Warriors

It's the Eels ninth loss in eleven games and sees them remain at the bottom of the NRL ladder.

The Warriors led 12-2 at the break but the Eels looked like getting their season back on track when they scored twice to lead 14-12 midway throught the second half.

But they let the match slip just eight minutes later when Mitchell Moses misfielded an awkward Blake Green kick, allowing Warriors utility Jazz Tevaga to scoop up the ball and score.

With Johnson injuring his ankle in the win over the Tigers last weekend, Mason Lino will start in the No 7 jersey in the only change to the playing 17 named for the Indigenous Round battle at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday.

The 24-year-old Lino will make his fourth appearance of the season after previously filling the position against the Roosters, North Queensland and Melbourne.

Luke was forced off with a shoulder injury in the 55th minute in the 26-4 over the Tigers, while Blair left the field with an ankle complaint after returning from the bench for his second stint.

Durant – the 2014 MVP – led all scorers with 38 points on 15-of-27 shooting with nine rebounds and five assists as Golden State topped New Orleans 118-92 on Sunday.

The Warriors went with their vaunted death line-up of Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala and every player registered a plus/minus of plus-21 points or better as Golden State took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Bouncing back from last week's 50-10 humiliation at the hands of Melbourne, the hosts on Saturday night handed the Tigers their third straight loss and their biggest defeat of the season.

Dampening any major celebrations was the sight of key playmakers Issac Luke (arm/shoulder) and Shaun Johnson (leg) escorted from the field in the second half.

That veteran hooker Luke was even playing was remarkable given the club had initially said his knee injury suffered against the Storm required a four-week break.

Half Shaun Johnson, centre Solomone Kata, and forward Tohu Harris have all been named in the starting side who will be looking to bounce back from their Anzac Day drubbing in Melbourne.

In what could be a stunning turnaround, Issac Luke is set to remain in the No. 9 jersey despite being deemed unavailable for the next four weeks due to injury as recently as Monday.

The in-form hooker went through Monday's practice and is now pencilled in to start after he lasted just 16 minutes against Melbourne before he succumbed to a knee injury.

Auckland Rugby League, through the Carlaw Heritage Trust formed out of the sale of Carlaw Park, have got an agreement for sale in place with the team's majority owner Eric Watson.

Reports had surfaced early this month that a different group - largely former professional athletes led by Richard Fale and based in Hawaii - had reached a verbal agreement to buy the club.

The sale to the Hawaii consortium - for somewhere in the region of $24 million - had reportedly been waiting only for a final decision from Watson.

Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith was asked in the lead-up to their Anzac Day match if a win over NRL premiership contenders the Warriors meant the Storm were back and his team gave an emphatic answer at AAMI Park in Melbourne, delivering a statement that they wouldn't be handing over their title without a fight.

The Warriors came into the annual clash, hyped up having only dropped one game, while the Storm had won their previous two after a patchy start to the season.

The home side produced a superb defensive effort to hand the Dragons their first loss of the season.

The win had seemed safe with 14 minutes to go when hooker Isaac Luke grabbed the home side's third try.

Luke, who made several dummy-half runs, produced a 40-20 and finished off by scoring close to the line.

But the Dragons set up a grandstand finish when second-rower Tariq Sims forced his way over for a converted try with six minutes to go to close the gap to four points.

The third-placed Warriors announced Mason Lino would start at halfback, with Anthony Gelling to make his season debut for Solomone Kata.

The clash will lose some of its lustre because of Johnson's injury, with the words "blockbuster", "Dragons" and "Warriors" traditionally not belonging together.

The two clubs - or three if you include the four years of the Warriors' existence before St George and Illawarra merged - have made the finals just five times in the same season.

They have never met in a finals match.

Actually doing it will be even more difficult.

Traditionally, the words "blockbuster billing", "St George Illawarra" and "Warriors" haven't belonged in the same sentence.

The two clubs - or three if you include the four years of the Warriors' existence before St George and Illawarra merged - have made the finals in the same season just five times.

Nor have they ever met in a finals clash.

In simple terms, this makes Friday night's match the biggest ever played between the two sides.