NRL: Ropati celebrates his century

Although Jerome Ropati will enjoy his 100th game with the Warriors against the Cowboys tomorrow, he already has his sights set on notching captain Steve Price's 300-plus NRL matches. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors have been scoring more tries down their left side than they have down the right this season.

That's down to two factors - the absence of Brent Tate on the right and the lethal combination of Jerome Ropati and Manu Vatuvei down the left.

The kickers in the halves often go to their corner when the Warriors push into an opposition red zone. It's something the pair relish and they don't want that play to stop, though other sides have been identifying the tactic, because they can still make it work.

"We keep doing it because it works, it's a big strength of ours," Ropati, 24, said as he approached his 100th game for the Warriors.

The partnership in the left channel has worked for both the Warriors and Kiwis, with Ropati scoring nine tries last season and Vatuvei 16 of the team total of 88 and so far this year it is three to Ropati and four to the big wing outside him, seven of the team total of 26.

Ropati said it was not just the attack that was profiting from their growing understanding because of the time they were spending together on the field. "Our defence has come a long way," he said, agreeing that their side of the paddock used to be a target for opposition kickers too when Vatuvei was exposed under the high ball against Parramatta in 2007. The man outside him had repaired the problem with his hands and there was no mental hangover, Ropati said.

The solid combination between himself, Vatuvei and both Wade McKinnon and Lance Hohaia at fullback meant teams were choosing that option less frequently because they had paid with big break-outs.

"It's a credit to him and his hard work. There's nothing about his game that you can bag him about," he said.

Though usually lumped in with the famous brothers who represented the Warriors and Kiwis he is no relation, barring being of Samoan descent. They were from Panmure, he grew up in West Auckland and was educated at St Paul's College, as was Stacey Jones.

He played his junior season at Marist under his dad Filipo as coach from age six to 13 and eventually graduating to Bartercard Cup, then the Junior Kiwis.

The mid-season has not traditionally been a good time for the Warriors and their fourth-placed finish last year came after eight wins on the trot, which was enough to drain them ahead of the preliminary final against Manly.

"We want to turn that around," said Ropati, acknowledging that a win over the Cowboys in front of home fans tomorrow would be a big step in the right direction.

Clearly, the Cowboys' danger man was Johnathan Thurston, he said, but the means of stopping him demanded a wider game plan. "Their forwards have laid the platform for him. That's where we have to start and if we do that we can take care of Thurston and Matt Bowen too."

The cold, wet conditions this week and predicted for game-time may be an advantage for the home team against a side training in summer conditions in Townsville "and we need to see it that way", he said.

Ropati copped criticism for his game in the one-point loss to the Dragons. He copes with that these days whereas it would have stung when he was younger. "I looked at myself and knew I didn't play a great game."

Last Friday's test, his 10th, was tough physically and mentally, he said. After four repeat sets of six from penalties and after forcing the Australians to goal-line drop-outs, Ropati was incorrectly called for being in front of Nathan Fien as they kept the Kangaroos inside their in-goal again.

It was a turning point in the game even though it was 20 minutes in, he said, because they were confident they would get across in the next set but after the penalty the Aussies went to the other end and Benji Marshall's bad pass off a scrum led to their first try.

"I know I was on-side. It should have been a repeat set. We just couldn't find any fluency [after that], we couldn't get a roll-on, we couldn't get any control."

The 100-game mark is something he's proud of and with the likes of his teammate Steve Price and last year's co-captain Ruben Wiki plus others, including Hazem El Masri, breaking the 300-barrier it's something on Ropati's horizon given he has only played four full seasons and has possibly as many as eight in front of him. "It [100] has crept up but given the number of years I've been here it also seems like an age. The club has placed a lot of faith in me," he said, his contract just extended through to the end of 2012, "but I'm not thinking about targets ... it doesn't help a footballer."

JEROME ROPATI

* Born November 23, 1984, Auckland
* Educated St Paul's College
* Junior club Marist, Marist Brothers in Bartercard Cup
* 176cm, 94kg five-eighth/fullback/centre
* NRL debut for the Warriors R25 2003
* 99 games, 39 tries. Signed to 2012
* 2002 Junior Kiwi
* Kiwis debut 2005, 10 tests, 7 tries.