Jones takes risk in move to spark SJ

Stacey Jones is willing to take risks.

In his first full week as head coach of the Warriors, Jones unveiled a huge surprise in their squad to take on the competition-leading and defending NRL champion Penrith Panthers, with teenage half Ronald Volkman from the Roosters getting a debut.

Volkman, who joined the club last month, will line up at five-eighth alongside Shaun Johnson for tonight’s match at Redcliffe in a move Jones hopes will inspire his team.

The past six weeks have been grim for the New Zealand outfit. They haven’t won a game, while enduring the highly-publicised exits of prop Matt Lodge and coach Nathan Brown.

“It was a tough call to make but we needed to do something,” Jones said. “We’d been planning on Ronald getting some game time for a few weeks now but he needed to get some game time at the lower grades. Now he’s got some confidence in his game.

“I know we’re coming up against a very good team but this is th eN R L— every team you come up against is going to be tough. When you give someone a debut, I reckon he’ll play with a lot of adrenaline; it’s not going to faze him. If I asked a player if they wanted to play NRL against Penrith or any other team, I’m sure they’re not going to turn it down, and he was fizzing.

“We’re relying on the other players in the team now to make sure they support him.”

While plenty has been made of Johnson’s dwindling form Chanel Harris-Tavita makes way for Volkman’s entrance.

Harris-Tavita — who will step away from the game at the end of the season for personal reasons — will instead be used as a utility off the bench in a move Jones said brought more balance to the squad.

On Johnson, Jones said the pair have had conversations around the level his game is at and he was imploring the star halfback to seize the opportunity to help guide a young player starting his first-grade career.

“With Shaun, we know he has been struggling,” Jones said. “He’s struggling off the field with a couple of things. I’ve spoken to him and a big focus is to get through this week, then he can see some light at the end of the tunnel and get home.

“I really want Shaun to be a part of the first game when we get home but, for Shaun, let’s just focus on this; then he can focus on getting home. I had a good chat with Shaun this week, and he’ll be right to go.

“He’s excited to get home but knows what he needs to do now. He’s got a really good opportunity to help a young kid out and establish himself as a footy player. You shift a bit of other stuff off him to drive him to make a kid start off a good career.”

Meanwhile, prop Ben MurdochMasila had surgery on Thursday after dislocating his left elbow in last Sunday’s clash against Cronulla.

Murdoch-Masila is expected to be out of action for eight weeks.

Departing Warrior Euan Aitken will also miss at least a week due to concussion.

The Warriors will get a week’s break after tonight’s game due to the representative round, during which the Kiwis take on Tonga at Mt

Smart Stadium in Auckland.

The following week will see the Warriors

return to Mt Smart against Wests Tigers, the team’s first match in

Auckland since 2019.