Live: Penrith and Cronulla firebrands facing bans after ugly tackles

The weekend of upsets continued yesterday.

I’d say back the underdog today, but I don’t know if there’s a true favourite today.

Warriors are at home, but missing their co-captains and starting front rowers, and both teams have the same number of wins so far this year.

The Warriors are on a five-game winning streak and sitting second on the ladder, but they’ve only got a +5 in the for-and-against column.

That’s because six of their eight wins have been by single digits, and both their losses – 30-8 to the Raiders in round one and 42-14 in Melbourne in round six – were whoppers.

This current run of wins has been particularly impressive because they’ve been so gritty, which hasn’t been a hallmark of previous Warriors sides, and the last three came on the road in Australia.

But a struggling Broncos side, battlers Newcastle, and the up-and-down Cowboys, Dragons and Dolphins are all teams we’d expect the Warriors to beat. This showdown with the Raiders, only missing Hudson Young to Origin duty, is the biggest test they’ve faced since getting pumped by the Storm six weeks ago.

The Warriors are without co-captains James Fisher-Harris (suspension) and Mitch Barnett (Origin), but are otherwise close to full strength with Ali Leiataua returning to the centres.

Today’s game should a be a good barometer for where both teams sit in the hierarchy alongside the Storm and Bulldogs.

Ali Leiataua’s return to the centres was confirmed yesterday, meaning Kurt Capewell can return to his favoured spot in the back row.

With James Fisher-Harris and Mitch Barnett out, the Warriors start with Bunty Afoa and Marata Niukore as the props.

For the Raiders, Hudson Young’s Origin absence hurts their back-row stocks, with Matty Nicholson already missing with an injury. Zac Hosking is a more than capable replacement, while Simi Sasagi starts for the first time this season.

Watch for 20-year-old Noah Martin, sporting perhaps the best mullet in the league, coming off the bench in his NRL debut.

This afternoon’s game is the second clash between these teams, although neither have taken place on Australian soil.

The Raiders hammered the Warriors 30-8 in their season opener in Las Vegas in a performance that left a lot of us questioning if the New Zealanders could even fire a shot this year.

Of particular concern was the outing for halfback Luke Metcalf, who looked utterly out of sorts as he moved from six to seven.

But now, while the Raiders look exactly as good as they did that day, the Warriors sit second on the ladder after five straight wins, with Metcalf climbing to the top of the Dally M leaderboard just before votes go behind closed doors.

Languishing at the bottom of the ladder and struggling with State of Origin outs, Penrith’s life just got a bit harder with enforcer Liam Henry set for a two-game ban for a nasty crusher tackle.

Henry’s effort in the Panthers’ 25-6 loss to Newcastle last night wasn’t one of those tackles where someone’s head gets stuck in the wrong spot, it was a textbook crusher on Fletcher Sharpe and exactly the sort of tackle that the rule was brought in to try to stop.

He can accept a two-week ban or risk three games if he fights it.

It’s worth mentioning for anyone confused as to why this is worth two weeks but Jacob Preston‘s far less violent tackle in round nine was worth four weeks, Henry’s is a grade two charge and Preston’s was only grade one. But Preston’s tackle was his third such offence and he tried to fight it and lost.

Meanwhile, another fiery customer, Ronaldo Mulitalo, can accept a one-week ban for the massive shot that caught Roosters star Mark Nawaqanitawase high in the lead-up to Hugo Savala’s try last night.

Already without Sam Stonestreet and Sione Katoa, the Sharks’ backline depth could be tested even further unless Mulitalo miraculously fights the dangerous contact charge and wins.

Good afternoon and welcome to a glorious Sunday afternoon with all our attention on just one game of footy that should be a proper banger.

Somehow, the Warriors and Raiders, despite being second and fourth on the ladder, are barely hit by Origin outs. So we should see a proper contest between two of the best teams in the league this afternoon.

We’ll stay across that and any other updates in the rugby league world as they come.