The Warriors fight for the crown. The Eels fight for their future and Josh Addo-Carr’s 200th milestone.
“He is a natural leader, he doesn’t need the title,” coach Jason Ryles said, in yesterday's pre-game presser, praising Foxxy's mentorship of younger players and everything he does on and off the field.
Tomorrow night, the scene is set. The Warriors are back. Two straight wins. Meanwhile, the Eels produced their best performance of the season dismantling the Roosters 30-10 last week. Though the Eels have won five of their last six against the Warriors, we'll find out why the Warriors are rightful favourites.
Form
The Warriors are recovering from a mid-season slump not helped by injuries to forward enforcer Mitch Barnett and creative spark Luke Metcalf.
- Start of season: won 10 / 13 to sit second
- Since then: only 4 / 9 clinging onto fourth
The Eels’ season has been in complete contrast. Steady improvement.
- Start of season: won 1/ 6 to sit last, conceding 34 points a game (worst in the NRL)
- Last five: won 3 / 5, conceding 16.8 points a game (4th-best).
Getty Image: The Eels won the loose ball contest last week.
Their Roosters win showcased Kaizen. Pack-hunting defence. Chase and Scramble in numbers. Along with Moses' management and a kicking masterclass.
Now 14th, the Eels' season could have looked very different had they closed out five narrow defeats (by 8 or fewer points against the Storm, Panthers, Dolphins, and Souths). Pushing for finals.
Top-tier Struggles
The Eels’ weakness has been competing in the grind with the best.
- vs Top-nine sides: won 2 / 12 (17%), compared with
- vs Bottom-eight sides: won 6 / 10 (60%).
Errors and execution have cost the Eels.
- In two top-eight wins (Roosters, Broncos): completed 85% average, less errors 20-30.
- In ten losses against top-nine teams: completions slumped to 73%, more errors 135–86.
Quick polar opposite comparision (via nrl.com).
- Eels: fourth-worst for errors and completions.
- Warriors: least errors, best for completions.
Getty Image: Go Media, Auckland. LIkely to be wet and windy.
Away Woes
This season, the Eels have struggled on the road.
- won 2 / 10 outside Commbank
- won 6 / 12 at CommBank.
They won at Go Media last year but overall are 2 / 8 since 2008.
Still, the Warriors have been mixed at home. They started the season with a bang. Three straight wins at home when Barnett and Metcalf were fit. But since then, without both, they're only 2 / 6. The defeats were always close though (2–10 points), even against the Panthers and Raiders.Getty Images: Hopgood flies in the engine room.
Match Ups
The middle battle will be fierce, but the wingers bring pure star factor: Lomax, Addo-Carr, Tuivasa-Sheck, and Watene-Zelezniak.
Both right edges are vulnerable. The Eels 5th-leakiest, the Warriors 4th-leakist (61% of their tried are conceded there, as the Titans exposed last week).
Encouragingly, the Eels’ right edge held against the Roosters after conceding five of seven tries in the two weeks prior. Left-winger RTS with 9 tries in his last 11 against the Eels, and centre-partner Adam Pompey, with 5 tries in 6 games, are clear strike weapons.
The Eels did it for Dylan Walker's 250th last week, can they do it for Foxxy?
Final Word
Logic points towards the Warriors, given their discipline and the Eels struggles away and against top-teams. Their top-four hopes are on the line. For the Eels, Kaizen-inspired improvement in fundamentals must continue if they’re to spring an upset.
As Ryles pointed out, "Last week was a good indication of where we can get to. The key is coming up with those performances consistently...doing the little things."
Getty Images: The Eels celebrate Moses' brillant try last week.
Team Lists
Friday 6.00pm AEST, 29 August 2025, Warriors (4th) vs Eels (14th), Go Media Stadium, Auckland
Weather: Possibly heavy showers, thunderstorms and hail morning and afternoon, easing in the evening. Westerlies, with gusts of 80 km/h possible.
Sportsbet: Warriors $1.55 Eels $2.46 Monday morning.
Officials: Peter Gough (on-field referee), Chris Butler (bunker), touchies not yet confirmed a little over 24 hours out from game day. Lost 8 of the last 9 collectively against Butler and Gough, although we have a decent record against Butler.
Watch this space: Dylan Brown likely out for Sean Russell.
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Warriors |
Eels 1. Isaiah Iongi 2. Zac Lomax 3. Viliami Penisini 18. Sean Russell/ 4. Dylan Brown 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Joash Papali’i 7. Mitchell Moses 8. J’maine Hopgood 9. Ryley Smith 10. Junior Paulo 11. Kelma Tuilagi 12. Jack Williams 13. Dylan Walker Bench: 14. Tallyn Da Silva 15. Matt Doorey 16. Charlie Guymer 17. Jordan Samrani Extended Reserves: 18. Sean Russell/ 4. Dylan Brown 21. Toni Mataele |
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Cut: 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 21. Bunty Afoa, 23. Edward Kosi No changes to top 17 from last week. |
Cut: 19. Dean Hawkins, 20. Dan Keir, 22. Joey Lussick No changes to top 17 from last week. Sean Russell, returning from injury, on the reserves and could make his way into the 17. There are rumours Dylan might not start or play. |
| Coach: Andrew Webster | Coach: Jason Ryles |
The Eels celebrate last week's win against the Roosters.
Ryles' Youth Policy has been a feature of the season.
Spoon Watch: Eels out of the running, finally. For the first time this year. Titans $1.62, Knights $2.20.
Replies
We are a strong chance of winning this game, talent wise teams are about even going to come down to error count and icing opportunities. Won't be shocked if we win this by 10 or so
DBrown won't be playing, replaced by Rhino Russell