Halfback Mason Lino marked his 50th NYC appearance last week and he’s now close to two more milestones as the Vodafone Junior Warriors head into their 13th-round encounter with South Sydney at Redfern Oval in Sydney on Saturday (2.00pm kick-off; 4.00pm NZT).
He needs only four more points to crack 100 for the third season running and is just 13 short of becoming the second player after Shaun Johnson to reach the 400-point mark for the Vodafone Junior Warriors.
After a stint with the club’s New South Wales Cup side, Lino returned to the NYC last Sunday to lead the Vodafone Junior Warriors to an impressive 34-22 win over top of the table Newcastle.
He finished with a try and five goals for 14 points as well as producing a try assist, two line breaks, two line break assists, four tackle breaks, two off loads, 93 metres from eight runs and 18 tackles. In nine games this season Lino is the side’s equal top try scorer with six tries and he has kicked 36 goals for 96 points.
With the NRL side facing the Rabbitohs in Perth, the Vodafone Junior Warriors and South Sydney meet at the historic Redfern Oval, a venue where the Rabbitohs won last year’s corresponding clash 40-38. The Vodafone Junior Warriors are in seventh spot with 14 points after their first 12 matches while South Sydney is ninth on 12 points.
The Vodafone Junior Warriors are seeking their third consecutive win after beating Gold Coast (20-16) and the Knights (34-22).
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS v SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Redfern Oval, Sydney
2.00pm, Saturday, June 7
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS
1 BRAD ABBEY
2 PAUL ULBERG
3 NGATAUA HUKATAI
4 KEN MAUMALO
5 METIA LISATI
6 MAFOA’AEATA HINGANO
7 MASON LINO (c)
8 IULIO AFOA
9 KURT ROBINSON
10 SAM LISONE (c)
11 ADAM TUIMAVAVE-GERRARD
12 MATIU LOVE-HENRY
13 OFAHIKI OGDEN
Interchange:
14 NATHANIEL ROACHE
15 TOAFOFOA SIPLEY
16 JAMES BELL
17 KOUMA SAMSON
18 ALAMOTI FINAU
COACH: STACEY JONES
