Warriors wary of ‘dangerous’ Hopoate
RUGBY LEAGUE
WARRIORS skipper Simon Mannering has labelled Eels winger Will Hopoate as ‘‘dangerous’’, and is wary of the influence the returning star could have on tomorrow’s game in Sydney.
Hopoate will play his first NRL game since 2011 in the Warriors’ season opener against the Eels at Parramatta Stadium, after leaving league to complete a two-year Mormon mission in Queensland.
The Warriors are more than familiar with what the 21-year-old star is capable of.
His last first-grade appearance came in the 2011 NRL grand final in Sydney, which pitted his former club the Sea Eagles against the Warriors. Though he didn’t score, Hopoate served up a flick pass that would lead to Glenn Stewart’s key try at the beginning of the game’s second half.
Last week, Hopoate admitted he was taking a little while to get use to the pace of first-grade again, but Mannering believes it won’t take the one-cap New South Wales representative long.
‘‘He was obviously a great player when he left a couple of years ago, and I’m sure he’ll get back to that form pretty quickly,’’ Mannering said.
‘‘He’s still very young, so I’m sure he’s got a lot of gas left in the tank. It will probably be hard, being out of the game for a couple of years – but I’m sure he’ll find his feet pretty quickly. He’ll definitely be one of their most dangerous players on Sunday.’’
The Warriors will feature four new faces tomorrow,with star fullback Sam Tomkins, back rower Jayson Bukuya, Sharks castoff Chad Townsend and former under-20 star John Palavi all getting a start.
The selection
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Tui- mavave at centre has pushed human cannonball Konrad Hurrell into the New South Wales Cup reserve grade team, where he will play alongside 2013 late-season regular Ngani Laumape.
Mannering said the host of new faces in the team, and the de- motion of Hurrell and Laumape to NSW Cup, shows the growing depth the club has.
‘‘The stronger your reserve team is, usually the better your top-grade team goes,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s more competition and about seeing him get a run.
‘‘Jayson has added a lot to the team. He’s had a lot of experience at the Sharks, probably missed out on a lot of football with injuries. I’m sure he’s up for a big year.’’
Alongside Hopoate, ex-Broncos standoff Corey Norman and the ever-impressive Jarryd Hayne loom as the biggest danger men for the Eels tomorrow.
Mannering didn’t want to get drawn into talking about how to contain the Eels’ big names, however. For the Warriors skipper, it’s all about his team implementing their own game plan.
‘‘We’ve got to worry about our own backyard first, and make sure we can control what we can with our own performance,’’ he said.
‘‘They’ve got guys in their team that can play. The more opportunity you give them, the more chance of making something of it. It’s about making sure we play the smartest game we can.’’