Five One New Zealand Warriors players have been named in the men’s Māori All Stars squad to face the Indigenous All Stars at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville on Friday, February 16 (7.10pm kick-off local time; 10.10pm NZT).
Dally M winger of the year Dallin Watene-Zelezniak returns to the side alongside centre Adam Pompey – the sole Warrior in last year’s match – back rowers Dylan Walker and Jazz Tevaga and half Te Maire Martin
Head coach and former Warrior Adam Blair has also selected former Warrior Jesse Arthars while another ex-Warrior Josh Curran is again in the Indigenous All Stars line-up.
Returning to the Māori squad is ex-Kangaroo Dane Gagai who’s in a group which includes 11 past or current Kiwis.
In a major boost to the Auckland-based club though, the club revealed Johnson has only suffered a moderate ankle sprain which was confirmed by scans.
As it stands, Johnson will be fit for the club’s season opener against the Cronulla Sharks on Friday, March 8, although his status for the pre-season challenge matches (where the Warriors take on the Wests Tigers in Christchurch on February 18 and the Dolphins on February 24 in Auckland) is yet to be determined.
was widely reported that Johnson only suffered the injury last week, and the moon boot brought with it fears for a potential syndesmosis injury.
That could well have ruled Johnson out for a period of up to two months, ending his chances of playing a role early on for the Warriors in 2024, who will be out to back up their surprise run to the preliminary finals in 2023 of which Johnson played a major role.
