Friday on their minds as Warriors’ draw revealed
Raider Murchie set to ease injury crisis as NZ club moves to base in Gosford
The Warriors’ draw for the new NRL season has been revealed, and fans are going to get plenty of Friday night viewing. The Warriors will play nine Friday night games when the season restarts next week.
The first two weeks of the new draw had already been released with the Warriors to play the Dragons next Saturday before facing the Panthers the following Friday.
That begins a streak of four Fridays in a row where the Warriors will take the field. They finish the season with five of their final six games played on Sundays.
They will play their “home games” at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford on the NSW Central Coast, from next week’s round three clash against St George Illawarra.
The Warriors resume the season with an 0-2 record after previous defeats to the Knights (20-0) and the Raiders (20-6) which leaves coach Stephen Kearney’s side second to bottom on the NRL table.
The Warriors will face defending champions the Roosters once this season, on July 25, and fellow 2019 grand finalists the Raiders a second time after previously meeting them before the season was suspended.
They will twice face the Sharks, while playing the likes of the Rabbitohs, Broncos and Storm just once.
The New Zealand club will also have reinforcements for the season restart, with Canberra forward Jack Murchie joining the club in Gosford yesterday as injury relief.
The emerging 22-year-old has played only three first-grade NRL matches but has shown promise.
Murchie joins the Warriors in search for more opportunities after struggling to establish himself in Canberra.
“Jack joins us with an opportunity and expectation to play NRL,” said Kearney.
“He comes highly recommended and we look forward to giving us some depth leading into our return to the competition next week.”
Having previously represented the New South Wales Under-20s and the Junior Kangaroos, Murchie made his NRL debut from the bench against the Sharks in 2018.
“I’m looking forward to a new start and hopefully contribute to the team,” he said.
“I’ve played with and against a lot of the boys and I’m excited to join the squad and hopefully play some good footy.”