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Tuimoala Lolohea will again start at fullback for the Vodafone Warriors tonight. Image | www.photosport.co.nz

Tuimoala Lolohea will start at fullback with Sam Tomkins ruled out of tonight’s 13th-round NRL clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at nib Stadium in Perth (3.30pm kick-off local time, 7.30pm NZT).

Tomkins returned from a knee injury in last Sunday’s 24-20 win over Newcastle but, while he saw out the match, he took another knock on his troublesome knee.

It was hoped he would recover to take his place again tonight but he has been ruled out.

His absence means Lolohea moves from right centre to fullback with Jonathan Wright moving in from the wing to fill Lolohea’s spot and Ken Maumalo, who became Vodafone Warrior No 201 against Parramatta, brought in on the wing for his second NRL appearance.

There is also a change at hooker again. As head coach Andrew McFadden did last week, he has brought Siliva Havili off the bench to start at hooker with Nathan Friend on the interchange.

While the Vodafone Warriors face a huge challenge beating the premieship-winning Rabbitohs in Perth, they'll also be under the pump as soon as the game is over, rushing to get straight off the field and out of the ground as quickly as possible to catch their Air New Zealand flight home at 7.50 tonight local time (less than two and a half hours after the game finishes).

They're due to arrive in Auckland at 6.10 tomorrow morning giving them as much time as possible to prepare for next Saturday night's 14th-round clash against the Sydney Roosters at Mount Smart Stadium.

 

SOUTH SYDNEY v VODAFONE WARRIORS

nib Stadium, Perth

3.30pm, Saturday, June 06

Referees: Jared Maxwell and Chris Butler

 

VODAFONE WARRIORS

3        TUIMOALA LOLOHEA

21       KEN MAUMALO

2        JONATHAN WRIGHT

4        SOLOMONE KATA

5        MANU VATUVEI

6        CHAD TOWNSEND

7        SHAUN JOHNSON

8        JACOB LILLYMAN

14      SILIVA HAVILI

10      BEN MATULINO

11      BODENE THOMPSON

12      RYAN HOFFMAN

13      SIMON MANNERING (c)

Interchange:

9        NATHAN FRIEND

15      SEBASTINE IKAHIHIFO

16      SAM LISONE

17      ALBERT VETE

HEAD COACH: ANDREW McFADDEN

Acknowledgement of Country

The New Zealand Warriors honour the mana of the Indigenous peoples of Aotearoa, Australia and the Pacific. We acknowledge the traditional kaitiaki of the lands, elders past and present, their stories, their traditions, their mamae and their mana motuhake.

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