Tony Smith, The Press
21/04/2009 2:30:21 Pm
Former Kiwis Coach Frank Endacott Has Cautioned Against Rushing A Couple Of Young Warriors Into The Anzac Test Arena.
He Says Forwards Russell Packer, 19, And Ben Matulino, 20, Have "future Kiwi Written All Over Them" But They Should Be Left To Consolidate Their Nrl Club Careers.
Packer Has Made An Impact Off The Interchange Bench And Matulino, Since Returning From Injury, Has Confirmed The Promise He Showed In His Rookie 2008.
But Endacott Said The Pair Were Still "a Couple Of Years Behind" Clubmate Sam Rapira, 22, Who He Rates As One Of The Form Props In The Nrl.
"i Think Sam Rapira Is Going To Be The Cornerstone Of The Warriors And Kiwis Packs For Many Years To Come."
Endacott Believes Nathan Cayless Should Be Retained As Kiwis Captain, But He Favours Bringing Former Skipper Roy Asotasi Back Into The Front Row. Endacott Said The Veteran Kiwi Had Shown Tremendous Leadership Ability At Last Year's World Cup.
He Sees Jeremy Smith, "who Is Going Real Well For The Dragons", As A Potential Kiwis Captain. "he's A World-class Loose Forward Who's Tough And Uncompromising And Was My Man Of The Match In The World Cup Final."
South Sydney's Eddy Pettybourne Could Be A New Face In The Backrow If The Christchurch-born Sydney-raised Rabbitoh Pledges His Test Allegiance To New Zealand.
Endacott Said Warriors Rock Simon Mannering, South Sydney's David Fa'alogo And Bronson Harrison, Now At The Canberra Raiders, Would Also Back Up From The World Cup Squad.
But Another Rabbitoh David Kidwell "who's Been A Really Good Player For The Kiwis" Would Miss Out Because Kiwis Coach Stephen Kearney "will Be Looking At Some Younger Ones This Year".
South Sydney's Issac Luke Or Dene Halatau (wests Tigers) Are Potential Hookers.
Endacott Likes The Versatility Of Christchurch-raised Rooster Seitamata Sa, "who Can Play Centre Or In The Backrow And Would Be Ideal On The [interchange] Bench." The Former Warriors And Wigan Coach Felt There Was Also Decent Depth In The Backline. He Expects Warrior Nathan Fien To Retain His Place At Scrum-half Despite Uncertainty Over His Club Future.
Wests Tigers And Australian Test Coach Tim Sheens Has Been Playing Benji Marshall At Scrum-half But Endacott Felt The Kiwis Should Use Him At Stand-off. "the Seven [scrum-half] And Six [stand-off] Do Very Similar Roles But It Will Depend On Whether [kearney] Wants Benji At First Receiver Or Second. I Think Benji Is The Sort Of Bloke That Things Happen Off And He Might Be Better In That Second Receiver Role."
Warriors Centre Jerome Ropati Would Again Be Part Of Kearney's Calculations Despite A Quiet Game Against Newcastle. But Endacott Had Reservations About Manly's Steve Matai Because Of His Recurrent Neck And Shoulder Injury Problems. He Felt Parramatta's Krisnan Inu Or Sa Were Alternatives At Centre But Said Rooster Iosioa Soliola Still Needed "to Step Up To The Mark Over The Next Week Or So" To Clinch Selection while Newcastle's Promising Junior Sau Needed "a Little More Time".
Warrior Manu Vatuvei Was "a Certainty" For One Wing Position And Endacott Felt Inu, Roosters Pair Sam Perrett And Shaun Kenny-dowall, And Jason Nightingale (dragons) Could Be Contenders For The Opposite Flank Berth.
The Fullback Duel Should Be Between Warriors Stalwart Lance Hohaia Or Perrett, Endacott Said.