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.
With a completion rate of 84 per cent, they were well ahead of the Cowboys in metres gained (1908-1327), post-contact metres (792-512), line breaks (7-2), tackle breaks (32-21), average set distance (43.37-36.86) and kick return metres (277-109) while they had a total of just 23 missed and ineffective tackles compared to the Cowboys’ 42.
This week they face their toughest opponent of the past 10 years having lost 15 times on end to the Storm stretching back to their last win at Go Media Stadium in 2015.
is back for the One New Zealand Warriors’ much-anticipated 15th-round NRL encounter with competition leader Melbourne at a sold-out Go Media Stadium on Saturday (7.30pm kick-off).
After missing the club’s last three matches with a pectoral injury, the 33-year-old is set for his 263rd career appearance while vastly experienced centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is close to returning from the hamstring injury he suffered on the eve of the 10th-round match against the Sydney Roosters.
Tuivasa-Sheck (31) has been named on the extended bench in jersey #20 but One New Zealand Warriors head coach Andrew Webster said today that he was being targeted for his comeback in the round 16 clash against the Gold Coast Titans on June 22.
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.
With a completion rate of 84 per cent, they were well ahead of the Cowboys in metres gained (1908-1327), post-contact metres (792-512), line breaks (7-2), tackle breaks (32-21), average set distance (43.37-36.86) and kick return metres (277-109) while they had a total of just 23 missed and ineffective tackles compared to the Cowboys’ 42.
This week they face their toughest opponent of the past 10 years having lost 15 times on end to the Storm stretching back to their last win at Go Media Stadium in 20
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