Vodafone Warriors coach Stacey Jones has been able to call on 12 players with NRL experience for Sunday’s Intrust Super Premiership week two finals clash against the Newtown Jets at Pepper Stadium in Penrith (6.35pm kick-off local time; 8.35pm NZT).
With the NRL season over, wing Ken Maumalo and hooker Nathaniel Roache return to the ISP line-up as the Vodafone Warriors make their bid to reach week three of the competition’s playoffs for the first time since the then-Auckland Vulcans made the 2011 grand final (live coverage on SKY Sport 2 from 8.00pm on Sunday).
Also back in the side is Roache’s fellow 2016 NRL rookie Jazz Tevaga, who missed last Sunday’s 21-14 week one finals win over Penrith with injury.
Earlier in the season Maumalo scored nine tries in 10 ISP appearances before being promoted to the NRL side for 10 outings. In all he has 21 tries in 25 ISP games.
Roache has split his season between the club’s NRL, ISP and NYC teams while Tevaga has alternated between NRL and ISP duty.
Jones has shuffled his backline resources with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, the only player to appear in every one of the team’s games this year, named to started at fullback after originally being selected in the centres last week. Matt Allwood, an 18-game NRL player, comes into the centres with veteran former Newcastle and Wigan centre George Carmont and Maumalo and Henare Wells on the wings.
The starting pack named comprises players who have all had NRL experience this year including another 2016 rookie in big front rower Toafofoa Sipley and James Gavet, the most experienced forward with 25 NRL appearances.
In two regular season matches against Newtown – Cronulla’s feeder club – the Vodafone Warriors have a win and a loss. They won 20-18 at Mount Smart Stadium in March but were trounced 38-6 at Henson Park in June.
While the Vodafone Warriors, fifth in the regular season, beat eighth-ranked Penrith last Sunday, the fourth-ranked Jets began their finals campaign with a 12-30 loss to minor premiers the Mounties on Saturday.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v NEWTOWN JETS
Pepper Stadium, Penrith
6.35pm, Sunday, September 11
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 CHARNZE NICOLL-KLOKSTAD
2 HENARE WELLS
3 GEORGE CARMONT
4 MATT ALLWOOD
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 ATA HINGANO
7 MASON LINO (c)
8 JAMES GAVET
9 NATHANIEL ROACHE
10 TOAFOFOA SIPLEY
11 JOHN PALAVI
12 SHAUN LANE
13 JAZZ TEVAGA
Interchange:
14 JAMES BELL
15 UPU POCHING
16 PATRICK SIPLEY
17 VILIAMI KAVEINGA
18 ERIN CLARK
20 MARATA NIUKORE
COACH | STACEY JONES
