Vatuvei replaces Inu against Broncos

The Warriors win more often than not when Manu Vatuvei plays and they will hope that trend continues when meet Brisbane in the first weekend of the playoffs on Saturday.

Vatuvei returns to the starting side to face the Broncos after missing two games with a wrist injury. He could have played last weekend against the Cowboys but it was decided not to risk the giant winger.

He has been a vital player for the Warriors over the past seven seasons and has an incredible record of 88 tries in 128 NRL games. He has been quieter this season with "only" 10 in 15 games but defences go out of their way to keep him quiet, which opens up opportunities for team-mates.

Vatuvei replaces the unlucky Krisnan Inu in the starting side. Inu scored a double against the Cowboys and did little wrong in the match but the 25-year-old Vatuvei is an automatic selection on the left wing. Bill Tupou, who has had a solid season, keeps his place on the opposite flank.

Coach Ivan Cleary has made two other changes to the starting side, with Shaun Berrigan and Aaron Heremaia returning from injury.

Berrigan (hip) comes in for Lewis Brown, who drops back to a five-man interchange bench, and Heremaia replaces Alehana Mara.

"With the way we performed against the Cowboys, it was a really difficult side to select but that's the way you want it to be," Cleary said.

"You want to have a squad where you have plenty of depth and competition for positions and, fortunately, that has been the case for us throughout the season."

The Warriors need to win to guarantee passage to the second weekend of the playoffs. If they did that, they would earn a home game.

Under the McIntyre System, the bottom two-ranked losers of the eight teams drop out of the playoffs and the Warriors know only too well the importance of not relying on second chances after they were knocked out of the competition, despite finishing the regular season fifth.

Their prospects this weekend have improved with the suspension of Broncos back-rower Sam Thaiday, who took an early guilty plea to a dangerous throw charge over a tackle on Manly prop Brent Kite. His absence means Ben Te'o moves into the backrow but fullback Josh Hoffman is out with a knee injury.

Warriors: Kevin Locke, Bill Tupou, Joel Moon, Shaun Berrigan, Manu Vatuvei, James Maloney, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Aaron Heremaia, Jacob Lillyman, Feleti Mateo, Simon Mannering (c), Micheal Luck. Interchange: Lewis Brown, Lance Hohaia, Ben Matulino, Russell Packer, Ukuma Ta'ai.