Hurrell also admitted the club weren't impressed with him when he came back to pre-season training overweight but he had shed the kilos and had a strong half against the Broncos in the final pre-season hitout in Dunedin.
"Carlos stole the march through the Nines and trials," Elliott said. "Against the Broncos, he put two tries on for Glen [Fisiiahi] and scored one himself. Konnie did really well in the half he played. That was a really, really tough call but Carlos has had his nose in front the whole pre-season.
"Sometimes what you have to do is put yourself in the best position to compete for the spot. It's highly competitive ... Jerome Ropati missed out, too, and he's had a really good pre-season. Our centres are on notice."
Tuimavave played three games last season, spending most of the year with the Auckland Vulcans. He grew up playing five-eighth but the Warriors are keen to turn him into a centre and, at 1.85m and 94kg, he has the physical attributes.
It hasn't always been an easy and happy transition and in his eight NRL games since his debut in 2012 he's played three at fullback, three at centre and twice come off the bench.
Elliott has plumped for four debutants. Sam Tomkins, Chad Townsend and Jayson Bukuya were all expected to feature but less obvious was the choice of John Palavi as starting back-rower.
The 21-year-old was on the cusp of making his NRL debut in 2012 when he was 18th man for a game and is into his third full season with the first-grade squad.
Ben Henry is still getting back to full fitness and will turn out for the Vulcans this weekend.
Eels v Warriors
Parramatta, 8.30pm Sunday
