As he did last for last week’s match against the Cowboys, head coach Andrew Webster has brought Dylan Walker in to start at loose forward with captain Tohu Harris moving to the interchange.
Wayde Egan will take on the captaincy duties for the opening period of the contest.Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been confirmed as 18th man with Tom Ale 19th man.
Veteran Shaun Johnson is back at halfback for the much-anticipated encounter with the competition-leading Storm.After missing the club’s last three matches with a pectoral injury, the 33-year-old is set for his 263rd career appearance.
Johnson’s inclusion for his 11th appearance in his 14th NRL season sees Te Maire Martin, who has been impressive at halfback in the last three games, reverting to standoff.Utility Chanel Harris-Tavita, the starting #6 against the Dolphins and North Queensland, has been named on the interchange to provide cover for a number of positions.
The rest of the backline remains unchanged while the starting forward pack is the same as the one originally named last week although captain Tohu Harris was later shifted to the bench with Dylan Walker starting.
The Warriors are coming off a run of consecutive wins over three-times premier Penrith (22-20), the fourth-placed Dolphins (24-20) and North Queensland (42-12), their most complete performance of the season.Along with two points from their 13th-round bye, the One New Zealand Warriors now have 15 points and have climbed to 10th within one point of the top eight.
Last week the side was bolstered by the return of key players Charnze-Nicoll Klokstad, Rocco Berry, Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan, Tohu Harris and Kurt Capewell and now Johnson comes back to further strengthen the lineup.Last Saturday night the Warriors completely dominated the Cowboys in their second straight win in Townsville.
