NRL
The Warriors kicked us off last night, with a gritty 13-12 loss to the Storm, at least showing the team can defend well when needed. It must be noted that the Storm were well off their best though and probably weren't showering each other with praise at full time. New boy Patrick Herbert, the former St Kents 1st XV player got his NRL debut and put in a stunning game at centre.
WHAT NEXT? The Warriors can potentially drop as low as 13th on the NRL ladder if results don't go their way for the rest of the weekend. However, they do get a long break before returning to Mt Smart next Sunday to play the struggling Knights.
The Roosters scored a big 20-10 win over the Dragons last night at the SCG as well. As far as interesting games for this round, last night was about it – the rest are all pretty one-sided looking games with the most interest being in whether the Broncos can reboot after their shocking start to the season against the Sharks in Brisbane. Elsewhere, the Bulldogs play the Cowboys in Sydney, the Panthers host the Rabbitohs out in Penrith, the Tigers play the Titans in far-flung Tamworth, the Sea Eagles take on the Raiders in Manly and the Knights play the Eels in Newcastle.
Super Rugby
Two NZ games this weekend, starting with the Crusaders playing the Lions tonight in Christchurch at Rugby League Park (yes, that’s what it’s called now they don’t have a naming sponsor). Here are the starting line ups for kickoff at 7:35pm:
Crusaders: 15 David Havili, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Braydon Ennor, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo'unga, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Billy Harmon, 6 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 5 Sam Whitelock (c), 4 Quinten Strange, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody.
Bench: 16 Ben Funnell, 17 Harry Allan, 18 Oliver Jager, 19 Mitchell Dunshea, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Ereatara Enari, 22 Mitchell Hunt, 23 Ngane Punivai.
Lions: 15 Ruan Combrinck, 14 Sylvian Mahuza, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Elton Jantjies, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Shaun Reynolds, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Cyle Brink, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Stephan Lewies, 3 Carlu Sadie, 2 Robbie Coetzee, 1 Sti Sithole.
Bench: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Nathan Mcbeth, 18 Johannes Jonker, 19 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 20 Marnus Schoeman, 21 Ross Cronje, 22 Franco Naude, 23 Tyrone Green.
Key talking points:
The Crusaders are using this game to give a couple of wider squad members a run, with halfback Ereatara Enari and outside back Ngane Punivai coming onto the bench. The Lions are coming off an upset win over the Chiefs last week in Hamilton, but also a controversy after they admitted using a sneaky switch just before the game that saw Springboks Malcolm Marx and Elton Jantjies moved off the bench and into the starting lineup.
Will it be sweet or stink?
Probably a bit stink, while the Lions won last week it’s hard to see anyone getting close to the Crusaders in Christchurch right now. Crusaders by 20.
Then on Saturday night at 7:35pm we have a big NZ Conference derby match between the Hurricanes and Chiefs at Westpac Stadium in Wellington. Here’s how the teams look for the game:
Hurricanes: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Wes Goosen, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Chase Tiatia, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara (c), 8 Reed Prinsep, 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Kane Leaupepe, 4 James Blackwell, 3 Ben May, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Fraser Armstrong
Bench: 16 Ricky Riccitelli, 17 Xavier Numia, 18 Jeff To'omaga-Allen, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Sam Henwood, 21 Richard Judd, 22 James Marshall, 23 Salesi Rayasi
Chiefs: 15 Solomon Alaimalo, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Tumua Manu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Ataata Moeakiola, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tyler Ardron, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Luke Jacobson, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Michael Allardice (c), 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Atu Moli
Bench: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Sosefo Kautai, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Jesse Parete, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Stephen Donald, 23 Alex Nankivell
Key talking points: This is the second time these teams have met, after their first game on March 15 was overshadowed by the Christchurch shootings on the same day. That ended in a 23-all draw, and the iconic show of unity between the two teams masked their usual animosity. Jordie Barrett moves back to fullback for the Canes, with the in-form Chase Tiatia going to the left wing. For the Chiefs, it's another big test for Marty McKenzie to take on the sort of responsibility his brother Damian left wide open when he suffered a season-ending injury two weeks ago.
Will it be sweet or stink?
This will definitely be a sweet game. While the Chiefs are banged up, these two sides always put on a good game when they get together and love giving the ball a bit of air. Prediction: Canes by 10
What else is happening?
The first round of the NBA Playoffs finish up over the weekend with the Denver Nuggets and Golden State Warriors needing one more win over the San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers respectively.
Liverpool and Manchester City have 'must win' games at Huddersfield and Burnley in their quest for the English Premiership. There’s only three weeks left and only one point separating the two sides in the hotly contested title race.