Warriors

The confirmed departures of Ken Maumalo, David Fusitu'a, Agnatius Paasi and King Vuniyayawa on 27 July, and the exit last week of forward Leivaha Pulu, leaves the Warriors five players down heading into the their last nine games.

Warriors chief executive Cameron George said getting replacement loan players from other clubs was becoming more difficult.

"It's getting tougher and tougher as the year goes on, as other clubs get injuries, to try to find those loan players" George said.

The players gave the National Rugby League until July 19th to get exemptions from Australian government agencies for their families to join them in New South Wales.

If the NRL fail to get the exemptions - the club says it will allow the four players considering leaving to head home on Monday after Sunday's game against the Sharks.

However, RNZ understands there are no available flights until July 27th and players will have to stay and play against the Roosters on July 25th before they can get out of Australia.

Robinson hit the headlines last week when he revealed sacked coached Stephen Kearney was the wrong personality for the New Zealand NRL club, while also stating they would be letting go of both playmaker Blake Green and outside back Gerard Beale after this season.

Based on the Gold Coast-based, the club owner had joined the team at their training base in New South Wales and was set to be part of the Warriors camp for around a month.

Tevaga didn't expect that to create any tension, despite Robinson's actions and comments.

The veteran halfback found out through media that the Warriors wouldn't be re-signing him for the 2021 season.

Green responded by leading the Warriors to a come-from-behind 26-16 win over the Broncos in Gosford, with regular skipper Roger Tuivasa-Sheck unavailable due to suspension.

He stood up in the absence of halves partner Kodi Nikorima, who was forced off the field early in the first half with concussion, guiding the Warriors around the park with a clever kicking game, highlighted by a booming 40/20.

The giant winger, who is one of the Warriors players that want to return to New Zealand to be with their familties, has scored two tries and run for almost 300 metres to help his side to a come-from-behind 26-16 win over the Brisbane Broncos in Gosford.

Brisbane, in search of their first win since the NRL restart, had led 10-nil after half an hour, with Maumalo dotting down on the stroke of halftime to keep the Warriors in touch.

Payten said he was "pretty calm" as the biggest test in his fledgling NRL head coaching career approached with the Warriors game against the Storm on Friday night in Sydney.

He has been a professional coach for nine years with stints with the Wests Tigers and North Queensland Cowboys before he arrived in Auckland in 2019.

Friday's game against the 6th-place Storm is his first as an NRL head coach.

The Panthers made amends for blowing a double-digit lead against Newcastle last week to run in five tries tonight - including a Matt Burton double.

Burton, playing in just his third NRL game, also had a hand in another try as he bounced back from the disappointment of missing five field goals on the same ground against the Knights.

The rookie had plenty of help from his teammates, particularly tireless front-rower James Fisher-Harris, who finished with a game-high 239 metres.

He also added four offloads and 31 tackles with no misses to his stat line.

A week after holding the St George Illawarra Dragons scoreless, the Warriors didn't fire a shot as they failed to score a single point for the second time this season.

Nothing seemed to go the Warriors' way, with all of the Panthers' five tries coming off mistakes or penalties. 

On top of that, the Panthers dominated possession and the ruck battle with Kiwis international James Fisher-Harris leading the way with a career-high 239 run metres and 44 tackles. 

The Auckland club has been asking the Australian Rugby League Commission for extra support, having lost three players to long-term injuries since arriving in Australia.

The Warriors need relief in the middle third of the field in particular, with first-choice front-rower Leeson Ah Mau all but sidelined for the season with a ruptured pectoral muscle, while lock Jazz Tevaga will miss the opening rounds with a knee injury.

Nathaniel Roache has joined the squad at its training base in Tamworth, New South Wales after missing the team's charter flight last Sunday.

Roache sat out the opening couple of rounds of the season as he continued his recovery from a serious knee injury, but will now try and vie for the Warriors' nine jersey with Lawton and Wayde Egan, who started against both Newcastle and Canberra.