NRL: Warriors fitter than they look

Brent Tate and Steve Price sitting out Warriors training yesterday with injury worries. Photo / Greg Bowker

Steve Price walking laps around the outside of a training pitch while Brent Tate carrying water bottles to thirsty teammates isn't the sort of image Warriors' fans would be all that comfortable with as pre-season training nears its business end.

Coupled with captain Simon Mannering's absence due to a hamstring strain, the sight of the club's two crocked marquee players on limited duties doesn't exactly bode well.

But scratch beneath the surface a bit and things don't turn out to be all that bad on the injury front for a club that badly needs to start the NRL season strongly to help consign last year's shambolic campaign to history.

Price is the only player slated to miss the start of the season proper, with the veteran former captain having suffered an infection after off-season heel surgery.

There is no set time for Price's return, although it could be as early as round two.

Both Mannering and Tate, who has a quad muscle tweak, should see some pre-season action.

And as for the host of others who struggled with injury last season, the news is even better.

Manu Vatuvei's knee troubles are behind him, hence his presence in the NRL All Star team that will take on the Indigenous All Stars on Saturday.

Kiwis centre Jerome Ropati's numerous problems are no longer so numerous and prop Sam Rapira, another to sit out the Kiwis' Four Nations tour, is fit as a fiddle.

"It has been great," was coach Ivan Cleary's assessment of the pre-season so far.

Last year at a comparable stage the club had closer to 10 players on the injured list, Cleary said.

"Simon Mannering is probably the best example. He has just looked so good, so much better than this stage last year. It is really his first pre-season ever. I think he's had one before when he was a young bloke and he got hurt.

"He's been fresher, he's been able to train again over a long time without having to play. I guess you could put Sam and Manu in that category as well. I feel really good about those guys so hopefully we will see the benefits."

Tate had also looked in good shape, although he has suffered some muscle complaints as he looks to regain full fitness after a second knee reconstruction in the space of three seasons.

"When he has been training he has looked really good, but he has had some frustrating ones that have come on the back of that," Cleary said.

Ropati and Lance Hohaia have also suffered niggles. Both are back in full training but could well sit out Saturday's match against the Roosters in Rotorua as a precaution.

There will be plenty of interest in how the Warriors shape up over a three-match trial period but, given what followed last season's undefeated pre-season campaign, it will be prudent not to read too much into the results.

Cleary confirmed that new recruit Brett Seymour would be his primary playmaker, but whether he plays halfback or five-eighth and who partners him remains to be seen.

Joel Moon filling the five-eighth slot outside Seymour appears to be Cleary's favoured option at this stage, but James Maloney and Sean Johnson will both receive the chance to press their cases in the coming weeks.

"It's not different to any other year," Cleary said. "It's a chance for everyone to get the rust out and it's a chance to see some young guys and see how they go."