No Papali’i, new ‘challenge’ for Green Machine
Sebastian Tan |
Ricky Stuart is urging Canberra to turn the dial up even though they’ll be without veteran enforcer Josh Papali’i against a Warriors team buoyed by a red-hot start to the NRL season.
Papali’i suffered a concussion in the Raiders’ gripping 29-28 golden-point win against Manly last Saturday and, because of the league’s safety protocols, didn’t travel to Auckland for Friday night’s round two clash.
The most-capped Raider will leave a big hole for the visitors who face the boisterous atmosphere that the Sydney Roosters struggled to overcome in their 42-18 loss to a dominant Warriors a week ago.
Stuart has selected England international Morgan Smithies to replace him, while centre Matt Timoko has been named on the bench after overcoming a foot injury.
“It’s a good challenge for them (the team) to show some seniority,” Stuart said.
“I’ve got that in Corey (Horsburgh) and Joe (Tapine), Hardo (Hudson Young), Tom (Starling), and Morgan (Smithies).
“It’s their job to just turn the dial up in regard to looking after the loss of Papa.”
One senior player the Warriors are focusing their attention on is Tapine after the Kiwi terrorised their middle pack last May.
The Canberra captain also showed he wasn’t afraid to rile up the Auckland faithful, demonstrating a crybaby gesture to the crowd after conceding a crusher tackle.
“He (Tapine) will be massive. He’s a big part of their team,” said Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, ahead of his 150th game for the Kiwi club.
“We’ve got to match the contact first, he likes to bring the niggles. That gets on top of players.”
The Warriors still won’t have their star halfback Luke Metcalf, after undergoing surgery for a ruptured ACL last year, but coach Andrew Webster says he is fully training with the team and expected to return earlier than thought.
Speculation has also plagued the Warriors camp after Melbourne winger Will Warbrick was linked to a multi-year deal with the club, as his contract expires at the end of this season.
Webster wouldn’t be drawn into the rumours, but Warbrick’s potential teammate Chanel Harris-Tavita said he would be a big addition if he put pen to paper.
“Any player that gets to play for Melbourne is always going to be a classy player,” Harris-Tavita said.
“He’s an aerial threat, and he can finish tries … Whatever team Will Warbrick is in, is going to be better for it.”
AAP