Team List Rd 7: Warriors V Storm (thursday 25-04)

[Miket12]

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Glen Fisiiahi, Jacob Lillyman, Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet and Jerome Ropati have all been selected for the Vodafone Warriors’ traditional Anzac Day NRL match against Melbourne at AAMI Park on Thursday (7.00pm kick-off; 9.00pm NZT). Photo: Photosport.

After appearing for the Auckland Vulcans in their last two New South Wales Cup matches, Fisiiahi comes into the NRL line-up replacing the injured Manu Vatuvei.

Earlier in the season, Fisiiahi was on the wing for the opening to rounds against Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters.

Also back from injury are prop Lillyman and utilities Taylor and Godinet while long-serving centre Ropati is a chance of making his first NRL appearance of the season after being included on a five-man bench. Ropati has been making his comeback from knee surgery with the Vulcans over the past month.

Lillyman’s return ensures the Vodafone Warriors will have their experienced front row rotation at work for the first time in 18 matches stretching back to the home clash against the Storm in Auckland on June 3.

It was hoped Lillyman, Sam Rapira, Russell Packer and Ben Matulino would be reunited against the Raiders but Lillyman hadn’t fully recovered from an ankle injury.

While Fisiiahi, Lillyman, Taylor and Ropati are all named in the squad, Vatuvei is out for up to three weeks after aggravating his sternum injury in the warm-up for the club’s last clash against Canberra on April 13.

Despite being in some discomfort, Vatuvei scored two tries and played the full 80 minutes in a display which saw his peers named him the players’ player of the day.

Also ruled out for the trip to Melbourne are captain Simon Mannering and former Storm centre Dane Nielsen. Mannering hasn’t recovered from the calf injury which forced him to miss leading the Kiwis for the first time in last Friday night’s Anzac Test against Australia while Nielsen is still troubled by the rib complaint which forced him off the field early in the Canberra encounter.

“We have obviously lost significant experience with Simon, Manu and Dane out of the side but that’s just something you have to deal with in this competition,” said Vodafone Warriors head coach Matthew Elliott.

“While we lose them we’ve been able to bring back Glen, Jake, Elijah, Pita and Jerome so there’s a definite upside as well.”

With Mannering missing, Ben Henry is named to start in the second row while rookie Ngani Laumape returns to the centres in Nielsen’s absence and Bill Tupou, on the bench against the Raiders, is the other starting winger. Godinet, a late defection with a back injury in Canberra, is on the bench with Taylor, Lillyman, Ben Matulino and Ropati.

The game will have special significance for loose forward Todd Lowrie, who’ll line up against his old club for the first time since being part of the grand final-winning side last season.

The Vodafone Warriors fly out to Melbourne this afternoon and will have their final training run there tomorrow before Thursday’s match.

VODAFONE WARRIORS v MELBOURNE STORM
AAMI Park, Melbourne
7.00pm, Thursday, April 25

VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 KEVIN LOCKE
2 BILL TUPOU
3 NGANI LAUMAPE
4 KONRAD HURRELL
5 GLEN FISIIAHI
6 THOMAS LEULUAI
7 SHAUN JOHNSON
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 NATHAN FRIEND
10 RUSSELL PACKER
11 FELETI MATEO
12 BEN HENRY
13 TODD LOWRIE

Interchange:
14 ELIJAH TAYLOR
15 BEN MATULINO
16 JACOB LILLYMAN
17 PITA GODINET
18 JEROME ROPATI

HEAD COACH: MATTHEW ELLIOTT

Link: www.warriors.co.nz

 

[Danpatmac]

VODAFONE WARRIORS v MELBOURNE STORM
AAMI Park, Melbourne
7.00pm, Thursday, April 25
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 KEVIN LOCKE
2 BILL TUPOU
3 NGANI LAUMAPE
4 KONRAD HURRELL
5 GLEN FISIIAHI
6 THOMAS LEULUAI
7 SHAUN JOHNSON
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 NATHAN FRIEND
10 RUSSELL PACKER
11 FELETI MATEO
12 BEN HENRY
13 TODD LOWRIE

Interchange:
14 ELIJAH TAYLOR
15 BEN MATULINO
16 JACOB LILLYMAN
17 PITA GODINET
18 JEROME ROPATI
HEAD COACH: MATTHEW ELLIOTT

disappointed as expected

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

disappointed as expected

Not much else he could do really, with all the injuries.

Who will be captain?

 

[Danpatmac]

Not much else he could do really, with all the injuries.

Who will be captain?

I personally would've had Lillyman in the backrow and added another forward to the bench, Henry moving to centre with Tupou in the Vulcans.

but yeah...

I would've gone with Lillyman as captain too... not a hard-on for him, just thought it would add something to him and the team.

I think Leuluai or Lowrie myself.

 

[Hitman82]

Squad I expected, complete with uber-rookie backline. I guess Ropati is there as cover for Godinet as our bench utility...

 

[MarkW]

Woah, Locke has the most NRL experience in our backline...

 

[Sup42]

Good :

Fish ( we need him back on the wing pushing Manu and Bill for their spots , very pleased he's back for this one )

Laumape ( another pleasing inclusion , pushing for a center Berth ^^^ same deal as fish ).

Ropo, good , we need his experience / presence on the plane flight over.

No captain announcement is a bit lame.

Gotta wonda how the Manu negotiations are going with his mystery rib Injury.

 

[Lord Gnome of Howick MBE]

Good :

Fish ( we need him back on the wing pushing Manu and Bill for their spots , very pleased he's back for this one )

Laumape ( another pleasing inclusion , pushing for a center Berth ^^^ same deal as fish ).

Ropo, good , we need his experience / presence on the plane flight over.

No captain announcement is a bit lame.

Gotta wonda how the Manu negotiations are going with his mystery rib Injury.

Manu would be a star at Wigan.

 

[¿N. ig-mah¿]

My guess, if Ropo plays, Ngani to wing, Billy to Vulcans.

 

[Hitman82]

My guess, if Ropo plays, Ngani to wing, Billy to Vulcans.

It may not be a bad thing tbh. I rate Hurrell and Laumape very highly, but it may be disastrous going up against the Storm with 2 x rookie centres and 1 x rookie winger!

 

[Raurimu Massive]

Who will be captain?

I was scared it was going to be Mateo; now I'm almost hoping it is, just to add to the ridiculousness of what we've seen in 2012/13.

 

[ajofbrisbane]

Warriors need a proof reader.....not very professional.......

Glen Fisiiahi, Jacob Lillyman, Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet and Jerome Ropati have all been selected for the Vodafone Warriors’ traditional Anzac Day NRL match against Melbourne at AAMI Park on Thursday (7.00pm kick-off; 9.00pm NZT). Photo: Photosport.

After appearing for the Auckland Vulcans in their last two New South Wales Cup matches, Fisiiahi comes into the NRL line-up replacing the injured Manu Vatuvei.

Earlier in the season, Fisiiahi was on the wing for the opening to rounds against Parramatta and the Sydney Roosters.

 

[Gizzyfan]

Woah, Locke has the most NRL experience in our backline...

Laumape is the only real rookie, the others have been round for a couple of seasons. Watch the inside ball.

 

[fanrrior]

Why is Tupou being named to start on the right side of the field when he is clearly a lot better on the left side?

Why hasn't Elliott given Laumape a permanent spot in the side, at least until Nielson is back?

Why is Hurrel and Fish named to start on the left side when they've been playing well together on the right side?

Why are our two best performing props of the season playing from the bench?

Why isn't the captain named?

Why is Mateo starting over Taylor when Feleti hasn't been playing well enough to warrant it and he has generally been better coming off the bench?

Why is Elliot opting for the least experienced backs, and with the exception of Vatuvei worst defending backs, in our match against the best team in the comp?

Why isn't Godinet named at 14 like our utilities of the past? (personal preference)

Why is Ropati at 18th man? And does this mean he won't be playing League at all this week, if he isn't selected for the top team?

Why is Elliott called "head coach" instead of just coach? Don't we already have a head coach?

Why is it that the general opinion of Lowrie is he is supposed to be Luck replacement instead of his own player?

Why is it that, if the players aren't playing on the field the way they have been listed, Elliot will name them this way anyway (barring pre-game injury)

 

[Miket12]

Why is Ropati at 18th man? And does this mean he won't be playing League at all this week, if he isn't selected for the top team?

With the Warriors playing on Thursday and the Vulcans in Auckland on Sunday, I'd say he'd have every chance of playing for the Vulcans if he's not required against the Storm.

 

[Raurimu Massive]

Why is Tupou being named to start on the right side of the field when he is clearly a lot better on the left side?

Why is Hurrel and Fish named to start on the left side when they've been playing well together on the right side?

Maybe they've tried different combos in training and Elliott's seen something there that he likes. Either that, or he has no intention of playing them in those numbered positions, and is just messing around. Theoretically, he could do something like name Locke at 6, but still play him at fullback; name Manu in the second row, Benry in the centres, but stick them in their normal positions on gameday.

Why is Elliott called "head coach" instead of just coach? Don't we already have a head coach?

I'd say that's just his hat-tip to the rest of the coaching team. They're all coaches, but all have specific roles.

 

[ToiletDuck]

Why is Tupou being named to start on the right side of the field when he is clearly a lot better on the left side?

Why hasn't Elliott given Laumape a permanent spot in the side, at least until Nielson is back?

Why is Hurrel and Fish named to start on the left side when they've been playing well together on the right side?

Why are our two best performing props of the season playing from the bench?

Why isn't the captain named?

Why is Mateo starting over Taylor when Feleti hasn't been playing well enough to warrant it and he has generally been better coming off the bench?

Why is Elliot opting for the least experienced backs, and with the exception of Vatuvei worst defending backs, in our match against the best team in the comp?

Why isn't Godinet named at 14 like our utilities of the past? (personal preference)

Why is Ropati at 18th man? And does this mean he won't be playing League at all this week, if he isn't selected for the top team?

Why is Elliott called "head coach" instead of just coach? Don't we already have a head coach?

Why is it that the general opinion of Lowrie is he is supposed to be Luck replacement instead of his own player?

Why is it that, if the players aren't playing on the field the way they have been listed, Elliot will name them this way anyway (barring pre-game injury)

I wouldn't worry too much about how they lineup on paper. Konrad wears the number 4 jersey every week, regardless of which side he ends up on. I'm not sure why this is.

Agreed that it is odd both Lillyman and Matulino are on the bench. I would start Matulino every single week without fail.

I have no issue with Mateo starting, it's not going to sway things either way. He needs game time and in the past when out of form I thought he's actually better off starting a game to get a feel of it before trying anything crazy. When he comes off the bench he often tries too hard and pushes the pass etc. The other reason is because a backrow of Taylor, Henry and Lowrie won't worry the Storm one bit.

As for inexperienced backs, what other options were there?

Re Elliot as head coach - care.

Noone expects Lowrie to be a Luck clone, but the similarities are obvious, if not for anything but the jersey he plays in and the mop of blonde hair. He was bought specifically to fill the gap Luck left when he retired, he plays lock and a large part of his role in the side is to lead the defence in the middle of the park for 80 mins.

 

[Hitman82]

Why is Tupou being named to start on the right side of the field when he is clearly a lot better on the left side?

Why hasn't Elliott given Laumape a permanent spot in the side, at least until Nielson is back?

Why is Hurrel and Fish named to start on the left side when they've been playing well together on the right side?

Why are our two best performing props of the season playing from the bench?

Why isn't the captain named?

Why is Mateo starting over Taylor when Feleti hasn't been playing well enough to warrant it and he has generally been better coming off the bench?

Why is Elliot opting for the least experienced backs, and with the exception of Vatuvei worst defending backs, in our match against the best team in the comp?

Why isn't Godinet named at 14 like our utilities of the past? (personal preference)

Why is Ropati at 18th man? And does this mean he won't be playing League at all this week, if he isn't selected for the top team?

Why is Elliott called "head coach" instead of just coach? Don't we already have a head coach?

Why is it that the general opinion of Lowrie is he is supposed to be Luck replacement instead of his own player?

Why is it that, if the players aren't playing on the field the way they have been listed, Elliot will name them this way anyway (barring pre-game injury)

1. Tupou should play this game on Vatuvei's side, as he is best there.
2. Laumape has played every game since he debuted - that seems permanent to me. You have to expect shuffles with injuries, particularly when you're the n00b.
3. Wouldn't pay too much attention to jersey numbers imo. They don't seem to mean much these days.
4. Package is a good starting prop as he is tough to tackle and has a good defensive workrate. I assume they like having a mix of 1 bigger guy and 1 smaller guy in each pair. Who knows who will actually start anyway.
5. That's a tad weird. Would like to see Leuluai or Friend named with the lineup.
6. I would also be starting Taylor, but this must be part of Elliot's gameplan.
7. Injuries... we have nobody else to pick in the outside backs!!!
8. Meh
9. Warriors Thursday, Vulcans on the weekend if he doesn't play, and possibly even if he does.
10. Head Coach as opposed to Defense Coach, Conditioning Coach... etc. That's normal.
11. Because he looks similar, plays a similar game, plays the same jersey number. Pretty much every reason possible haha.
12. Who knows.

Conclusion: I find your obsession with player jersey numbers a tad disturbing.

 

[Jay M]

Why is Elliot opting for the least experienced backs, and with the exception of Vatuvei worst defending backs, in our match against the best team in the comp?

I can answer this one... we don't have a lot of other options... Vats and Nielsen are injured. Ropati is coming back from injury. We don't have a lot left apart from those named (Seijka and Tuimavave aside).

 

[Miket12]

Why is Elliot opting for the least experienced backs, and with the exception of Vatuvei worst defending backs, in our match against the best team in the comp?

Because too many of our second rowers are either playing at prop or are injured so can't play in the centers