take tackles, as Lussick has his first run as a Warrior.
Johnson kicks on the last, and Taaffe somehow holds on.
17 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
Freddy Lussick is ready to come on for his Warriors debut as Tevaga comes off.
The Rabbitohs restart on halfway. Tatola gets the better of Lodge and makes metres, as the Rabbitohs go to the left.
There's another overlap, and this time Johnstone goes over for a try. Walker the architecht again, cutting out Graham to leave Watene-Zelezniak in no-man's land.
Taaffe with his first attempt from the left now, and this time he gets it.
WAR 0 RAB 14
16 mins
Walsh kicks off again, and the Rabbitohs have another use of the ball.
Katoa gives away a penalty, but we'll stop as Tevaga stays down. The referee calls for a concussion test.
15 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
Taaffe is nearly through to score immediately from the scrum! The Warriors have been caught napping.
The Rabbitohs go wide as Taaffe finds Milne again. He steps back inside to beat Montoya, and Milne scores his second of the afternoon!
Twice the Rabbitohs have attacked that edge, and twice they've scored from it.
Taaffe to convert again, and he pushes it wide again.
WAR 0 RAB 8
12 mins
The Rabbitohs restart deep in their own half. Ilias kicks on the last and Walsh knocks on trying to gather it.
Difficult conditions out there.
Rabbitohs scrum.
11 mins
The Warriors win another penalty, and Johnson finds touch for the restart.
Murchie takes the first hit-up, and Fonua-Blake the second. Walsh runs on the third before he's tackled, as the ball goes to Murchie out wide on the fifth.
Johnson kicks on the last, and the ball bounces before Paulo takes it in-goal, but a knock-on is called against Pompey.
10 mins
Walsh kicks off to restart. Cook has the Warriors scrambling from dummy half, as Burgess also makes good metres.
Walker kicks on the fourth, but Watene-Zelezniak tidies up to gather it.
8 mins - TRY RABBITOHS
The Rabbitohs look to attack inside the Warriors' half. They get to the fourth and go wide to Milne, who has no one in front of him, and scores on the right wing.
Great work from Walker, who drew in four defenders before the final pass. The bunker confirms the try, didn't even know it had been sent upstairs.
Taaffe looks to convert from the sideline, but pushes it wide.
WAR 0 RAB 4
6 mins
Arrow kicks again, Tevaga feeds Pene. Lodge runs to the 20 before the Warriors go through the hands.
Johnson kicks, but it hits the legs of a Rabbitoh as Knight gathers it. Tevaga gives away a penalty to rub salt in the wound.
5 mins
Lodge takes the kick and hits the line on the first, Fonua-Blake does again on the second.
Pene takes the third, before they go to Walsh on the fourth.
He kicks through for Watene-Zelezniak on the right, but Johnstone gets there to force another dropout.
3 mins
The Warriors will start their second set from the halfway line. Liam Knights has replaced Host.
Tevaga and Pene take the first two tackles of the set, before Lodge offloads to Fonua-Blake. Johnson kicks on the fourth, Taaffe fields it but he's tackled in goal.
That'll be a line dropout for the Warriors.
2 mins
Trouble for the Bunnies already, Jacob Host has limped off hurt after the first set.
The Rabbitohs kick to Walsh on the last, and he wins a penalty in the tackle.
1 min
Lodge takes the first tackle, and Montoya the second. Katoa and Fonua-Blake are both tackled on the third and fourth, Pene on the fifth.
Johnson kicks on the last, and Taaffe does well to hold on in the wet.
KICKOFF
And we're away as Jai Arrow kicks off.
4:59pm
And it's Addin Fonua-Blake that runs out first for the Warriors. He'll be assuming the captain's role while Harris warms the pine.
4:58pm
The Rabbitohs are the first team out of the tunnel onto the field, led by Cody Walker.
4:49pm
An update on the weather; it's absolutely belting down in Brisbane.
We could be in for a low scorer this afternoon.
4:38pm
Just a late change to the side for the Warriors. Tohu Harris will start from the bench, after nine months out with a knee injury.
Eliesa Katoa takes his place in a new-look back row alongside Jack Murchie and Aaron Pene.
4:30pm
Good afternoon! How good to have a bit of NRL on a Saturday afternoon?
The Warriors return to the field after last week's shocking defeat to the Sharks, and will want to set things right.
A big enough victory could even put the Kiwi team back into the NRL's top eight, but there's still a bit of footy to be played before then.
Kick off is in around 30 minutes.
*******
Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of NZ Warriors' clash against South Sydney Rabbitohs at Suncorp Stadium, where the NRL's 'magic round' is underway.
The Warriors are still licking the wounds of their demoralising defeat to shorthanded Cronulla Sharks last weekend, when they were unable to capitalise on their, at times, two-man advantage.
Sitting one position above them in ninth on the NRL ladder, the Bunnies are out for some redemption of their own, after their crushing 32-12 defeat to former talisman Adam Reynolds and the Broncos.
In team line-up news,an injury to hooker Wayde Egan sees new recruit Freddy Lussick named on the bench less than a week after his arrival from the Roosters.
Jazz Tevaga shifts into the starting hooker role, moving Aaron Pene into the run-on side at the back of the scrum.
Euan Aitken hasn't been cleared from his concussion, meaning Jack Murchie now starts in the second row.
TAB betting odds:
NZ Warriors - $3.05 South Sydney Rabbitohs - $1.36
Teams:
NZ Warriors: 1-Reece Walsh, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Viliami Vailea, 4-Adam Pompey, 5-Marcelo Montoya, 6-Daejarn Asi, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 13-Jazz Tevaga, 10-Matt Lodge, 17-Jack Murchie, 18-Eliesa Katoa, 14-Aaron Pene
Interchange: 15-Ben Murdoch-Masila, 16-Bunty Afoa, 12-Tohu Harris (c), 25-Freddy Lussick
South Sydney Rabbitohs: 1-Blake Taafe, 2-Alex Johnstone, 3-Jaxson Paulo, 4-Campbell Graham, 5-Taane Milne, 6-Cody Walker (c), 7-Lachlan Ilias, 8-Tevita Tatola, 9-Damien Cook, 10-Thomas Burgess, 11-Keon Koloamatangi, 12-Jacob Host, 13-Jai Arrow
Interchange: 14-Kodi Nikorima, 15-Davvy Moale, 16-Siliva Havili, 17-Liam Knight
NZ Warriors half Chanel Harris-Tavita relives trauma of ruptured testicle, plans to wear cricket box as protection
NZ Warriors half Chanel Harris-Tavita didn't take long to realise he had suffered no ordinary injury during the ill-fated clash with Melbourne Storm on Anzac Day.
Five minutes before halftime at AAMI Park, teammate Josh Curran's knee slammed into Harris-Tavita's groin, crumpling him to the ground.
After taking a couple of minutes to regather himself, the No.6 rejoined the defensive line, awaiting the infamous and unique kind of anguish that accompanies such a blow to subside.
Except, it never did.
"Like most guys, I've been hit in the privates before and we sort of know what it feels like," Harris-Tavita said. "Usually, when you get hit, it lasts for about two minutes and then the pain starts going away.
"But that pain that you feel initially after the whack, that sort of stayed for the whole game.
"I knew something was wrong just after halftime, when I was trying to run and I could feel it… something was wrong down there and the pain hadn't gone away."
With the contest evenly poised at 16-10, Harris-Tavita refused to leave the field and somehow mustered the fortitude to battle through the remaining 45 minutes of the game, which ultimately ended in a record-breaking 70-10 defeat.
Scans immediately following the game revealed a diagnosis to make any male wince - a ruptured testicle.
"Worst [pain] I've ever had, by far," Harris-Tavita recalled. "I'm lucky I had teammates around me that were talking to me, because I couldn't really talk.
"All I could really think about was my injury, but I just wanted to push through.
"I definitely knew something was wrong at the end of the game. The doctor took me straight into the ultrasound and the whole thing was bruised - that's when I knew something was wrong."
Harris-Tavita underwent surgery the following week, ruling him out of action for the next two games - the win over Canberra Raiders and last week's disappointing loss to undermanned Cronulla Sharks.
But the 23-year-old insists the pain has gradually faded away and he's been slowly ramping up activity levels, with an aim to return to the field against Newcastle Knights in fortnight.
Understandably, Harris-Tavita will take as many preventative measures as possible when he eventually returns.
He'll use Wednesday's training session as a trial run wearing a cricket box as protection for his susceptible scrotum. Depending how that goes, he'll don one for at least the early stages of his comeback.
"I'll see how I go today," he said. "If it feels comfortable, I think it's likely that I'll play the first couple of games back with it.
"I'd much rather feel a bit of discomfort running around than extreme discomfort, if someone was to accidentally kick the ball or hit me in the same spot."
Mid-season recruit Daejarn Asi will continue to start in Harris-Tavita's absence, when the Warriors attempt to get back on winning track against South Sydney Rabbitohs during this weekend's NRL 'Magic Round'.
Off contract at the end of this season, Harris-Tavita is still in discussions with his agent regarding his future, but hopes to have a decision soon.
