Dogs put faith in former Warrior
Thompson back where he belongs
Almost two years after leaving the Warriors, Brad Abbey has the chance to show his old club what they are missing out on when he makes his NRL debut for the Bulldogs in Dunedin tomorrow.
One of the Warriors’ brightest young prospects in 2015, the 20-year-old fullback could be seen as another local player that slipped through the net.
But with Roger Tuivasasheck signing with the club that year as well as the emergence of Tuimoala Lolohea, the reality was that Abbey’s path to the No 1 jersey was blocked and he sought an early release from his contract to join the Bulldogs.
After excelling in his first season at Belmore in the NSW Cup, the Richmond Rovers junior has been given first crack at replacing Will Hopoate, who is out for at least a month after fracturing an eye socket during last week’s defeat to the Roosters.
To be squaring off against his former team has made the occasion all the more special for Abbey.
‘‘I’m pretty nervous but really excited to head back home and go against the Warriors. I can’t wait,’’ Abbey told the Bulldogs’ website.
‘‘It will mean a lot. I grew up playing and training with a lot of those boys so it will be good to head out against them.’’
It’s early days but Abbey has a golden chance to stake a claim on what has been a problem position for the Bulldogs in recent seasons. After spending the opening two rounds in unfamiliar territory, Bodene Thompson is getting back to what he knows best for the Warriors this week.
With a toe injury keeping the experienced back-rower out of the pre-season trials, the initial plan was for Thompson to build his match fitness off the bench against the Knights and Storm.
But he quickly found himself in the deep end in week one, filling the void at hooker when Issac Luke went off early in the second half before spending 53 minutes at centre the following week against Melbourne after Roger Tuivasa-sheck’s departure forced a reshuffle.
‘‘I did a few dummy half passes here and there just in case. But I wasn’t doing any running out of dummy half or anything like during the week,’’ Thompson said of his surprise
Coach Des Hasler has struggled to settle on a fullback since Ben Barba left the club at the end of 2013.
Hopoate played there last year, apart from Sunday games which he sat out for religious reasons. The devoted Mormon is yet to reveal if he will relax his stance this season but if he doesn’t it will open up more opportunities for Abbey, with the Bulldogs scheduled to feature on Sunday in round eight, 11, 13 and 18.
Hasler has previously opted stint at hooker. ’’Then losing Rog at the back and filling in at centre. Definitely not my roles but when injuries happen you’ve got to fill in wherever you can.’’
Thompson has been called into the starting side for tomorrow night’s clash against
to shift NSW winger Brett Morris to fullback in place of Hopoate so it’s a big show of faith in Abbey, who has also been tipped to take the goalkicking duties tomorrow.
But while happy to see him in first grade, his former teammates will be wary not to give him too much room to move.
Abbey is not the only former Warrior lining up for the Bulldogs with back-rower Raymond Faitala-mariner set to bring plenty of punch off the bench.
The 23-year-old was the Bulldogs in Dunedin, reuniting with Simon Mannering and Ryan Hoffman - the club’s regular starting back-row trio since 2015.
It sees Bunty Afoa fall back to the bench, but the 20-yearold’s demotion is through no fault of his own. Following backto-back 80-minute performances - the first of his brief career - coach Stephen Kearney has decided to ease Afoa’s workload, while he is also expected to spend some time in the middle of the park.
Thompson, who has worked closely with Afoa, welcomed the extra competition. ’’Me and Bunts talk regularly and make sure we keep each other honest,’’ he said.
‘‘I need to be biting at his heels and he needs to be biting at my heels because that’s the best thing for the team. If you’ve got no one there pushing you you’re not getting the best out of yourself.’’
involved in a player swap with Shaun Lane last April and it’s clear who got the better of that deal.
Faitala-mariner went on to play 15 games for the Bulldogs in 2016 while Lane made just one appearance for the Warriors before joining Manly this year.
He is part of a formidable pack, which includes skipper James Graham, Sam Kasiano and David Klemmer and they will be desperate to step up following the club’s winless start to the season.