| Home team | Northland |
| Away team | Manawatu |
| Venue | Semenoff Stadium |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 3:05 am (UK) 2:05 pm (UK) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Sky Sports |
Northland vs Manawatu NPC preview as the sides meet in round one of the competition.
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Northland vs Manawatu confirmed lineups
| Northland | Manawatu | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Fono | 1 | Hala-Ngatai | |||
| Mullan | 2 | Finau | |||
| Renata | 3 | Yates | |||
| Goodhue | 4 | Roiri | |||
| Craig | 5 | Harley | |||
| Rush | 6 | Howden | |||
| Hooper | 7 | Woods | |||
| Peita | 8 | Iose | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Nock | 9 | Viljoen | |||
| Reihana | 10 | Reece MacDonald | |||
| Rush | 11 | Tofa | |||
| Creighton | 12 | Laumape | |||
| Murray | 13 | Brown | |||
| Salmon | 14 | Filimone | |||
| Trainor | 15 | Wild | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| MacEwan | 16 | Fakava | |||
| Ryan | 17 | Gavigan | |||
| Botha | 18 | Wallace | |||
| Caird | 19 | Allen | |||
| Forbes | 20 | Bason | |||
| Renton | 21 | Philipson | |||
| J Stewart | 22 | O’Connor | |||
| R Stewart | 23 | Tapueluela | |||
Recent Form:
Northland (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Waikato | 25-19 |
| Draw | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Canterbury | 10-19 |
| Won | 21st September 2025 | NPC | North Harbour | 37-12 |
| Won | 11th September 2025 | NPC | Wellington | 43-26 |
| Loss | 5th September 2025 | NPC | Otago | 29-10 |
Northland won two of their final four games last season while also drawing against the eventual winners, Canterbury in that time. This late push wasn’t enough to secure a playoff spot.
Manawatu (Away team):
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| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Hawke’s Bay | 10-38 |
| Loss | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Counties Manukau | 48-24 |
| Loss | 21st September 2025 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 19-55 |
| Loss | 14th September 2025 | NPC | Auckland | 52-29 |
| Won | 6th September 2025 | NPC | Waikato | 36-26 |
Manawatu lost their final four games of the season, conceding at least 38 points in each match in this run. They will look to start with a better run in this game.
Northland vs Manawatu head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 17th August 2024 | NPC | Northland | 35-18 |
| 25th August 2023 | NPC | Manawatu | 31-30 |
| 2nd October 2022 | NPC | Northland | 41-24 |
| 25th September 2021 | NPC | Manawatu | 31-19 |
| 13th September 2020 | NPC | Northland | 43-26 |
The winner of this meeting for the last eight meetings between these sides has been the home team. The home team has also scored at least 30 points in each of these games.
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