Mannering likes what he sees in Warriors rookie
Simon Mannering is hoping to return to the field in the next couple of weeks but the Warriors veteran says his replacement is doing a pretty good job of keeping his jersey warm.
With a shoulder injury ruling Mannering out of the opening rounds of the season, 19-year-old back-rower Isaiah Papali’i produced a standout performance in his absence during last week’s 32-30 victory over the Rabbitohs.
Making the first start of his blossoming career in Perth, Papali’i impressed with a composed, 80-minute display, scoring a try and running for just under 100m while proving a handful for defenders on the left edge.
Papali’i made five NRL appearances last year but after watching his development throughout the pre-season, Mannering believes he could become a regular feature of the side in 2018.
‘‘He’s still very young but I think he’s more than capable of it,’’ Mannering said.
‘‘He’s always willing to learn and not afraid of some hard work which is good and it shows by the way he performs.
‘‘I thought he was awesome [last week], probably one of the best on the field.
‘‘He only played a handful of games last year but you see the way he plays you forget he’s only 19.’’
Papali’i has again been named to start for tomorrow’s first home game against Gold Coast as Mannering returns to full fitness.
The 31-year-old damaged his shoulder during last month’s trial win over the Titans and was initially given a recovery period of six weeks.
That would see him return for the round five match against the Cowboys but Mannering said he was assessing it on a week-to-week basis.
‘‘I’ve just got to try and progress it each week and push it the point where I’m back to close to full fitness,’’ he said.
‘‘Hopefully it’s not too much longer but the guys are going really good so it puts less pressure on me trying to rush back which is nice.’’
After years of making the long trip to Perth with no reward, the 280-game veteran was delighted to see his side finally return with a victory.
But if anyone thought the Warriors were getting carried away, he was quick to put the performance into perspective.
‘‘The scoreboard didn’t show it but I thought it was a lot closer than what you think.
‘‘They had a couple of tries disallowed, Roger [TuivasaSheck] did a really good trysaver so if a couple of things went against us it could have been a different story.
‘‘There’s still heaps of things to work on and we’ll have to show that this weekend we can’t be happy with one performance.’’
Mannering’s injury meant he was able to join a handful of Warriors players and staff supporting Special Olympics New Zealand at the Auckland central secondary schools athletics day.
The buzz from last week’s result was clear to see amongst the school kids and Mannering got just as much out of the event as they did.
‘‘These are really the bonuses of the job,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s puts a lot of things in perspective and you realise the privileged position we’re in.
‘‘After the boys performing in that first week everyone’s really pumped and congratulating you, it’s a really good feeling. They’re great supporters of the club and it’s nice to do them proud."