St George Illawarra Dragons vs New Zealand Warriors Verdict
The Warriors already have eight wins for the season and should have little trouble making that nine. The Dragons continue to struggle for points and I'm backing the Warriors 13+ and Dragons to score under 18.5 team points.
- Dragons have lost their last 14 games
- Five of Dragons' last six defeats have been by 13+ margins
- Dragons have scored Under 18.5 points in eight of their 10 games this season
- Warriors have won eight of their 10 games this season
- Six of those eight wins have been by 13+ margins
- Warriors have kept their opponents to Under 18.5 points in seven of their 10 games this season
- Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has scored 1+ try in his last six games, scoring the 1st, 2nd or 3rd try in five of his last six
- Dragons have conceded 1+ try to opposing left second-rowers in their last three games (Leka Halasima)
Dragons vs Warriors Head To Head
Warriors have won four of the last five meetings, but both 2025 encounters were close.
St George Illawarra Dragons Form - Winless Wonders
I mean it goes without saying the Dragons are enduring a nightmare season, but I'd even argue no team has gone worse since the Rabbitohs were booted out of the comp and re-entered in 2002, struggling in those early years.
The players are putting in the effort and you can't really put any blame on Dean Young - the club just doesn't have the cattle and the powers at be have let down the fans with questionable off-field decisions.
Case in point last week - the Dragons went toe-to-toe with Penrith for the majority of the contest and were actually unlucky not to go into the break level after Damien Cook was robbed of a clear try by the video ref.
Ultimately the Panthers were too classy in a 28-6 victory. Again, just can't see where the Dragons' points are going to come from with Kyle Flanagan and Nathaniel Atkinson in the halves. It's just four standard hit-ups followed by an average bomb that isn't contested, rinse and repeat.
New Zealand Warriors Form - Eight & Counting
Andrew Webster deserves immense credit with what he's done with this Warriors side - they've been entrenched inside the top four for the bulk of the last two seasons and are second coming into Round 12, behind only Penrith.
James Fisher-Harris, Erin Clark and Jackson Ford are leading by example up front, Wayne Egan is low-key one of the best hookers in the game and DWZ and AKP are lighting it up out wide, scoring tries for fun.
It will be interesting to see if Te Maire Martin can reproduce his performance from off the bench last week and maintain the level that Tanah Boyd was displaying. It's the only way I see the Warriors falling off in this current competition.
The Wahs blew Brisbane off the park during Magic Round, aided by a lopsided first-half penalty count. Fisher-Harris led the way with 21 hit-ups, while DWZ scored another double, running for 216 metres, two line breaks and three offloads. Egan also impressed with a try and two line breaks.
Dragons vs Warriors Team News
Jaydn Su'A returns from a three-game suspension in the centres for the Dragons in place of Moses Suli, who is still out with a back problem. Tyrell Sloan is back from a groin injury on the bench.
The Warriors lose Mitch Barnett and Kurt Capewell to Origin, while Boyd is out for the season after doing his ACL. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava, Luke Hanson and Marata Niukore are the new faces on the pine, with Ford and Jacob Laban coming into the starting side.