General Team vs Broncos

[Paul Holmes_old]

From warriors.co.nz...
Seasoned back rower Wairangi Koopu will stay in the centres for the Vodafone Warriors’ NRL clash against competition-leading Brisbane at Ericsson Stadium on Sunday.
The 26-year-old was at right centre for all but 10 minutes of last Saturday night’s loss to Cronulla after winger Todd Byrne had his right arm broken in an early tackle.
In the reshuffle after Byrne’s exit, Koopu was moved out from his second rower’s role, regular right centre Tony Martin was shifted one out to the right wing and Misi Taulapapa switched to Byrne’s spot on the left wing.
With Byrne out for eight weeks and first-choice winger Manu Vatuvei still troubled by a hamstring strain, head coach Ivan Cleary has opted to stay with the right-side combination used against the Sharks.
“Tony started the season for us on the right wing and Wai has proven in the past that he’s more than capable of doing the job in the centres,†said Cleary.
“He scored two tries playing there against the Sharks and certainly showed some decent pace for his second from a long way out.â€Â
Koopu’s move to the centres means Kiwi international Louis Anderson comes back into the starting line-up in the second row along with Awen Guttenbeil, who was a late defection from the side last weekend through illness. It was only the second time Guttenbeil has been missing from the team since the start of last season.
Another swap sees captain Steve Price back in the run-on combination for his 249th first-grade appearance while Evarn Tuimavave is on the interchange bench again. That means 19-year-old Sam Rapira, who impressed in his first two NRL matches, drops out.
The injuries to Byrne and Vatuvei also allow Clinton Toopi to return to the squad on the interchange bench after he played for the Tamaki Leopards in their win against the Central Falcons in the Bartercard Cup last weekend.
The Vodafone Warriors have built up an impressive seven-win three loss record against Brisbane since beating the Queenslanders for the first time in 2001.
“But we’ll have to find our best form to compete with them on Sunday,†said Cleary.
“They come here leading the competition while we’re still looking for consistency. After the win against Wests Tigers, we said we wanted greater consistency in our performances. We didn’t get that at all against the Sharks so we’re back where we started.â€Â
Shayne Hayne has been named as referee.

VODAFONE WARRIORS V BRISBANE BRONCOS

Ericsson Stadium, Auckland

2.00pm, Sunday, June 4, 2006

Referee: Shayne Hayne



VODAFONE WARRIORS TEAM

1


BRENT WEBB

2


TONY MARTIN

3


WAIRANGI KOOPU

4


SIMON MANNERING

5


MISI TAULAPAPA

6


JEROME ROPATI

7


GRANT ROVELLI

8


RUBEN WIKI (VC)

9


NATHAN FIEN

10


STEVE PRICE (C)

11


AWEN GUTTENBEIL

12


LOUIS ANDERSON

13


SIONE FAUMUINA

14


GEORGE GATIS

15


EVARN TUIMAVAVE

16


CLINTON TOOPI

17


MICHEAL LUCK

 

[STRIDER_old]

I think this team has a great chance of Boring the broncos to a lost. Then again i dont they will get within 20 points of the broncos. Just when I thought id seen the weakest backrow in league history from the warriors. They go and present the weakest centre- wing pairing as well.

 

[Tajhay_old]

ropati stays....tooopi....uggghhhh!!!!!

there goes our chance

 

[patty_old]

im sick of this bench...i want two props on the bench. could you imagine using georgie t and tuimavae in short bursts!!! especially if you could bring george on in the second half

 

[STRIDER_old]

a couple of good players but worst NRL standard backline ive seen in years. I just cant see us winning

 

[-Dr.J-_old]

Wtf, why put a centre on the bench. Especially Toopi. He's a crap Lock, arghhh

 

[sebastian_old]

broncos150-warriors- -150. this is the worst warriors team i have ever seen.i mean ever. i mean there are faults all over the team. Please tell me why toopi a centre is on the bench, where in gods great world did toopi ever become a forward i mean whos he gonna replace, wiki??? . please tell me why we weaken our centres to weaken our back row. oh my god this is a disaster. cleary i stuck up for ya man and you stab us all in the back. lance get out of here before its too late, cooper go to a team that picks form, webb we dont deserve a player like you.

 

[patty_old]

HAHAHA now i look at it that backline is absolutly pathetic!!

 

[MarkW_old]

Wonder why Hohaia is still on the left-right-out list? I would have liked to see him him at 7 - Rovelli at 6 and Ropati back in the centres.
I'm guessing Toopi will slot back into the backline at some point during the match though.

 

[Skinny_Ravs82]

**makes no comment but is fuming a little**

 

[raypower_old]

you can't make fine china out of clay.

i still think we can win though, it's only the broncos and they were pathetic last week, in fact the only way i'd be surer is if we played it over in brisbane.

 

[Northern_Union]

I think this team has a great chance of Boring the broncos to a lost. Then again i dont they will get within 20 points of the broncos. Just when I thought id seen the weakest backrow in league history from the warriors. They go and present the weakest centre- wing pairing as well.

If we don't know our 5/8's then you sure don't know your back rows.

Will be a close match.

 

[Kav_old]

I think the wing/centre combinations have been forced on Cleary. He is clearly not willing to risk starting Clinton but put him on the bench to replace Wairangi (who will then revert to his normal position). Wairangi is a no-frills, no mistakes player who will do the job adequately at centre until Clinton comes on for impact value. Tony Martin had to be shunted to the wing for his goal kicking role.

Our main problems will be in the halves.

Kav

 

[sebastian_old]

As much as i think toopis a liabliity in defense he can attack, so if you're gonna have him in the team at least make it logical. Put him to centre, koopu goes to the backrow & louie goes to the bench.

 

[warriors4life_old]

Koopu played rather well at centre last week and I think he has the ability to succeed there. I think this game is make or break for Toopi, if he doesn't come off the bench and cause some real damage (to the other team) then I don't expect to see him in a Warriors jersey again.

 

[commonsense_old]

honestly i dont think our backrow is that bad. the warriors have one of the best defence in the competion. for a team coming 2nd last i think we have the 5th lowest points against in the competition. our forwards arent the problem.

ive said it over and over again. its our halves. the problem is we cant score enough points to win matches. looking at the stats of the dragons match we should have won that comfortably. the forwards did provide a great platform but our halves lack creativity.

tony martin on the wing again. omg...
we are in trouble.
please tell me he isnt up against tame tupou...

 

[guten targ_old]

Koopu's a former centre and he runs the lines a centre should be running...I had hopes of seeing him there again hence last week he was the pick of the bunch or the backline at least, I see hes slowed some due to bulking up though and looks a little top heavy...the price for playing in the forwards I guess and he labours in the pace department due to that very fact yet still has the toe to fill the position

But I can see Toopi coming on at some stage and Y shifting back to the forwards..of note from last weeks match was the defensive line went a little astray in the forwards when Y was moved out wide to cover for a missing Toddy, so I don't expect him to play in the backline for the length of time he did last week

 

[sebastian_old]

Koopu played rather well at centre last week and I think he has the ability to succeed there. I think this game is make or break for Toopi, if he doesn't come off the bench and cause some real damage (to the other team) then I don't expect to see him in a Warriors jersey again.

"to the other team"

Good one , yeah i hope he destroys the broncos to bro!! I hope he goes well, never had anything against him just hated to see him let his team mates down again & again.

 

[tezzah_old]

Comm'n guys...where's the faith?

Warriors to win! Thats the truth! If the supporters dont think they'll win why should they even take to field. No team turns up to training or the the game to lose. From the start of the kick off both teams are equal on zero points. During the game support and encouragement is what is needed! Not poor we're gonna lose comments before the game has even started! Get a grip and support a team of winners! Your the only loser if you already have discounted your team!

 

[fiamacho_old]

Forget about the faith , this Team is going to get dealt to ...

BRONCOS = 48

WARRIORS = 10