NRL: Injuries force Warriors into late changes

Warriors hooker Ian Henderson will lock the scrum against the Tigers tonight. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It's been an all too familiar scenario for the Warriors this season - a big game coinciding with a big time injury crisis.

Already reeling from the loss of senior prop Sam Rapira for six weeks, the Warriors have been forced to make further late adjustments to cover for the loss of lock Micheal Luck and five-eighth James Maloney.

The absence of Maloney was expected, with the playmaker suffering a painful back injury in last week's victory over Souths. Luck's withdrawal is more of a shock, with the tackling machine succumbing to an infected hand.

"At the moment it looks a bit messy, like I've got a red volleyball on the end of my arm," Luck said. "I feel pretty ordinary for letting the boys down but in all honesty I don't think I could have done the jersey proud this weekend."

With Manu Vatuvei still a week away and Steve Price no closer to a return, the Warriors' injury curse is certainly still in full effect.

"It's the highest injury toll I've ever been associated with, particularly with the calibre of the players who have been injured," coach Ivan Cleary said.

Despite the regular reshuffles the Warriors have battled to a 5-5 record and head into the match sitting a creditable seventh. However, the loss of Luck and Maloney coupled with a five-day turnaround mean they will be seriously up against it at Campbelltown tonight.

The latest withdrawals have forced a rejig that sees hooker Ian Henderson lock the scrum and Joel Moon recalled at five-eighth.

Henderson won't match Luck's defensive workrate but he has at least had some recent game time in the back row, filling in on the fly in recent matches.

Maloney's absence will also be deeply felt. The rookie five-eighth's educated boot provides the bulk of the team's kicking metres.

The Tigers are the most potent long-range attacking side in the competition, scoring 10 tries from within their own half, while the next best team has six. A good kicking game will be crucial to negating that threat, Cleary said.

"You really want to give them the ball in areas that it's not easy to attack from. They are happy to throw the ball around at their own end and they have got guys with real gas on the outside. A lot of it comes down to how you control the ball and where you give it to them."

Maintaining the defensive intensity that laid the platform for the victories over the Rabbitohs and Cowboys will also be crucial for the under-powered Warriors.

Hard hitting back rower Ben Matulino has led the way on that front in recent weeks but he played down his growing status as one of the game's leading hit men.

"I'm just the lucky one that pulls off the shot, I'm just there at the right time," Matulino said.

"I don't go out to do big hits, I just go out to make my side of the field secure."

With the side light on props Matulino will help spell Russell Packer, Jesse Royal and Jeremy Latimore.

"I'm actually looking forward to seeing him spending a bit more time in the middle, throwing that weight of his around," Cleary said.

While the Warriors are looking to win three in a row for the first time this season, the Tigers are coming off a victory over the Knights that snapped a five match winless streak.

Both sides are among a group of five clubs on 12 competition points. The prize on offer for the winner is some breathing space inside the top eight and the prospect of forcing their way into the top four. The loser will drop back into an increasingly congested dogfight for the final few playoff places.

WARRIORS V TIGERS
Sydney, 9.30 tonight

TIGERS
Beau Ryan
Lote Tuqiri
Geoff Daniela
Chris Lawrence
Daniel Fitzhenry
Benji Marshall
Robert Lui
Bryce Gibbs
Robbie Farah (c)
Todd Payten
Mark Flanagan
Gareth Ellis
Chris Heighington

WARRIORS
Lance Hohaia
Kevin Locke
Brent Tate
Jerome Ropati
Bill Tupou
Joel Moon
Brett Seymour
Jesse Royal
Aaron Heremaia
Russell Packer
S. Mannering (c)
Ukuma Ta'ai
Ian Henderson

INTERCHANGE
Tigers (one to be omitted): Andrew Fifita, Junior Moors, Simon Dwyer, Mitch Brown, Josh Davis.

Warriors: Ben Matulino, Jeremy Latimore, Lewis Brown, Sione Lousi.