Coach John Ackland today named the same line-up used in last Friday night’s historic 23-16 victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
While captain Ben Henry was forced off the field with an ankle injury against the Bulldogs, he has been named and says he expects to be able to face the Rabbitohs.
The Vodafone Junior Warriors’ win over the Bulldogs carried them into their first NYC grand final and the chance to give the club its first premiership. It is Ackland’s second coaching experience on the final day of the Australian competition’s season, having guided the Warriors’ under-19 side to an unsuccessful outing in the 1997 grand final. Three other grand final appearances also ended in defeat when the Vodafone Warriors lost to the Sydney Roosters in the 2002 NRL decider and the club’s reserve grade was beaten in back-to-back grand finals in 1996 and 1997.
In reaching the 2010 NYC season finale, the second-ranked Vodafone Junior Warriors have been forced to grind out playoff wins against Manly (25-22) and the Bulldogs (23-16). As minor premiers, the South Sydney Rabbitohs, coached by former Kiwi David Kidwell, had to recover from a deficit to account for Gold Coast 24-22 in their week one finals outing but pounded Canberra 64-18 last Saturday night.
In the last regular season meeting between the two grand final opponents, a Shaun Johnson field goal gave the Vodafone Junior Warriors a 19-18 win at ANZ Stadium in July while the clash in Auckland in May went 41-18 in the Vodafone Junior Warriors’ favour.
Heading into this Sunday’s match, halfback Johnson will need just two points to crack the 400 mark in the grade. With 11 points from a try, three conversions and a field goal last week, he lifted his season’s total beyond 150 points and his career tally to 398 in 44 games in the past two seasons.
Winger Omar Slaimankhel snared a double against the Bulldogs and now has 12 tries in only 11 games while fullback Glen Fisiiahi’s match-winning try last week has him sitting on 19 tries in 25 games this year and 21 in 28 games overall.
Interchange hooker Nafe Seluini will again line up to complete a season in which he will have played in each of the team’s 27 matches, the only player in the squad to do so.
Seluini and utility Elijah Taylor have already topped 50 appearances in the grade while fellow third-year NYC player Siuatonga Likiliki will emulate the feat in Sunday’s grand final.
The Vodafone Junior Warriors fly to Sydney on Saturday. Travelling with them in a supporting role will be winger Bill Tupou, who was ineligible to play for the side once the Vodafone Warriors were knocked out of the NRL finals. Tupou played 12 times at NRL level for the club this year and 12 times for the NYC side, his last appearance in the week one finals win over Manly.
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS v SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
2.00pm, Sunday, October 3
Referee: Gavin Reynolds
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS
1 GLEN FISIIAHI
2 OMAR SLAIMANKHEL
3 SOSAIA FEKI
4 SIUATONGA LIKILIKI
5 ELIJAH NIKO
6 CARLOS TUIMAVAVE
7 SHAUN JOHNSON
8 NECCROM AREAIITI
9 ELIJAH TAYLOR
10 MARK IOANE
11 MATT ROBINSON
12 BEN HENRY (c)
13 SEBASTINE IKAHIHIFO
Interchange:
14 NAFE SELUINI
15 CHARLIE GUBB
16 SAM LOUSI
17 DANIEL PALAVI
18 HENRY CHAN-TING
20 JOHN PALAVI
COACH: JOHN ACKLAND
http://www.warriors.co.nz/news/730/Vodafone-Junior-Warriors-unchanged-for-NYC-grand-final/
