NRL: Warriors hookers happy to share role

Warriors hooker Thomas Leuluai is in a timeshare with Nathan Friend. Photo / Sarah Ivey

It's strange days for Thomas Leuluai and Nathan Friend. Both are accustomed to spending almost every moment on the field, 80-minute Warriors in the truest sense of the word.

Now they are fighting for game time, sharing the hooking role so far this season.

It was almost an even split in Newcastle while Leuluai got 55 minutes (Friend 25) in last Sunday's win over Canberra.

"It's a healthy situation," said Friend. "I'm not the only one at the club fighting for the same spot. It's good for the team and the club. We are all about winning and performance so if we can combine together and get through the season and do well, then I'm happy."

It's a novel situation for the 34-year-old Queenslander, who has averaged more than 76 minutes a game since 2008. He hasn't had a serious challenger at the Warriors (Pita Godinet and Siliva Havili offered brief competition) until this year.

"It's unusual - it probably goes back to when I first started at the Storm," said Friend. "But there will be opportunities for both of us. One might have a great game one week, the other might have a quiet match. It keeps us on our toes and we should do well together. I'm part of a great side that I think can go somewhere, that is the main thing."

Friend will play his 200th NRL match tonight against the Eels, an impressive effort considering he had played only 14 matches by the age of 25.

Meanwhile, Leuluai continues to adjust to the dummy half role. He played there for the Kiwis recently, and during part of a long Wigan stint but had been used almost exclusively in the halves by the Warriors.

"It's different and you have to get used to it," said Leuluai. "The main thing is getting my body used to the work load. The physical side is the hardest adjustment. [On] the technical side, I don't feel too far off, but adjusting to the conditioning needed and the amount of tackles you have to get through is the biggest challenge."

Both players bring advantages. Friend has the snappier pass and much more experience feeding the big men around him; Leuluai is a more dangerous runner and has the superior kicking game. It feels like a luxury to have a hooker on the bench but might be the way of the future. The days of the 80-minute hooker - a trend started by Cameron Smith, Robbie Farah and Isaac Luke - might be coming to an end as the sport gets too fast.

Leuluai may still spend some time in the halves this year, if Chad Townsend loses form or there is an injury. His direct running can be hard to handle and he squares the attack well for his runners.

Both Friend and Leuluai will need to be at their best tonight to contain a formidable Parramatta pack, though the Eels are weakened by the loss of Semi Radradra. The visitors will also need to defy a poor recent record in Auckland, where they have recorded just one win in their last five visits.