NRL: Heremaia back for Warriors

Aaron Heremaia. Photo / Getty Images

Hooker Aaron Heremaia is set to return in the only line-up change for the New Zealand Warriors' 10th-round NRL encounter with the Knights at Ausgrid Stadium in Newcastle on Sunday.

Heremaia stayed in Auckland last week following a family tragedy but was named today to come back into the side as the starting hooker for the club's fourth away game in five weeks.

Interchange forward Ukuma Ta'ai is also named after returning to Auckland following a family illness. Along with Heremaia he is due to rejoin the team later this week.

Until last Sunday, Heremaia hadn't missed a match for the club since 2009. He appeared in all 25 games last year and was also used in each of the first eight fixtures this season.

With his inclusion Alehana Mara, who was the run-on hooker in last weekend's 34-14 win against Gold Coast, moves to a five-man bench which will be trimmed to four on game day.

The win against the Titans was the Warriors' fifth in their last six games after starting the year with three consecutive defeats.

It was also their biggest win of the season and the first time they had won at Skilled Park. They now sit in eighth spot with 10 points from five wins, just ahead of the Knights in points for and against.

"The performance against the Titans was much improved on our effort against Penrith the previous week, as it needed to be," said Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.

"Obviously we're in a better position than we were after the first few weeks of the season but we still have to keep working really hard if we're to benefit.

"The Knights have been going well so far this season and they'll be refreshed after the week off."

Rather than return home between games, the Warriors have opted to stay in Australia for a week-long camp. They've moved base from Surfers Paradise to Tugun for the next three days before beginning a road trip to Newcastle on Thursday.

Of the 17 players still in Australia, 13 of them travelled to Ipswich yesterday to visit schools in a region devastated by Queensland's floods earlier this year. Simon Mannering, Lance Hohaia, Lewis Brown and Ben Matulino all rested after playing two matches in less than 48 hours, following their appearances for the Kiwis in their 10-20 Anzac Test loss to the Kangaroos. Mannering played every minute of both games.

Sunday's match will edge second rower Feleti Mateo closer to the 100-game milestone when he makes his 97th NRL appearance while Brown will play his 48th career game.

Warriors side:
1 Kevin Locke
2 Krisnan Inu
3 Lewis Brown
4 Simon Mannering (c)
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 James Maloney
7 Brett Seymour
8 Russell Packer
9 Aaron Heremaia
10 Jacob Lillyman
11 Feleti Mateo
12 Elijah Taylor
13 Micheal Luck

Interchange:
Lance Hohaia, Jeremy Latimore, Alehana Mara, Ben Matulino, Ukuma Ta'ai.

- HERALD ONLINE