The Jets go on the road for a second week in a row, taking on the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland in a round three match of the Intrust Super Premiership on Sunday.
Following a draw in round one and a win over the Knights in Cessnock last weekend, the Newtown side will head to New Zealand confident of continuing their positive start to the 2016 season.
Should they get a win however they will need to do it without a couple of key personnel, with hooker Matt McIlwrick and second rower Kurt Capewell sidelined due to injury.
McIlwrick suffered an accidental poke in the eye in the Knights game and due to the sensitive nature of the injury has been kept out of the Jets team this weekend, while Capewell strained a knee and while not deemed to be serious the injury has ruled him out of the round three match this weekend.
The Jets v Warriors match will be played at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday, with kick off scheduled for 11.45am local time (9.45am Sydney time).
For the Jets team list, a ISP competition ladder, match highlights from round 2 and a full match preview, courtesy of the NSWRL website, see below
By NSWRL website
Warriors v Newtown: Jets Take Off For New Zealand
Mt Smart Stadium, Sunday 20 March, 11:45am (AEST), 1:45pm (NZ)
In a promising opening to the season, the Newtown Jets put their unbeaten start on the line as they travel to New Zealand to take on the Warriors.
Earning a hard-fought 16-all draw with the Canterbury Bulldogs and holding for a gritty 28-20 win over the reigning premiers, the Newcastle Knights, last weekend, Jets coach Greg Matterson asserts there is still plenty of room to grow for his Newtown side as they prepare to take on the Warriors.
“The vibe’s good, the boys are good – it’s a good bunch of blokes,” Matterson told NSWRL.com.au. “They’re gelling well with the part timers and full timers. There’s a good feel at the place but there’s still a lot of work to do to get where we want to be footy wise.
“We’re still developing the way we want to play and we’re a fair way off that at the moment. We’re working on how we want to play and not focusing on them (the Warriors) but we know we can’t give them too much footy because they’re big and strong.”
After a first-up loss in Round 1, the Warriors were ruthless in a comprehensive 44-6 thumping of Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval last week but Matterson isn’t stressed in what’s possibly Newtown’s first serious test of the season.
“Nah it’s Round 3, we’re just looking to improve each week,” Matterson said. “We know they gave Wests Tigers a touch up last week on a hot day. They’re in a bit of form and coming back in front of a home crowd. They’ll be ready to play and we need to make it as difficult as we can for them.
“[Set completions] are be super important. You give them too much footy and they’re big boys. It’s important for us to use our sets well, make sure they’re coming off their own line at the end of our sets, make sure they don’t start the set off well and not let them get the result.
“First thing is completions. We’ve been really poor with completions. That’s put us under a bit of pressure in both games. If we tidy that up and work on our last-play options, that will go a long way.”
Intrust Super Premiership NSW – Round 3
New Zealand Warriors v Newtown
Sunday, 20th March
Mt Smart Stadium
Kick-Off: 11.45am (NZDT); 9.45am (AEDT)
1 Arana Taumata
2 Mitch Brown
3 Jordan Drew
4 Matt Evans
5 Jacob Gagan
6 Josh Cleeland
7 Fa'amanu Brown
8 Junior Roqica
9 Kurt Kara
10 Kurt Dillon
11 Malakai Houma
12 Anthony Moraitis
13 Jason Schirnack
Interchange
14 Harrison Muller
15 Travis Robinson
16 Ahmad Ellaz
17 Myles Taueli
19 Jaline Graham
NSW Cup ladder after 2 rounds – CLICK HERE -
http://www.nswrl.com.au/intrust-super-premiership-nsw/ladder1.html
NSW Cup Highlights – Round 2 - CLICK HERE (Newtown content 6:00 into video) http://www.nswrl.com.au/news/2016/03/16/highlights_isp_nsw_r.html
Lead photo – courtesy Gary Sutherland
