Newly re-signed Simon Mannering, his World Cup-winning Kiwi team-mates Nathan Fien and Jerome Ropati plus Australian internationals Steve Price and Brent Tate have been cleared to play in the Vodafone Warriors’ NRL trial against North Queensland at North Harbour Stadium on Sunday.
After being ruled out of last Thursday night’s 24-12 trial win against Melbourne in Hamilton, coach Ivan Cleary today confirmed all five would be involved in the second of the club’s three preseason hit-outs ahead of their first-round NRL encounter with Parramatta at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday, March 14.
Price and Tate will be having their first outings since Australia’s World Cup semi-final clash against Fiji last November. Injury kept them out of the Kangaroos’ 20-34 loss to New Zealand in the final, Tate with a hip flexor problem and Price with a torn calf.
Mannering, Fien and Ropati will be back on the field for the first time since starring in the Kiwis’ triumph at Suncorp Stadium.
By signing a new three-year contract taking him through to the end of the 2012 season, Mannering (22) is set to stretch his Vodafone Warriors career to eight seasons after making his debut in 2005. He will start the 2009 campaign with 77 appearances, giving him a chance of reaching the 100-game mark for the club later this season.
While Cleary has confirmed the quintet for Sunday’s match, he won’t reveal his full squad for the match until later in the week.
The NRL trial against North Queensland kicks off at 4.00pm – again with two referees on the field – while the Vodafone Junior Warriors have their third NYC build-up match so far, taking on the Auckland Vulcans at 2.15pm. In their first two games the NYC side has beaten Waikato 38-6 and Hawke’s Bay 74-4.
The early game on Sunday will also be a trial for the Vulcans as they prepare for the New South Wales Cup season. Some players from the Vodafone Warriors’ NRL squad are expected to line up for the Vulcans.
The Vodafone Warriors have a short turnaround for their third trial, travelling to Australia to take on the Gold Coast Titans in Lismore six days later (Saturday, February 28). It’s the same for the Vodafone Junior Warriors who will play their only all-NYC preseason game when they face their Gold Coast counterparts in one of the curtain-raisers.
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