Vodafone Warriors coach Nathan Cayless will find himself in familiar territory facing a familiar foe but at a new stadium in Saturday’s 19th-round Canterbury Cup NSW encounter with Wentworthville at Westbank Stadium in Sydney (12.45pm kick-off local time, 2.45pm NZT).
The former Parramatta captain comes up against the side he used to coach in the competition at a location that was home for him for so long but now bears no resemblance at all to the Parramatta Stadium he knew so well.
It was knocked down and replaced by the flash Westbank Stadium and it’s there that Cayless and his Vodafone Warriors will tangle with the Magpies, Parramatta’s feeder club.
As they all are at this time of the year, it’s a critical contest for both sides.
With their impressive 34-8 demolition of the Newtown Jets last weekend, the Vodafone Warriors climbed into the top eight, sitting eighth on 16 points, two behind the seventh-placed Wentworthville.
The Magpies are coming off a bye after winning their previous three matches. Their last loss happened to be a 16-26 defeat by the Vodafone Warriors at North Harbour Stadium on June 15.
The Vodafone Warriors welcome back two important players with NRL centre Patrick Herbert returning from a hamstring injury and new signing Josh Curran back from suspension. Fullback Adam Pompey, who made his NRL debut last week, is also back as is hooker Tyler Slade.
Last weekend the Canterbury Cup side completed the club’s first clean sweep of all three grades in the one weekend on the back of the NRL team beating Cronulla 19-18 and the Vodafone Junior Warriors shocking Cronulla 16-12 in the Jersey Flegg Cup.
The win achieved against huge odds has left them on 14 points, just a point behind eighth-placed St George Illawarra.
The Vodafone Junior Warriors are back in Auckland this week – at North Harbour Stadium – against a Parramatta side lying 11th on the ladder on eight points.
CANTERBURY CUP NSW
VODAFONE WARRIORS v WENTWORTHVILLE MAGPIES
12.45pm, Saturday, July 27
Westbank Stadium, Sydney
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 ADAM POMPEY
2 LEWIS SOOSEMEA
3 PATRICK HERBERT
4 TAANE MILNE
5 SETU TU
6 HAYZE PERHAM
7 ADAM KEIGHRAN
8 CHRIS SATAE
9 TYLER SLADE
10 JACKSON FREI
11 ADAM TUIMAVAVE-GERRARD
12 LEIVAHA PULU
13 LIGI SAO (c)
Interchange:
14 TEMPLE KALEPO
15 PRESTON RIKI
16 JOSH CURRAN
17 KING VUNIYAYAWA
18 CLAYTON WILLIAMS
COACH | NATHAN CAYLESS
JERSEY FLEGG CUP
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS v PARRAMATTA EELS
11.00am, Saturday, July 27
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
VODAFONE JUNIOR WARRIORS
1 EMANUEL TUIMAVAVE-GERRARD
2 SELESTINO RAVUTAUMADA
3 KAYAL IRO
4 CASEY SMITH
5 EDWARD KOSI
6 PAUL TURNER
7 SIONE MOALA
8 PHILLIP MAKATOA
9 TANIELA OTUKOLO
10 WESLEY VEIKOSO
11 TONI TUPOUNIUA
12 TOM ALE
13 BRODY TAMARUA (c)
Interchange:
14 ISAIAH VAGANA
15 MICHAEL LEMAFA
16 JUNIOR PUA
17 SEMISI SIKEI
18 JYRIS GLAMUZINA
COACH | GREG BOULOUS
