Warriors mull hooker call
THE Warriors coaches are mulling over whether to go with Issac Luke or Nathaniel Roache at hooker for tonight’s game against Wests Tigers in Campbelltown.
Roache played his first NRL game for the club in over a year last weekend, putting in an impressive performance in the 40-6 victory over Canterbury.
However, Roache is regarded as the understudy to Issac Luke, who is ready to play again, following an off-season shoulder operation that forced him to miss round one.
So the Warriors coaches have to decide whether to stick with Roache, rewarding him for playing well, or go with the more experienced, but rusty, Luke.
‘‘It’s been part of our debate as coaches throughout the week,’’ Warriors assistant coach Todd Payten said yesterday.
‘‘Nate Roache played really well at the weekend and Bully [Luke] offers us that class and experience. So whichever way we go, there is going to be someone disappointed.’’
Luke took part in Tuesday’s training session, but did need treatment at one point.
However, he got through it and also completed the team’s captain’s run at Mt Smart Stadium yesterday before the team headed to Auckland Airport.
Payten said it came down to a selection decision now that Luke had been cleared.
‘‘There are three [players] and there are only two spots available,’’ he said, also referring to Jazz Tevaga, who can slot in at hooker.
‘‘With his [Luke’s] contact protocol, the medical staff say he’s good to go. So he’s fulfilled all of the duties necessary to get on the park.’’
As a player, Payten appeared in 151 games for the Tigers between 2004 and 2011.
He knows the joint venture’s Campbelltown Stadium well and that it can be a tough place for visiting sides.
‘‘It’s on the edge of town, it can be formidable for the opposing teams,’’ Payten said.
‘‘It’s going to be pretty warm, they’ll have a fair crowd after the win they had last week [against the Sea Eagles], so they’ll be optimistic and we expect them to come out firing.
‘‘We need to be patient,’’ he added.
‘‘If we carry the ball with the intent we had at the weekend for long enough, we’ll get some opportunities.
‘‘We’ve had a good week in preparation, we got some confidence out of the last couple of weeks, so we’re ready to go.’’
Given that Kiwis coach Michael Maguire also coaches the Tigers and there are three former Warriors in the Tigers side and a total of six Kiwi players, these teams know each other well, probably better than any other teams know each other in the NRL.
That can be looked at as a positive or negative by Payten.
‘‘It can be a bit of both, I reckon some of the guys know them quite personally,’’ Payten said.
‘‘They know their habits and traits on the field, so hopefully we can exploit what they know.’’