Kiwi international Gerard Beale will make his club debut and Peta Hiku will start at fullback in the Vodafone Warriors' 11th-round NRL clash against Parramatta at ANZ Stadium in Sydney tonight (6.00pm kick-off local time; 8.00pm NZT).
With captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck staying in Auckland to support his fiancée who's expecting the couple's first child, the versatile Hiku moves from the centres to fullback.
When he was Kiwi coach, Stephen Kearney used Hiku in the custodian's role when Tuivasa-Sheck was unavailable for the 2014 Four Nations.
Beale made his return from a long lay-off with the club's Intrust Super Premiership side last week. He comes into the centres, becoming Vodafone Warrior #230.
In a late swap, James Gavet comes into the starting line-up with Bunty Afoa now on the bench.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v PARRAMATTA EELS
8.00pm, Friday, May 18, 2018
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
VODAFONE WARRIORS
3 PETA HIKU
2 DAVID FUSITU’A
18 GERARD BEALE
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 BLAKE GREEN I
7 MASON LINO
16 JAMES GAVET
9 ISSAC LUKE
10 AGNATIUS PAASI
11 ISAIAH PAPALI’I
12 TOHU HARRIS
13 ADAM BLAIR
Interchange:
8 BUNTY AFOA
14 JAZZ TEVAGA
15 CHRIS SATAE
17 SIMON MANNERING
HEAD COACH | STEPHEN KEARNEY
