LeagueNews.co | Jason Patrick
In a squad update from the NZ Warriors, prop Bunty Afoa, rookie centre Ali Leiataua, and winger Edward Kosi have been left out of the 19-man game day squad for their NRL preliminary final against the Brisbane Broncos.
The match is set to take place at a sold-out Suncorp Stadium tomorrow, with a kick-off time of 7.50pm local time and 9.50pm NZT.
According to warriors.kiwi, hooker Freddy Lussick and 2023 rookie fullback Taine Tuaupiki have been retained from the extended squad named on Tuesday.
This means that the Warriors will be using the same 17 players who played in their impressive semifinal win over Newcastle last Saturday night, where they secured a 40-10 victory.
It is worth noting that this is the fifth time in the club's history that the NZ Warriors have reached a preliminary final, with their last appearance being in 2011 when they defeated Melbourne 20-12 to reach the grand final.
In their previous grand final qualifiers, they beat Cronulla Sutherland 16-10 in 2002 but lost to the Penrith Panthers (20-28) in 2003 and Manly Warringah (6-32) in 2008.
The Sea Eagles went on to trounce Melbourne 40-0 in the grand final.
The only meeting between the two teams in the 2023 regular season saw the NZ Warriors narrowly lose 22-26 after staging a dramatic comeback in Napier on May 27.