Veteran Vodafone Warriors front rower Sam Rapira and playmaker Chad Townsend are both turning out for the club’s New South Wales Cup side in today’s vital 24th- round match against the Newtown Jets at Mount Smart Stadium No 2 (1.00pm kick-off).
Rapira and Townsend were originally named in the club’s 20-man squad for tomorrow’s NRL encounter with the Sydney Roosters.
Rapira will start in the front row and Townsend at halfback in a match the seventh-placed Vodafone Warriors need to win to both end a three-game losing run and firm up their bid to play in the finals.
There are other line-up changes, too, with Solomone Kata now starting on the wing instead of Ngataua Hukatai and Carlos Tuimavave and Michael Sio in the centres for Kata and Ken Maumalo.
Taking Tuimavave’s place in the halves is Sam Cook while Upu Poching moves to the bench to make way for Rapira.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v NEWTOWN JETS
Mount Smart Stadium No 2, Auckland
1.00pm, Saturday, August 23
Referee: Shane Rehm
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 STEVE WAETFORD (c)
4 SOLOMONE KATA
15 MICHAEL SIO
6 CARLOS TUIMAVAVE
5 JARROD TUA
7 SAM COOK
22 CHAD TOWNSEND
8 SAM LOUSI
9 SILIVA HAVILI
20 SAM RAPIRA
11 RAYMOND FAITALA-MARINER
12 JOHN PALAVI
13 AGNATIUS PAASI
Interchange:
10 UPU POCHING
14 ALBERT VETE
16 ABRAHAM PAPALII
17 DAVID BHANA
COACH: ROHAN SMITH
