Isaiah Papali’i and Issac Luke are in line to make their first NRL appearances of the year for the Vodafone Warriors after being named on an extended bench for Sunday’s clash with the Tigers in Sydney.
Papali’i missed his side’s convincing 40-6 round one victory over the Bulldogs at Mt Smart Stadium last week after being stood down, while hooker Luke was sidelined as he recovers from shoulder surgery.
“Issac is also making good progress in his recovery and is certainly a good chance of playing against the Tigers.”
But as the Vodafone Warriors prepare to square off against the Tigers at Campbelltown Stadium, coach Stephen Kearney has opted to bring both Kiwi internationals back into his squad.
“Isaiah paid the price last week after failing to live up to the standards we expect of our players,” Kearney said.
“He’s full of remorse about what happened and he’s also hungry to win his place back in the side.
“Issac is also making good progress in his recovery and is certainly a good chance of playing against the Tigers.”
After impressing in his NRL debut against the Bulldogs, 21-year-old playmaker Adam Keighran will line up in the halves again alongside seasoned campaigner Blake Green.
There are no changes to the starting side which took the field in round one.
Like the Vodafone Warriors, the Tigers will head into Sunday’s match undefeated after beating the Sea Eagles last week.
“The Tigers played very well against Manly and we will need to be on top of our game this Sunday,” Kearney added.
The match kicks off at 8:10pm (NZT) on Sunday.
WESTS TIGERS v VODAFONE WARRIORS
8.10pm, Sunday, March 24, 2019
Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c)
2 David Fusitu’a
3 Peta Hiku
4 Solomone Kata
5 Ken Maumalo
6 Adam Keighran
7 Blake Green
8 Agnatius Paasi
9 Nathaniel Roache
10 Bunty Afoa
11 Adam Blair
12 Tohu Harris
13 Lachlan Burr
Interchange:
14 Jazz Tevaga
15 Sam Lisone
16 Leeson Ah Mau
17 Isaiah Papali’i
18 Gerard Beale
20 Chanel Harris-Tavita
22 Issac Luke
23 Ligi Sao
