Blake Green has been listed to return at halfback for the Vodafone Warriors’ sixth-round NRL clash against North Queensland at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday (7.30pm kick-off).
The veteran 32-year-old missed last Saturday’s narrow 24-28 loss to South Sydney after going down with a leg injury in the warm-up ahead of the Sunshine Coast contest.
Vodafone Warriors head coach Stephen Kearney is hopeful treatment will have the key playmaker fit to be reunited with rookie standoff Chanel Harris-Tavita to take on the Cowboys.
Another feature of the squad announced today is the inclusion of hooker Nathaniel Roache on the extended eight-man bench. Roache has been side-lined with a leg injury since his impressive try-scoring performance in the club’s season-opening 40-6 win over the Bulldogs.
Interchange prop Bunty Afoa will bring up his 50th milestone appearance for the club this week in his sixth consecutive outing of the season.
The Vodafone Warriors will be seeking to even up their ledger with their third win of the season on Saturday.
The Cowboys come into the encounter on the back of four straight losses. They opened their campaign with a home win over St George Illawarra but have since lost away to Brisbane 10-29 followed by three home defeats by Cronulla (16-42), Canberra (12-30) and Melbourne (12-18).
The Vodafone Warriors have a 20-19 edge in 39 meetings between the two sides with a 14-6 advantage in Mount Smart Stadium clashes.
VODAFONE WARRIORS v NORTH QUEENSLAND COWBOYS
7.30pm, Saturday, April 20, 2019
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ROGER TUIVASA-SHECK (c)
2 DAVID FUSITU’A
3 PETA HIKU
4 SOLOMONE KATA
5 KEN MAUMALO
6 CHANEL HARRIS-TAVITA
7 BLAKE GREEN
8 AGNATIUS PAASI
9 ISSAC LUKE
10 LEESON AH MAU
11 ADAM BLAIR
12 TOHU HARRIS
13 LACHLAN BURR
Interchange:
14 JAZZ TEVAGA
15 SAM LISONE
16 BUNTY AFOA
17 ISAIAH PAPALI’I
18 NATHANIEL ROACHE
20 LEIVAHA PULU
21 GERARD BEALE
22 PATRICK HERBERT
HEAD COACH | STEPHEN KEARNEY
