League: Kiwi legends will try to recapture skills of old in curtain raiser

At 5.30pm on Saturday, 26 finely tuned athletes will take to the rugby league field at Ericsson Stadium.

It will be a contest that pits some of the biggest names in New Zealand rugby league history against each other in something akin to a gladiatorial contest.

But while their minds might tell them what they want to do, their bodies might not be able to get them there.

On Saturday, a team coached by Graham Lowe of former Kiwis will take on an invitational side - including Brian McClennan and his assistant Graeme Norton - as a curtain raiser to the Warriors game against the Parramatta Eels.

McClennan, though, may not play after injuring himself last week.

"I had been working on my anaerobic fitness by doing rapid sprints out to the letter box and back and I tore a calf muscle," he said. "I'm a doubtful starter, which might not be a bad thing because I'll be no use at all."

McClennan might be doing his skills a disservice considering he was regarded as one of the best players never to wear the Kiwis jersey.

If he does take the field on Saturday, he will come up against some of the game's greats. Kurt Sorensen and Gary Freeman will journey from Australia for the occasion and will be joined by James Leuluai, Clayton Friend and Duane Mann.

Also playing are Ropati brothers Joe, Tea and Iva. Brother Peter Ropati, a former Auckland representative, will be in the opposition.

Lowe has promised to deliver one of his famous pre-game motivational speeches but one of his first tasks was to assemble the side. "I needed to make a plea to the rest homes to let the guys out for an afternoon," Lowe joked. "Most of them probably haven't been above 4mph since they stopped playing.

"I had the opportunity to do a training run but I didn't think they would be able to train and then play.

"It was a matter of choosing one or the other."

Although it might look like fun on the outside, the competitiveness of each player is sure to burn within and the first battle will be over who starts in which position.

"The biggest fight will be who gets to play five-eighths," Lowe said.

Most will want to put on a good show, others will want to walk off the field without humiliating themselves.

As for McClennan, he will bring with him one of his now well-known themes. "Be careful out there," Bluey offered.

PAST KIWIS TEAM (Coached by Graham Lowe): Kurt Sorensen, Gary Freeman, Gary Kemble, Francis Leota, Tony Iro, Sam Panapa, Jason Lowrie, Mark Bourneville, Richard Blackmore, Duane Mann, Tony Tatupu, Dean Clark, Tea Ropati, Joe Ropati, Iva Ropati, Dane O'Hara, James Leuluai, Clayton Friend, Owen Wright, Shane Cooper.

INVITATIONAL SIDE (Coached by Geoff Grainger): Noel Wyatt, Brian McClennan, Graeme Norton, Piri Enua, Greg Hiley, Peter Ropati, Ricky Williams, Ray Hannay, Greg Molloy, Reece Guy, Steve Kemble, Hereme Sio, Steve Craike, Bryce Townsend (NZ midget car driver), Wayne Trainor, Arthur Clark, Ken Anderson, Colin McLennan, Kristian Faavae, Peter Simmonds.