League: Warriors lined up for Kiwi action

Manu Vatuvei would add important strength to a Kiwis team. Photo / Getty Images

The Beast will be back in black for league's Four Nations tournament - and so will a host of his Warriors teammates - with the club declaring it has no plans to withdraw players from the Kiwis' train-on squad.

The key trio of wing Manu Vatuvei, prop Sam Rapira and back rower Simon Mannering were ruled out of last year's tournament to rest and recuperate after a disappointing 2009 NRL campaign.

While the under-strength Kiwis struggled, failing to qualify for the final after being defeated by England, the move paid dividends for the Warriors with all three recapturing their best form this season.

Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah was still awaiting a full medical assessment after the completion of the club's season but said he didn't see the need to withdraw any of the club's 10 players from an already depleted Kiwis squad.

"It will come down to the final medical review, but I don't think there are any significant [injuries]," Scurrah said.

"We obviously don't want any players playing with injuries that they are going to take into next season. But if they are picked and available to play and they want to play I don't see the club standing in their way."

Vatuvei - who was this week named the club's player of the year after scoring 20 tries in 19 appearances to overhaul Stacey Jones' all-time mark - should be fit to take his place despite a chronic knee complaint that troubled him over the closing stages of the season.

"Manu is okay," Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said.

"The knee is always going to have to be managed carefully but at this stage he is not too bad."

The Four Nations being held in New Zealand and Australia meant it was a special year for the Kiwis, while the reduced travel factor would also lessen the burden on players, Cleary said. "The Four Nations is an important part of the international programme and it is a great feather in the cap for the players."

Centre Jerome Ropati, who missed several matches with an adductor tear and was then ruled out of the finals defeat by Gold Coast with a torn rotator cuff, is the only Warrior in doubt for the Kiwis.

Club doctor John Mayhew said Ropati might have been able to play this weekend had the Warriors still been alive and he expected him to be fit for the Four Nations.

With Steve Matai unavailable due to suspension, a resurgent Ropati would be an important asset for a Kiwis side that could also call upon standout Roosters centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Knights hit man Junior Sa'u.

Manly five-eighths Kieran Foran and Penrith back rower Frank Pritchard have already been ruled out of the tournament. Foran has a shoulder injury that requires surgery, while Pritchard has a serious hamstring injury.

Captain Benji Marshall injured knee ligaments playing for the Tigers during last weekend's defeat by the Roosters but was expected to play against the Raiders last night.