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The Warriors and Cowboys will each be without two experienced players when they meet in a pre-season trial at Albany on Sunday but around 23 others from each side will get a chance to show their goods.
The visitors trained at North Harbour Stadium yesterday and later confirmed
that Steve Southern (ankle) and Matt Bowen (knee) would return in their last trial game against Penrith in Cairns next weekend.
The Warriors ran at the Ellerslie Eagles club and similarly ruled out Jacob Lillyman (shoulder) and Evarn Tuimavave (neck), the former recovering from surgery on schedule and expected to be available for the first game against Parramatta mid-March, the latter probably missing some early games.
Prop Sam Rapira and secondrower Micheal Luck will be rested from this game, so those two are clearly cemented in coach Ivan Cleary's thinking on his first-choice 17.
On the other hand Michael Witt will play for the Auckland Vulcans against the Warriors under-20s in the curtainraiser and so appears behind the eight-ball in terms of a halves spot. The other four Warriors running with the Vulcans, coached again this season by Bernie Perenara, are junior halves
Isaac John and Liam Foran plus Aaron Heremaia and Hermann Retzlaff. Wellington 18-year-old Matthew Robinson gets a chance to show his talent in a run with the Vulcans.
Cleary said the depth in the club was good and the enthusiasm of the players coming through the development line was driving the senior players. "There's a good balance."
On Sunday he expects some "scratchy" moments because both teams are planning to make wide use of an unlimited interchange but what he wants to see is "everything solid in terms of team play, I'll be very happy if the defence is good".
Everyone who is playing has a chance at a start against the Eels, he said.
"The young guys played very well in their first outing (against the Storm) so I'm itching to see how they back up this week. You never know how long it's going to take them to slot in, some take to it easily, some take more time."
Cowboys football manager Dean Lance said they'd had a very positive pre-season under new coach Neil Henry and new players including former Warriors Grant Rovelli and Steve Rapira had slotted in well.
The NRL has named World Cup ref Ashley Klein as one of the two refs, along with Alan Shortall who made his top-grade debut last season.
The Eels, who come to Mt Smart on Saturday March 14 to kick off the 2009 season, have named a full-strength team for their trial this weekend against Penrith; Nathan Cayless, Luke Burt, Eric Grothe, Ben Smith, Taulima Tautai, Jarryd Hayne, Brett Finch, Fuifui Moimoi, Josh Cordoba, Nathan Hindmarsh, Weller Hauraki, Feleti Mateo and Joel Reddy included. Krisnan Inu is rested.
Coach Daniel Anderson is set to switch Hayne from wing/centre to five-eighth, the 2008 number six Mateo running at lock and Hayne impressing in the pivot role in training. If the switch is successful in this trial Hayne will start at six against the Warriors, Anderson said.