League: Familiar feel to Warriors battling Eels

It's back into starting position for the Warriors, with the two-week suspension of Sione Faumuina for a high tackle allowing Jerome Ropati a shot at five-eighth where he used to play in Bartercard Cup.

Tony Martin shifts back from wing to his usual spot at centre for the game against the Parramatta Eels in Hamilton on Saturday and Todd Byrne, left out last week, starts on the wing. Otherwise it's the team that played well for 70 minutes but was beaten by the Storm.

"The players couldn't be faulted for their effort on Sunday and we didn't want for chances to score either," coach Ivan Cleary said yesterday. "Where we let ourselves down was in our execution as well as a soft period defensively in the second half. They're the primary areas where we have to improve."

Ropati played in the six jersey twice last season but was used mostly at centre. He played his one test for the Kiwis at fullback in the Anzac game in Brisbane last year.

He is an exciting runner with good vision and skills and it will be interesting to see if his stint closer to the action changes selection thinking for the future.

The Warriors are yet to win outside Auckland, losing the first clash with the Eels in Hamilton 28-18 last season.

The west Sydney club will again arrive early and conduct coaching clinics and this year the Warriors are responding, visiting Rakaumanga School total immersion Maori language school. Captain Steve Price and vice-captain Ruben Wiki will later go with hooker Lance Hohaia to his old school, St Paul's Collegiate.

The team is to have a public training session at Waikato Stadium at 4pm on Thursday.

The Warriors' elite development squad, in its fifth match in six weeks, plays Bartercard Cup side Waicoa Bay at Davies Park in Huntly on Saturday at 2.30pm.

* Hamilton, 7.30pm Saturday

NZ Warriors

Brent Webb
Todd Byrne
Tony Martin
Clinton Toopi
Manu Vatuvei
Jerome Ropati
Nathan Fien
Ruben Wiki
Lance Hohaia
Steven Price (c)
Awen Guttenbeil
Micheal Luck
Louis Anderson

Eels

Wade McKinnon
Luke Burt
Ben Smith
Timana Tahu
Eric Grothe
John Morris
Tim Smith
Nathan Cayless (c)
Mark Riddell
Paul Stringer
Nathan Hindmarsh
Chad Robinson
Glenn Morrison

Warriors: Grant Rovelli, Wairangi Koopu, Epalahame Lauaki, Evarn Tuimavave.

Eels: (from) PJ Marsh, Dean Widders, Josh Cordoba, Michael Vella, Daniel Wagon.