Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and his team will kick off the last of the NRL Magic Round games this Sunday when his Warriors duel with the Parramatta Eels.
The Magic Round [Round 10] of the NRL season sees all games being played across this weekend from Friday to Saturday in Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, much like an NRL Nines format of play schedule.
The Eels [second place] have lost only one game in the season so far, their latest win coming by way of beating an under-strength Roosters side last week. This will make the Warriors' [eighth place] efforts to come away with a win more difficult.
Those difficulties seem to have eased a little as Eels players Dylan Brown and Marata Niukore have been suspended. Waqa Blake makes his return in place of Niukore, however, and Reed Mahoney [head injury assessment] and Nathan Brown [hip] have been named to start after passing medical tests.
Ben Murdoch-Masila returns to the second row, dropping Bayley Sironen to the reserves as the only change on the Warriors side.
Aitken and Katoa named on extended bench for Magic Round ✨ Read: https://bit.ly/33y0moO Delivered to you by nzherald.co.nz
Posted by One NZ Warriors on Monday, May 10, 2021
Tuivasa-Sheck and Eels captain Clint Gutherson are both the heart and soul of their respective sides. Gutherson surpasses with seven tries and four goals Tuivasa-Sheck's two tries. Their attack stats are similar in try assists and line-break but has made more tackle breaks than his counterpart. Tuivasa-Sheck also betters Gutherson over average and total running metres.
While the Eels [23 wins] have had the edge in wins over the Warriors [16 wins] in their head-to-head matchups, the Warriors have had a better completion rate and tackle efficiency over the Parramatta side.
To find out who will increase their stat of wins over the other, tune into the Sunday, May 16 match, at 3:50 pm on Sky Sport.