KEY POINTS:
Evarn Tuimavave isn't quite half the man he used to be - but it's close.
The 22-year-old prop will make his 50th appearance for the Warriors off the bench tomorrow weighing in at a trim 104kg. His lean frame is a far cry from that of the big, unfit 18-year-old kid who made his NRL debut against Manly in the penultimate regular season game of the 2002.
"I'm probably the fittest I've ever been," he said after being named to make his first appearance of the season against the Broncos at Mt Smart tomorrow. "I was 120kg at the start of 2004. It is a big difference. I was lucky to be running 10 on the beep test, now I am running 14.
"You notice how long you can last [on the field]. You can go a 25-minute stint just like that without even thinking about it. Before, 10 minutes would be up and I'd be buggered.
"Everyone is very mobile and quick these days. You've got to keep up with the play to be in the comp."
Not only is Tuimavave fit, he's hungry. And not for cheeseburgers.
Being overlooked by coach Ivan Cleary for last weekend's season-opener against Parramatta Eels left him distraught. He picked his bottom lip up in time to star for the Auckland Lions against Parramatta's reserve grade side - but only just.
"I was pretty gutted and I told Ivan I was gutted. After I got my head around it, it was all right. I talked to my mum and dad and they just said 'you've got to get on with it'. It probably took about an hour or so and then I was ready to play."
In a classic example of a week being a long time in sport, the Warriors start strong favourites against the injury-hit Broncos.
With Darren Lockyer and Corey Parker out, the Broncos have named a squad with a strong Kiwi connection but no goal-kicker. The Broncos 17 boasts just one goal between them, with that having been kicked by fullback Justin Hodges. Teenage centre Joel Moon is likely to be handed first crack at the kicking duties.
Former Kiwis test-forward Tonie Carroll hasn't trained all week due to an illness but he is expected to start in a line-up that will also include fellow New Zealand-born Kangaroos Karmichael Hunt and Brad Thorn.
Another Kiwi, John Te Reo, makes his Broncos debut on the wing, while Greg Eastwood will come off the bench.
Lockyer's injury has seen regular halfback Shane Perry named to play at five-eighths alongside Hunt, who is making only his second start at halfback for the patched-up Broncos.
The Warriors have no such problems, with Tuimavave coming in for the injured Louis Anderson the only change to the side that beat Parramatta so convincingly.
Tuimavave might be one of the longest-serving Warriors - only Wairangi Koopu and Lance Hohaia have been on the club's books longer - but he's yet to fully nail down a first grade spot. "It feels like it has taken forever," he says of bringing up his 50th appearance.
Although happy just to be back in first grade tomorrow, he doesn't much fancy the prospect of being a long-term bench player.
"No, I want to start. It is pretty tough when you've got the best two front rowers in the world ahead of you but it is always my goal every week to try and start."
Having re-signed with the club last year he is in the first year of a three-year extension. With skipper Steve Price and veteran prop Ruben Wiki both contracted until the end of 2008, Tuimavave will need to make a statement sooner rather than later if he is to break into Cleary's first choice starting line-up.
" I'm up for the challenge. They are the premiers - everyone wants to knock them off. I want to prove that I am a first grade player."
Mt Smart Stadium, 4pm tomorrow
Warriors: Wade McKinnon, Michael Crockett, Tony Martin, Lance Hohaia, Manu Vatuvei, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli, Ruben Wiki, George Gatis, Steve Price (c), Simon Mannering, Logan Swan, Michael Luck
Interchange: Nathan Fien, Evarn Tuimavave, Epalahame Lauaki, Sam Rapira.
Broncos:Justin Hodges, Steve Michaels, Brent Tate, Joel Moon, Darius Boyd, Shane Perry, Karmichael Hunt, Dane Carlaw, Shaun Berrigan, P Civoniceva (c), Sam Thaiday, Brad Thorn, Tonie Carroll
Interchange: Nick Kenny, Ben Hannant, Greg Eastwood, John Te Reo.
