KEY POINTS:
Teenage prop Russell Packer is set to make his National Rugby League debut for the injury-hit New Zealand Warriors in Auckland on Sunday.
The Warriors have just 17 fit players available for the visit of the Canberra Raiders, with veteran prop Ruben Wiki and promising second rower Sonny Fai the latest to join the casualty list.
A hand injury has prevent Wiki, 35, from facing his former club at Mt Smart Stadium.
Fai, 20, picked up a shoulder complaint in the Junior Warriors' win over the Gold Coast last Sunday in the under-20 National Youth Competition.
Another casualty from the weekend is winger Manu Vatuvei, who suffered a leg fracture in the NRL defeat to the Titans.
Also sidelined are prop Steve Price (hamstring), fullback Wade McKinnon (knee), centre Jerome Ropati (hamstring) and winger Patrick Ah Van (neck).
Packer, 18, gets the call after impressive performances in the NYC, having made the most runs, 128, of any player in the competition and gaining an average of more than 180m a game.
He will become the sixth player to make his debut for the Warriors in this year's NRL.
Coach Ivan Cleary said Packer had done everything asked of him with the Junior Warriors.
Packer's elevation also meant the club had a second youngster who had moved from the under-20 side to the NRL this season, after Fai, "which is a good sign for our development programme".
With Vatuvei out for four to six weeks, Aidan Kirk gets a start on the wing, having made an earlier appearance for the Warriors at fullback.
With Price and Wiki both sidelined, backrower Micheal Luck will be captain in his 58th consecutive match since joining the club.
Luck also led the side against the Titans.
Cleary said the Warriors had a great run with lack of injuries last year and the club's fortunes had obviously changed.
"It's something we've had to deal with all year," he said.
"That's the way it is in this competition and now we just have to dig that little bit deeper against Canberra."
The Warriors used only 23 players in 26 matches last year but, with Packer called up this weekend, they will equal that number after just eight matches this season.
New Zealand Warriors: Lance Hohaia, Michael Crockett, Brent Tate, Ryan Shortland, Aidan Kirk, Michael Witt, Grant Rovelli, Sam Rapira, Nathan Fien, Evarn Tuimavave, Simon Mannering, Logan Swann, Micheal Luck (captain). Interchange: Ian Henderson, Russell Packer, Epalahame Lauaki, Wairangi Koopu.
- NZPA
