Rugby League: Lauiti'iti counted out of test by NRL judiciary

By PETER JESSUP in Sydney

The Kiwis had star second-rower Ali Lauiti'iti counted out of Friday night's test by the National Rugby League judiciary last night.

Lauiti'iti was found guilty of a grade one careless high tackle on Cronulla Sharks player Paul Gallen in last weekend's win.

The one-game ban means he is out for the test against the Kangaroos at Aussie Stadium, but will not miss any of the Warriors NRL games.

They have the bye this weekend and return against the Melbourne Storm at Ericsson Stadium next week.

Lauiti'iti's place on the interchange bench has gone to in-form Penrith Panther Joe Galuvao in a straight swap.

Talk about how tired the Australian players are is dominating the test build-up. Captain Andrew Johns is cited as the best - or worst - example. Observers say his body language, with head down and moving in a slow shuffle, illustrates how jaded the squad are.

The Kangaroos ran a short, slow and ordinary session in training in drizzle at Aussie Stadium yesterday.

They concentrated on working hooker Danny Buderus out of dummy-half, the props and second-rowers running off Johns, and Gorden Tallis chiming into the mid-field.

Shaun Timmins and Craig Wing ran the backline at five-eighth.

Fullback Darren Lockyer kept mostly to weights training because of his ankle injury.Shannon Hegarty has been called into the squad as cover for him, but coach Chris Anderson is sure the Broncos fullback will come right.

If Lockyer can't play, Anthony Minichiello will go to fullback and Hegarty to the left wing.

Anderson agreed that the side looked tired mentally. "They've had a lot of stuff to do off the football field and that's something the league has to look at," he said of autograph signing sessions and public and media appearances.

"But as soon as they get the jumper on they'll lift."

He expected the Kiwis to be better prepared than they have been for recent tests.

"They have a quality coach and I think it will be a very tight game."

He stuck to his prediction that the Kiwis would try to dominate with power and aggression - that the game would be a "bash-a-thon."

Anderson's main aim is to stop the ball-carrier, and team management was cuing up video of the Kiwis' best off-loaders - Paul Rauhihi, Stacey Jones and Stephen Kearney - to show how they can be stopped.

"If they get good second-phase ball they will hurt us," Anderson said.

New prop Luke Bailey is ready for that, but he doesn't expect the sounding-out to go on long.

"The first five to 10 minutes might be a bash-up, but the speed of the game will overcome that."

Kiwis hooker Richard Swain said he had not noticed the Broncos' Origin players losing intensity when backing up after the interstate series.

"They say they're tired, but they don't play that way."

Kiwis coach Daniel Anderson fobbed off questions about the degree to which the Kangaroos might be jaded after six weeks of Origin camps and games, on top of club matches.

He said halfback Stacey Jones and other Kiwis who toured England had rejoined pre-season training on return.

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