KEY POINTS:
Don't be surprised to see new faces in the Warriors XVII any time soon. If not tomorrow at Mt Smart against the Roosters then certainly by the time of their next home game against Souths if they have not won before that.
Coach Ivan Cleary named a seven-man
bench this week with rookies Ben Matulino and Malo Solomona drafted up from the under-20s Toyota Cup squad and said both were a chance tomorrow.
"They're not too far away. The injury list we have gives everyone a look-in."
Of Matulino, Cleary said: "He plays with plenty of potential. We just re-signed him not so long ago, we think he's got a big future." Just 19, Matulino is a big unit at 193cm and 106kg, he is a damaging runner and provides big hits in defence.
Solomona, from the Richmond club that has fostered many players with that surname, is a speedster on the wing.
The way has been shown for those two by Sonny Fai then Russell Packer who have both progressed through the under-20s. Packer showed "pure determination" to get a try last weekend, Cleary said.
The Toyota Cup will give the Warriors a big leg-up in the NRL, providing a conveyor belt for development of local players, particularly in the key positions of hooker, half, five-eighth and fullback where both the Warriors and the national side have lacked depth. Serious Kiwis prospects in the Warriors under-20s include their captain and five-eighth Daniel O'Regan, half/five-eighth Isaac John, fullbacks Kevin Locke and Howie Matthews, halfback Jodie Henry, along with Packer, Fai and Matulino.
There are 42 Kiwi-eligible players appearing for other sides - 13 of the 16 NRL under-20s sides include players of New Zealand backgrounds. In the Roosters under-20s squad are centre Antonio Winterstein, props Mose Masoe and James Tamou, centre/wings Galu Teo and Mark Talanoa.
The Roosters top side includes Christchurch-raised Setaimata Sa in the second row and former Aucklanders Iosaia Soliola at centre, Sam Perrett and Shaun Kenny-Dowall on the wings, former Warrior Frank-Pal Nuuausala off the bench.
"They have a heap of talent, guys in form, they bring as big a challenge as anyone," Cleary said.
There's a good chance the four players who appeared in State of Origin on Wednesday - captain Craig Fitzgibbon, Willie Mason, Anthony Tupou and Nate Myles - might drop some firepower as a result of fatigue.
Cleary said: "I hope so. It's got to have a little bit of disruption." He had not planned to work at that via the interchange, waiting to see how he will use the player switches according to how the game pans out.
There has not been a re-analysis of why they have such a difference between home performances and those away. Captain Micheal Luck nominated Roosters five-eighth Braith Anasta as the man they have to shut down. "He's very, hard to stop. He's the epitome of the Roosters this year, getting better every game. He's one of our main targets," Luck said.
He also side-stepped the home-and-away malaise. "That's something we have to try and forget. We just have to try and get every guy who takes the field to play with consistency."
Luck had no ready reason for the slow start at Penrith and the missed tackles that led to early, soft tries for the Panthers, the very things that were spoken of in the last minutes in the dressing sheds before they took the field. Asked why, he looked up, scanning the roof of the gym, to see if anyone had tagged the answers there. "I dunno, the attitude right across the park wasn't right. It was an aim of ours [to start well] but it didn't happen. We have to get out and have a good start [tomorrow]. The individual attitudes have to be right."
One of their best this season, fullback Lance Hohaia, agreed. "It is attitude. It's been disappointing. Kiwi players usually come out firing. We know we can play good football from the start and all through a game, every weekend we want to do that."
There was more confidence at Mt Smart, he said, they thrived on the preparation there and it was always better "sleeping in your own bed".
The team had looked forward to this game as an opportunity to show they could perform at top level.
Hohaia said he was happy with his own form and feeling more and more comfortable in the No 1 jersey. "There are still areas where I can improve but I'm getting better, it's a position where there's less structure, I just try and get into the game as much as I can."
North Queensland have appointed assistant coach Ian Millward to replace Graham Murray who resigned this week.