Up to four frontline players are in contention to return for the NZ Warriors’ Round 24 encounter with the Manly Sea Eagles at 4 Pines Park in Sydney on Friday night.
After missing last Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins with a quad strain, Shaun Johnson has
been named and has been tagged a certainty to play by head coach Andrew Webster.
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Also listed to come back from injury are goal-kicking centre Adam Pompey and wing Marcelo Montoya.
Pompey (knee) has not played since being forced off the field just after halftime in the 20-18 loss to the Raiders in round 20 while Montoya left the field with a groin complaint midway through the 13-12 defeat by the Canterbury Bulldogs in Round 18.
As well as those three players, Luke Metcalf, who started the season as the club’s first-choice standoff, is a possibility to return to the NRL arena more than four months after having his right leg broken nine minutes into the round four clash against the Newcastle Knights.
Named on the extended bench for Friday night’s match, he began his comeback with a 40-minute stint for the New South Wales Cup team in its 46-10 win against Parramatta before doubling his workload to the full 80 minutes in Sunday’s 28-10 NSW Cup victory over South Sydney.
He finished with 77 metres from eight runs, a line break, a line break assist, two try assists, 57 receipts, 11 tackles with one miss, an intercept, 389 metres from 15 kicks, a 40/20 and four goals from five attempts.
While Johnson, Pompey, Montoya and Metcalf are all in contention to play, the Warriors will be without halfback Te Maire Martin and centre Ali Leiataua.
Martin scored a try and had a hand in four others in Sunday’s 32-34 golden point loss to the Dolphins but has been carrying a nerve complaint in his neck.
Leiataua, who last week scored his third try in five matches this season, left the field after a head knock in the 67th minute and is following the NRL’s concussion protocols.
The backline has undergone a reshuffle through injuries and players returning, the same starting forward pack has been named for the sixth consecutive game with hooker Wayde Egan eyeing his 99th match for the club.
The interchange named is the same as the one used against the Dolphins with hooker Freddy Lussick, middle forwards Tom Ale and Jazz Tevaga, plus second rower-prop Demitric Sifakula, who marked his first NRL match of the season with his first career try last Sunday.
NZ WARRIORS: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Adam Pompey, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Marcelo Montoya, Chanel Harris-Tavita, Shaun Johnson, Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan, Mitch Barnett, Marata Niukore, Kurt Capewell, Dylan Walker. Interchange: Freddy Lussick, Tom Alex, Jazz Tevaga, Demetric Sifakula, Leka Halasima, Taine Tuaupiki, Luke Metcalf, Ed Kosi, Bunty Afo