Lolohea has point to prove after earning recall
Recalled Warriors fullback Tuimoala Lolohea is determined to prove he belongs in the starting side when the Panthers come to Mt Smart on Saturday.
The talented 21-year-old has been the subject of much speculation after being dropped to the bench in three of his side’s last four matches.
Lolohea was told to work on some defensive aspects of his game by Andrew McFadden, which the coach is satisfied he has addressed.
And after impressing in a 32-minute cameo during last week’s golden point defeat in Canberra, the Marist junior has reclaimed the No 1 jersey from David Fusitu’a, who has moved to the centres in place of Blake Ayshford.
‘‘I guess it probably hasn’t been the best couple of weeks for me,’’ Lolohea said.
‘‘I’ve had a lot of conversations with ‘Cappy’ (McFadden). There was a lot of stuff in the media saying there’s a lot of clubs (interested in me) but I’m pretty happy here and I’m just trying to get better as a footy player.’’
After playing just two minutes of the Warriors’ extra-time defeat to Manly two weeks ago, Lolohea’s manager was approached by sev- eral rival NRL clubs.
But Lolohea reiterated desire to remain in Auckland.
‘‘This is home for me at the moment and this is where I want to spend the rest of my footy career,’’ he added.
McFadden insisted he never lost faith in Lolohea and praised the way he handled the setback.
The coach could be accused of tinkering too much with his selections, particularly given the way Fusitu’a has excelled at fullback.
But McFadden believes he’s found the right mix to tackle the eighth-placed Panthers.
‘‘David’s big, strong and robust but it’s a challenging position,’’ McFadden said. ‘‘We just feel that with Tui’s skill-set... it might be a better balance for us at the moment.’’ his