NZ Warriors Fans | NZ Warriors Rugby League

Fullback Kevin Locke and centre Dane Nielsen have both been named to line up for the Vodafone Warriors in their 11th-round NRL match against Newcastle at Mount Smart Stadium on Sunday (4.05pm kick-off; match day sponsor: dtr).

Locke has been slated to make his 76th appearance after missing the last two games against Canterbury-Bankstown and Penrith with a back injury picked up in the 25-24 home win against Gold Coast on May 5.

And ex-Melbourne centre Nielsen is in line for his sixth outing for his new club after being sidelined with a rib injury suffered in the opening minutes of the 16-20 sixth-round loss to Canberra on April 13.

The duo’s inclusion results in Glen Fisiiahi and Carlos Tuimavave being named on an extended bench. Tuimavave had his first NRL games of the season against the Bulldogs and the Panthers while Fisiiahi was Locke’s replacement for the same matches.

Fisiiahi and Tuimavave are joined on a seven-man...

Travelling Circus Returns Home

I did a double take when the coverage of Saturday night’s league coverage started in Penrith. The ground was of course awash with pink to celebrate the Women in League round, yet the first shot of the Warriors in their dressing room took me by surprise. They were wearing an odd jersey for an away match in a special round, their plain black home strip.

“What the **** is this shit!” I exclaimed. I then realised the Panthers had stolen our thunder, and had turned out in their own novelty pink strip! Management must have been seething, Manu’s manager must have been ropeable! Novelty jerseys are our thing, we invented them, we get to wear and sell them first! No matter, we soon put this great injustice behind us and meekly surrendered to a rampaging pink panther outfit. After all, we wouldn’t want to take the focus off Women-In-League or, more importantly – their pink jerseys. This was...

Woeful.

Anyway, was there anyone deserving of a Man of the Match from our perspective?

Warriors:

1. Glen Fisiiahi
2. Bill Tupou
3. Ben Henry
4. Carlos Tuimavave
5. Manu Vatuvei
6. Thomas Leuluai
7. Shaun Johnson
8. Sam Rapira
9. Nathan Friend
10. Russell Packer
11. Feleti Mateo
12. Simon Mannering (C)
13. Todd Lowrie.

Interchange:

14. Ben Matulino
15. Jacob Lillyman
16. Elijah Taylor
17. Pita Godinet
18. Suaia Matagi.

Coach: Matt Elliott.