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Captain Steve Price and centre Jerome Ropati are both set to rejoin the Vodafone Warriors for their 24th-round NRL game against Canberra at Mount Smart Stadium on Sunday.
Price last played in the 4-29 home defeat by St George Illawarra but has been sidelined since with a rib cartilage injury which forced him to miss the clubs last three matches against Penrith, Gold Coast and Parramatta.
Ropati has also been in and out of the side recently. Omitted for the last home game against the Titans, he was recalled for the Parramatta encounter only to be ruled out with a shoulder complaint.
But the two experienced campaigners were both named today to face the Raiders in a side otherwise the same as the one that lost 4-40 loss to Parramatta last Saturday night.
Price (35) comes back for his 313th career match and his 91st for the Vodafone Warriors, replacing Evarn Tuimavave who is included on a five-man interchange bench.
And Ropati takes over from 19-year-old Siuatonga Likiliki who became Vodafone Warrior No 155 when he made his first-grade debut against the Eels.
The rest of the starting line-up is unchanged from the one that ran on at Parramatta Stadium.
Obviously it makes a big difference to the side when you lose players like Steve and Jerome through injury, said Vodafone Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.
We havent had an easy time as a team lately and having Steve and Jerome on the sideline hasnt helped. Its good to be able to call on them this week and well need everything they can give us along with everyone else in the side.
While the two internationals return, promising Ukuma Taai has his second successive start in the second row following several appearances from the bench.
Second rower Simon Mannering will play his 99th NRL game this weekend and is in line to play in every one of the clubs matches for the third straight season. Cleary will also have his 99th game as an NRL coach since stepping into the role with the Vodafone Warriors at the start of the 2006 season. Both player and coach are eyeing their 100th milestones in the 25th-round match against the Bulldogs.
Micheal Luck made 45 tackles against Parramatta, lifting his seasons tally to 937 (an average of almost 47 a game).
Winger Manu Vatuvei scored his sixth try in the Vodafone Warriors last six matches to take his career total to 56 in 92 games, one off drawing level with Clinton Toopi in third place on the clubs all-time try-scoring list. He has scored 11 tries in 17 games this year and, since the start of last season, he has crossed for 27 tries in his last 34 games.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v CANBERRA RAIDERS
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
2.00pm, Sunday, August 23
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 WADE McKINNON
2 KEVIN LOCKE
3 JEROME ROPATI
4 JOEL MOON
5 MANU VATUVEI
6 AARON HEREMAIA
7 STACEY JONES
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 IAN HENDERSON
10 STEVE PRICE (c)
11 SIMON MANNERING
12 UKUMA TAAI
13 MICHEAL LUCK (vc)
Interchange (one to be omitted)
14 LANCE HOHAIA
15 EVARN TUIMAVAVE
16 RUSSELL PACKER
17 JACOB LILLYMAN
18 LEWIS BROWN
________________
Captain Steve Price and centre Jerome Ropati are both set to rejoin the Vodafone Warriors for their 24th-round NRL game against Canberra at Mount Smart Stadium on Sunday.
Price last played in the 4-29 home defeat by St George Illawarra but has been sidelined since with a rib cartilage injury which forced him to miss the clubs last three matches against Penrith, Gold Coast and Parramatta.
Ropati has also been in and out of the side recently. Omitted for the last home game against the Titans, he was recalled for the Parramatta encounter only to be ruled out with a shoulder complaint.
But the two experienced campaigners were both named today to face the Raiders in a side otherwise the same as the one that lost 4-40 loss to Parramatta last Saturday night.
Price (35) comes back for his 313th career match and his 91st for the Vodafone Warriors, replacing Evarn Tuimavave who is included on a five-man interchange bench.
And Ropati takes over from 19-year-old Siuatonga Likiliki who became Vodafone Warrior No 155 when he made his first-grade debut against the Eels.
The rest of the starting line-up is unchanged from the one that ran on at Parramatta Stadium.
Obviously it makes a big difference to the side when you lose players like Steve and Jerome through injury, said Vodafone Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.
We havent had an easy time as a team lately and having Steve and Jerome on the sideline hasnt helped. Its good to be able to call on them this week and well need everything they can give us along with everyone else in the side.
While the two internationals return, promising Ukuma Taai has his second successive start in the second row following several appearances from the bench.
Second rower Simon Mannering will play his 99th NRL game this weekend and is in line to play in every one of the clubs matches for the third straight season. Cleary will also have his 99th game as an NRL coach since stepping into the role with the Vodafone Warriors at the start of the 2006 season. Both player and coach are eyeing their 100th milestones in the 25th-round match against the Bulldogs.
Micheal Luck made 45 tackles against Parramatta, lifting his seasons tally to 937 (an average of almost 47 a game).
Winger Manu Vatuvei scored his sixth try in the Vodafone Warriors last six matches to take his career total to 56 in 92 games, one off drawing level with Clinton Toopi in third place on the clubs all-time try-scoring list. He has scored 11 tries in 17 games this year and, since the start of last season, he has crossed for 27 tries in his last 34 games.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v CANBERRA RAIDERS
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
2.00pm, Sunday, August 23
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 WADE McKINNON
2 KEVIN LOCKE
3 JEROME ROPATI
4 JOEL MOON
5 MANU VATUVEI
6 AARON HEREMAIA
7 STACEY JONES
8 SAM RAPIRA
9 IAN HENDERSON
10 STEVE PRICE (c)
11 SIMON MANNERING
12 UKUMA TAAI
13 MICHEAL LUCK (vc)
Interchange (one to be omitted)
14 LANCE HOHAIA
15 EVARN TUIMAVAVE
16 RUSSELL PACKER
17 JACOB LILLYMAN
18 LEWIS BROWN
________________
