Warriors - 6 Panthers - 18
FULLTIME - Click here for highlights and a full wrap.
75th min - TRY PANTHERS - Spencer Leniu cashes in after a break created by Cleary's offload, charging over under the attention of two tacklers. That's the nail in the coffin for the Warriors. Cleary can't convert.
72nd min - Panthers penalty right in front of the posts. They turn down the shot to chase four against the 12-man Warriors.
Taruva absolutely bombs a try out wide, dropping an easy pass and letting a surefire four pointer fly.
70th min - Cleary reads Johnson's grubber like a book and the Panthers work their way back to the 20m.
68th min - Johnson bangs off his right foot and accelerates through a gap, drops a grubber and the chasers pin Peachey in his own in-goal. Here come NZ.
66th min - Wow - the referee has sent Dominic Sifakula to the bin for coming in to the tussle with a "striking action". A highly dubious decision that could be very costly. Panthers tap 10m out.
Yeo puts it down! The Warriors survive.
65th min - DWZ sent for an HIA due to a finger to the eye. Okay. Warriors begin their set at their own 10m.
Bit of pushy shove between Curran and Cleary and both sets of teammates flock to the flame.
62nd min - Another superbly weighed grubber by Johnson but Teruva is able to escape two chasers to get out of his in-goal.
60th min - NZ finally with some ball in the Panther's redzone. Johnson finds the in-goal to force a dropout and another shot at the line.
57th min - Panthers on the offensive but still unable to capitalise on their one-man advantage, fifth tackle falls flat and NZ clean up a loose pass.
56th min - Johnson sniffs a gap and almost breaks clear - ankle tap stunts his progress. High shot on Harris, but the referee says play on.
53rd min - NZ doing it tough in their own half, yet to put any pressure on the Panthers' final third this half so far. Panthers starting to own the middle third of the park.
CNK gambles and lets Cleary's rather aimless bomb bounce into the in-goal and he's forced to clean it up. More attacking ball for the Panthers.
Hold that thought - the Warriors regather the short restart.
50th min - Jackson Ford sent to the bin for a hip-drop tackle. Panthers opt for a shot at goal from 30m out - a sign of respect from the Panthers? Interesting decision against the 12-man Warriors. Cleary slides it inside the upright.
49th min - Ale through a half gap, ball back inside bounces off CNK's chest. Scrum Panthers at halfway.
47th min - Panthers quickly back on attack. Cleary places a well-weighted grubber to force an NZ dropout.
Their momentum comes to a halt with a mistake at dummy half and the Warriors work their way out of danger.
45th min - To'o bursts through a handful of tacklers, Panthers down to the NZ 20m. Poor last tackle option and NZ wrap up for a turnover.
43rd min - Montoya inhales a grubber on his own line and explodes off the mark, but a brilliant tackle around the ankles by Cleary extinguishes what could have been a runaway try.
41st min - Pompey gets us restarted, Panthers with first ball possession in the second stanza.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME - High-quality contest here at Suncorp Stadium and the Warriors are well in the fight.
39th min - More effective NZ defence. Cleary snaps a 'Hail Mary' drop goal from 40m on the final tackle, which falls well short.
35th min - NZ scramble well defensively to shut down a Panthers attacking raid. Johnson finds touch near the Panthers' 10m after the ensuing set.
33rd min - Curran back on the angle and bursts clear, links with Egan who doesn't quite have the gas to beat the cover defence to the line. Johnson rushes his grubber and gives DWZ little chance of chasing it down.
30th min - Kosi struggling out there after copping a knee to the head in the tackle. Niukore shifts to centre and Josh Curran comes on to slot into the back row.
28th min - TRY PANTHERS - Second-man play well executed by Cleary and To'o finishes expertly in the corner. Cleary converts from the sideline.
26th min - Perfectly weighted kick to the NZ in-goal and the Kiwis will have to do more defending. Good period of Penrith pressure.
21st min - Piggyback penalty for NZ, Egan catching the markers not squared. They'll launch from the Panthers' 40m.
Hot potato on the final tackle and Dylan Walker is on the end of a hospital pass and an enormous hit by Stephen Crichton.
18th min - TRY PANTHERS - Dylan Edwards cuts through a couple of weak attempted tackles and crashes over the line.
16th min - Harris with a very marginal high shot and the Warriors are penalised. Panthers tap near halfway.
Kosi puts on a massive hit, but it looks like there was a hint of shoulder to the head there.No, the referee clears it. Offside penalty a play later for the Panthers. 5m out now.
14th min - Warriors clinical from the restart. Johnson goes deep with his kick and they pin the Panthers on their 20m line.
10th min - TRY WARRIORS - Addin Fonua-Blake bursts on to a perfect short ball from Tohu Harris and he strolls in to score the game's first try between the uprights. Johnson converts.
8th min - Penalty NZ after a strong Montoya carry. They tap and go at the Panthers' 40m.
7th min - Another excellent defnsive stand by the Wariors. Pompey is on hand to defuse the Luai grubber.
Ford breaks clear for the Warriors! Down to the 20m. Johnson chips but it's comfortably taken by Turuva.
5th min - Luai grubbers much more effectively this time, slight knock on by chaser Turuva at the line and the Warriors survive
3rd min - Luai goes to the chip kick on just the third tackle, CNK is up to the task.
2nd min - Penalty early in the count to the Warriors. But a captain's challenge reveals a small knock-on by CNK in the tackle. Great chance early for the Panthers, 20m out.
1st min - Panthers kick off and we're into the action in Brisbane. Assured opening set for the Warriors.
We're underway....
5pm - Both teams are out on a sun-soaked Suncorp Stadoum pitch. Perfect conditions, this should be a fast one.
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Kia ora and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the NZ Warriors' NRL showdown with Penrith Panther at the Magic Round in Brisbane.
Both teams are looking to get back on track after consecutive defeats, with the Panthers falling to the upset of the season last weekend against the last-placed Tigers, while the Warriors failed to fire a shot against the Roosters.
The Warriors currently sit in ninth place on the ladder, one spot below the Panthers.
Join us for all of the action from 5pm.
Team line-up:
NZ Warriors: 1-Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Marcelo Montoya, 4-Adam Pompey, 5-Ed Kosi, 6-Dylan Walker, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 9-Wayde Egan, 10-Bunty Afoa, 11-Jackson Ford, 12-Marata Niukore, 13-Tohu Harris (c)
Interchange (from): 14-Bayley Sironen, 15-Josh Curran, 16-Demitric Sifakula, 17-Tom Ale, 18-Freddy Lussick, 20-Taine Tuaupiki, 21-Viliami Vailea, 22-Ronald Volkman, 23-Kalani Going
NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster plays down battle against mentor Ivan Cleary in clash against Penrith Panthers
As an NRL clash against his former side Penrith Panthers awaits, NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster is at pains to point out this week isn't about him or his battle with opposite Ivan Cleary.
In his first season with the Warriors, and as a head coach in general, Webster's influence has been as notable as it is significant with the Kiwi club.
Taking the reins from Nathan Brown - who oversaw the worst season in the club's history - Webster's first nine games see the Warriors eighth on the ladder, with five wins and four losses to start the year.
Webster's ascension to the Warriors' head coaching role could have been seen as a risk to the club, appointing the 41-year-old to the job without any experience.
However, as a former assistant coach at the club under Andrew McFadden, and coming at the personal recommendation of premiership winner Cleary, the Warriors' gamble has paid off.
Webster and Cleary are no strangers. Along with new Canterbury Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo, Cleary and Webster were a formidable coaching combination with Penrith Panthers, leading the club to back-to-back NRL titles in 2021 and 2022.
This year, though, Webster and Ciraldo's promotions sees the three coaches each in charge of a different NRL side.
On Saturday, Webster will come up against Cleary for the first time, as the Warriors look to avoid a third-straight defeat.
Conversely, the seventh-placed Panthers are also in desperate need of victory after a shock loss to the last-placed Wests Tigers last weekend.
But while so much of the pre-match narrative will focus on the two coaches, Webster insists he and Cleary should not take centre stage.
"I spoke to Ivan last week, everything's fine," said Webster. "We didn't talk about this game, just around how he's going, how his family's going - more than football, really.
"I know everyone likes to build it up, but Ivan and I aren't going to tackle each other, not that I know of anyway.
"The players are going to do all the battling. I'm sure I'll say g'day to him after the game, but both of us are going to be focussed on helping the team get the points this week."
"I'm just grateful for all the opportunities Ivan's given me. All the mentoring, all the opportunities to be a good coach, to learn. That's about it.
"[But] I'm just focussed on what we've got to do to win. I'll probably think about all that after [the game] but I haven't right now."
Webster also knows the importance this week takes for the Warriors.
Two defeats in the last two weeks leaves the Warriors' place in the NRL's top eight on shaky ground, only ahead of ninth-placed Redcliffe Dolphins on points differential.
For the coach himself, that leaves victory itself as the most important result on Saturday, ahead of any personal battle against Cleary or the Panthers.
"I've learnt, just getting a win in the NRL is the most exciting part. There's quite a lot of people I like at Penrith, [I had] great times.
"I want two points for the club, the fans, for everyone. I don't think anyone cares about me this week.
"The boys downstairs just want to win. The fans just want to win.
"My motivation is to get that for everyone."
