League: Warriors to field their top side

The Warriors will have their strongest team on the paddock for the opening match of the season against Manly at Ericsson Stadium on Sunday, and there can be no excuses if they lose.

The bookies have the Auckland club at mid-table for the premiership title at around $15, while the Sea Eagles are on the last line of betting at anything from $60 to $101.

If the home team do not win, it will be a sign that the mental flakiness that has plagued them for years is still rattling around between their ears.

And it is only mental flakiness, failure to tough out games, that can end their playoff chances this season.

The leadership provided by veterans Steve Price and Ruben Wiki will hopefully inspire more commitment from what has recently been a team with great talent but little heart or consistency.

All four new buys - Price and Wiki in the pack, Nathan Fien at hooker and Todd Byrne on the wing - get a starting run.

The only player among those left out who might have immediately commanded a place is Sione Faumuina, who is still behind the fitness regime after recovering from shoulder surgery. Yet he could also be the lightning rod for the flakiness measure - brilliant one game, a liability the next.

There are two Warriors on whom great pressure lies. It is a no-brainer that coach Tony Kemp will be first out the door if the team underperform again - that's the precedent chief executive Mick Watson has set.

And halfback Stacey Jones needs to re-establish himself as the "Golden Boot" he was in 2002.

The Warriors have the ability to win the competition. The Eagles do not. They are a rebuilding team who have bought unwisely, spending too much on "stars"' without achieving a balance.

The pack has no depth. They lack a halves combination.

The Warriors need to make an emphatic statement on Sunday.

* Ericsson Stadium, Sunday, 2pm


NZ Warriors

Brent Webb
Todd Byrne
Tony Martin
Clinton Toopi
Francis Meli
Lance Hohaia
Stacey Jones
Ruben Wiki
Nathan Fien
Steve Price (c)
Wairangi Koopu
Awen Guttenbeil
Monty Betham

Manly

Brett Stewart
Scott Donald
Terry Hill
Paul Stephenson
John Hopoate
Michael Witt
M. Monaghan (c)
Brent Kite
Shayne Dunley
Jason King
Steve Menzies
Sam Harris
Ben Kennedy

Reserves:

Warriors: Jerome Ropati, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Louis Anderson, Richard Villasanti.

Manly: Luke Williamson, Anthony Watmough, Daniel Heckenberg, Kylie Leuluai, Chad Randall (one to be omitted).