Prop Sam Rapira will make his first-grade debut for the Vodafone Warriors in their NRL clash against Wests Tigers at Ericsson Stadium on Saturday night.
With captain Steve Price on State of Origin duty with Queensland, the 19-year-old Huntly-raised Rapira comes onto the bench while Evarn Tuimavave is promoted to the starting line-up for the second time in three matches.
Rapira, yet another product from the club’s Allied Work Force elite development programme, was the Vodafone Warriors’ 18th man for their second-round match against Parramatta in Hamilton in March.
The other change in the side named by head coach Ivan Cleary today sees Kiwi back rower Louis Anderson return on the bench after being given a break for last weekend’s encounter with the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Centre Clinton Toopi, who was on the interchange bench against the Dragons, is out of the squad as is winger Todd Byrne, the 18th man in Wollongong.
“We always knew we were likely to lose Steve for Origin at this time of the year so it’s a great chance to bring Sam into first-grade football,†said Cleary.
“He deserves this. He has worked hard with the first-grade squad ever since we started off-season training and he has also been impressive for Waicoa Bay in the Bartercard Cup.â€Â
Cleary said a loss of form had forced him to omit Toopi.
“Clinton isn’t giving us what we expect of him at the moment,†he said.
“He needs to regroup and hopefully he’ll come back into contention again very soon. There’s no question about his ability. We just need some consistency from him.
“We used Simon Mannering in Clinton’s position against the Dragons and he did well.â€Â
Rapira will become the Vodafone Warriors’ 131st first-grader and the club’s sixth new player this year after Micheal Luck, Grant Rovelli, George Gatis, Patrick Ah Van and Misi Taulapapa. He is the Vodafone Warriors’ fourth NRL rookie this season joining Rovelli, Ah Van and Taulapapa.
“We’ve seen with Grant, Patrick and Misi that they’ve all handled the step up to the NRL really well,†said Cleary.
“While we are disappointed with our overall results this year, we’ve been pleased with the way the new boys have come in and shown what they can do. We’re looking forward to Sam taking his chance on Saturday night.â€Â
Both the Vodafone Warriors and Wests Tigers have lost their captains to Origin selection for this match, Price to Queensland and Tigers fullback Brett Hodgson to New South Wales.
But the Tigers will come to Ericsson Stadium with brilliant standoff Benji Marshall in their side this time. The Kiwi international missed the third-round encounter between the two sides in Christchurch on March 25 when the Vodafone Warriors won 26-10.
This match will be centre Tony Martin’s 99th first-grade appearance leaving him set to reach his 100th milestone against Cronulla on Saturday week.
Jarred Maxwell has been appointed referee on Saturday night. He controlled the Penrith-South Sydney match last weekend.
With captain Steve Price on State of Origin duty with Queensland, the 19-year-old Huntly-raised Rapira comes onto the bench while Evarn Tuimavave is promoted to the starting line-up for the second time in three matches.
Rapira, yet another product from the club’s Allied Work Force elite development programme, was the Vodafone Warriors’ 18th man for their second-round match against Parramatta in Hamilton in March.
The other change in the side named by head coach Ivan Cleary today sees Kiwi back rower Louis Anderson return on the bench after being given a break for last weekend’s encounter with the St George Illawarra Dragons.
Centre Clinton Toopi, who was on the interchange bench against the Dragons, is out of the squad as is winger Todd Byrne, the 18th man in Wollongong.
“We always knew we were likely to lose Steve for Origin at this time of the year so it’s a great chance to bring Sam into first-grade football,†said Cleary.
“He deserves this. He has worked hard with the first-grade squad ever since we started off-season training and he has also been impressive for Waicoa Bay in the Bartercard Cup.â€Â
Cleary said a loss of form had forced him to omit Toopi.
“Clinton isn’t giving us what we expect of him at the moment,†he said.
“He needs to regroup and hopefully he’ll come back into contention again very soon. There’s no question about his ability. We just need some consistency from him.
“We used Simon Mannering in Clinton’s position against the Dragons and he did well.â€Â
Rapira will become the Vodafone Warriors’ 131st first-grader and the club’s sixth new player this year after Micheal Luck, Grant Rovelli, George Gatis, Patrick Ah Van and Misi Taulapapa. He is the Vodafone Warriors’ fourth NRL rookie this season joining Rovelli, Ah Van and Taulapapa.
“We’ve seen with Grant, Patrick and Misi that they’ve all handled the step up to the NRL really well,†said Cleary.
“While we are disappointed with our overall results this year, we’ve been pleased with the way the new boys have come in and shown what they can do. We’re looking forward to Sam taking his chance on Saturday night.â€Â
Both the Vodafone Warriors and Wests Tigers have lost their captains to Origin selection for this match, Price to Queensland and Tigers fullback Brett Hodgson to New South Wales.
But the Tigers will come to Ericsson Stadium with brilliant standoff Benji Marshall in their side this time. The Kiwi international missed the third-round encounter between the two sides in Christchurch on March 25 when the Vodafone Warriors won 26-10.
This match will be centre Tony Martin’s 99th first-grade appearance leaving him set to reach his 100th milestone against Cronulla on Saturday week.
Jarred Maxwell has been appointed referee on Saturday night. He controlled the Penrith-South Sydney match last weekend.
