Rugby League: Warriors now a team of walking wounded

By PETER JESSUP

The Rosmini College under-80kg rugby league team had a tough workout ahead of their first game of the season against Mahurangi today - a run with the Auckland Warriors as final tune-up.

On any other day the Warriors might have given the schoolboys a real hurry-up, but yesterday a major portion of the squad were sidelined with injury.

Coach Mark Graham named 19 players for the game against the St George Illawarra Dragons at Wollongong on Saturday, unable to further hone his thinking until it becomes clearer who might play and who definitely will not.

Skipper John Simon remains doubtful, with his broken thumb heavily strapped but still giving him trouble yesterday.

"I'm having difficulty catching the ball and it hasn't even been knocked yet. There'd have to be some good improvement [for me to play]," he said. A likely replacement is Ben Lythe.

Also on bikes, rowing machines and punching bags rather than running yesterday were Joe Vagana (foot), Awen Guttenbeil (knee), Scott Pethybridge (shoulder), Ivan Cleary (shoulder) and Talite Liavaa (knee).

The first two are likely starters, the latter three are not.

Jason Death had some trouble with a bruised shoulder and was sent to the doctor but is expected to play. Heavily strapped were Henry Faafili (right knee) and Scott Coxon (left calf). Suspended for one more week are Ali Lauiti'iti and David Myles.

"These days you just wait and see who turns up okay on the day," Graham said.

He does not expect a definitive line-up from the Dragons either, given the disappearance and reappearance of Anthony Mundine and the changes they will have to make after losing skipper Craig Smith and lock Wayne Bartrim to the judiciary.

"You don't know who you'll play and who you'll be playing until an hour before the kickoff," Graham said.

Smith was yesterday given a three-week suspension after pleading guilty to a grade-two careless high tackle during the Dragons' game against the Cowboys, with Bartrim getting two weeks for a similar offence given his three previous appearances as opposed to Smith's five.

Mundine surfaced from his week-long unofficial excursion to San Francisco and has been called to explain his position to the Dragons' board tomorrow. There was plenty of speculation on whether coach David Waite would use him, or be allowed to use him, this weekend.

Some at the club are determined he be punished by being stood down and others pointed to his $A600,000 salary, saying the club cannot asfford not to play him.

There are a core of what were once junior Warriors who are now seniors, looking even more senior given the injury withdrawals, who now have to step up and provide the leadership that was so obviously missing in the loss to the Tigers last weekend.

Top of that list would be Logan Swann, Tony Tuimavave and Stacey Jones, whose form from here will be crucial to the Warriors' playoff hopes.

Last Saturday, three games back after his injury, he still looked out of sorts, reluctant to take the ball as close as he should to the defensive line, just that split second out that means the difference between tries and not.

The Dragons will be smarting from their thrashing in Townsville but the Warriors, despite injury dramas, should still have their measure in the forwards.

Warriors 19-man squad: Backs, Lee Oudenryn, Odell Manuel, Shontayne Hape, Nigel Vagana, Henry Faafili, Ben Lythe, Joe Galuvao, John Simon, Stacey Jones; forwards, Joe Vagana, Jerry Seuseu, Monty Betham, Tony Tuimavave, Awen Guttenbeil, Jason Death, Matt Spence, Logan Swann, Terry Hermansson, Robert Mears.