The pools have been drawn and the odds are in. Here's what you need to know ahead of kickoff on September 9. Video / NZ Herald
Jazz Tevaga returns on the bench for the Warriors ahead of their first NRL finals match in five years when they face defending champions the Penrith Panthers on Saturday evening.
The 28-year-old missed the last three games of the regular season with a hamstring injury picked up in the round24 win over the Wests Tigers in Hamilton.
It was only his second match back in a season in which the imposing middle forward has been limited to just eight games.
The match kicks off at 6.05pm NZT and is a repeat of the Warriors’ last finals match in week one of the 2018 playoffs when both sides were placed in the bottom half of the top eight.
The Panthers defeated the Warriors 27-12. Fan favourite Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was at fullback for Penrith that day.
The two teams only met once in the regular season this year, with the Panthers winning 18-6 in a tough contest at Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium on May 6.
Jazz Tevaga of the Warriors celebrates his try with Dylan Walker. Photo / Photosport
This is the ninth finals campaign in the Warriors’ history and only the third time they’ve finished in the top four.
Meanwhile, up on stage at the Warriors’ end-of-season awards function last night, Johnson was almost lost for words.
He had just received the Simon Mannering Medal - for the Warriors’ player of the year - ahead of esteemed finalists Tohu Harris, Addin Fonua-Blake and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad. It completed a sweep of three big gongs for the 32-year-old, who also won the coveted Players’ Player of the Season, along with the People’s Choice award.
The final honour came just after 9.30pm. As Johnson made his way to the stage for the third time to be met by former skipper Mannering, the entire room at the Viaduct Events Centre stood in applause. That acknowledgement just added to the emotion for the halfback, off the back of a spectacular career turnaround this year.
Warriors side v Penrith Panthers
Saturday, September 9 at BlueBet Stadium in Penrith from 6.05pm NZT
Luke Kirkness is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He previously covered consumer affairs for the Herald and was an assistant news director in the Bay of Plenty. He won Student Journalist of the Year in 2019.
