Rugby League: Warriors ready to rumble

By PETER JESSUP in SYDNEY

Brent Sherwin's short kicking game is the major threat to the Warriors' line when they face the Bulldogs at the Sydney Showgrounds tonight.

If they maintain the defensive enthusiasm that was a mark of the wins over other top-eight sides - the Broncos and the Roosters - then the much-vaunted left-side combination of Nigel Vagana and Matt Utai will be taken out of the game.

And big Willie Mason will be smashed out of it and sat down on the bench as he was when the Warriors won 24-20 at Ericsson Stadium in the second game of the season.

The Dogs levelled the ledger this year with an 18-12 win in Wellington when the sides last met in May to continue their domination at the Cake Tin, but the all-up record is seven wins to the Warriors, six to the Bulldogs, with two games drawn. .

Sherwin, who has pain in his lower back, is one of several players carrying an injury. Vagana has a shoulder tear and Mark O'Meley has a calf strain.

Braith Anasta, who was given the green light only yesterday after five weeks on the sideline, will add attacking initiative.

The Warriors have the greater recent finals experience, despite taking in eight players who were not in last year's grand final.

Although all talk of hunger has focused on the home side because of their elimination from the playoffs after the salary cap scandal last season, the Warriors have looked the more determined side as the round play wound up.

They learned how to get beaten in the last 20 minutes of the pressure-cooker trophy game last season and it's not a lesson they want to repeat. They have approached this as a must-win game. No thought has been given to relying on the Knights and Raiders to lose in order to keep them in the playoffs.

The Dogs have had a relatively easy passage to the finals, with many big scores in recent weeks. But those came mostly against teams in the lower half of the table.

They beat the Sharks well in the last game but that came with two intercept tries when the Cronulla side looked about to score.

Their last 10 games began with big scores over the Knights and Brisbane when those teams were providing a majority of the State of Origin combatants. They also racked up big scores against the Cowboys, Rabbitohs and Manly.

However, they have played only two top-eight teams in the past eight weeks. The Storm were thrashed 50-4 in round 22. But, interestingly, that was after the Melbourne club had ground out a win over the Warriors in Auckland in a game their coach Craig Bellamy described as their toughest of the season.

The crowd, expected to be close to the 22,000 limit, will be under extra security watch after a few yobs sullied their last two games.

The Warriors aim to take the crowd fervour out of the equation by hitting hard and fast, denying them line-breaks or scoring opportunities that would enliven the home fans.

Coach Daniel Anderson is confident the team can handle the local sledging.

"It's a matter of maturity - they're used to it. It's going to be all about composure and making the right decisions under pressure."

The team had learned how to prepare mentally, Anderson said, and so had he after last year's run.

He expects the game to be tight with both sides scoring. There may be only a couple of significant moments that decide it, so they can't afford a cold start.

"I don't expect we'll be able to shock them early but our best games this year have been when we've come out with an up-beat approach from the start, when the ball is moving and everyone gets their hands on it early so we get in a groove."

The team ran on the Showgrounds at midday yesterday and no problems were reported. Stacey Jones will play despite a continuing niggle from a groin strain.

Their chances, though, depend on the contribution of others, including Brent Webb and Thomas Leuluai, who have stepped up when Jones was out.

In a tight contest it could come down to one off-load in the right place at the right time and Ali Lauiti'iti is the man for that. He was marked out of the Roosters game but will again be prepared for battle with a wind-up about fulfilling his potential.

Webb will take the goal-kicks.

Dogs wing Hazem El Masri has the opportunity to break the points-scoring record for a season in the finals.

He is 15 short of the 284 Ivan Cleary got with the Roosters in 1998. Five more goals and he will beat Eels fullback Mick Cronin's record of 123 in a season. Twelve more points and his career total hits 1000, a mark passed by only 31 players in the history of the competition since 1908.

* The Warriors will meet minor premiers Penrith and fellow title contenders Newcastle just once in the NRL round-robin next year. They will also have only one match against Cronulla and Wests Tigers, but will play each of the other clubs in the competition twice.

The pools for the draw, expected to be released in December, were based on each team's finishing position in the just-completed minor premiership, in which the Warriors were sixth.

NZ Warriors: Brent Webb, Henry Fa'afili, Vinnie Anderson, Clinton Toopi, Francis Meli, Thomas Leuluai, Stacey Jones, Jerry Seuseu, Monty Betham (c), Richard Villasanti, Logan Swann, Awen Guttenbeil, Sione Faumuina; interchange, Tevita Latu, Ali Lauiti'iti, Karl Temata, Wairangi Koopu, Iafeta Palea'aesina.

Canterbury Bulldogs: Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Nigel Vagana, Ben Harris, Matt Utai, Braith Anasta, Brent Sherwin, Mark O'Meley, Adam Perry, Steve Price, Steve Reardon, Andrew Ryan, Travis Norton; interchange, Willie Mason, Dennis Scott, Corey Hughes, Glen Hughes.

Referee: Bill Harrigan. Kickoff: 7.30pm tonight. TV: Live on Sky 1.

* Visit nzherald.co.nz throughout the weekend for Warriors updates.

NRL points table and fixtures