League: Little men likely to roar for Tigers

West Tigers' Kiwi Benji Marshall will have the Warriors marking closely at Mt Smart tonight. Picture / Kenny Rodger

The little men may be the big winners in the Warriors v Wests Tigers contest at Mt Smart Stadium tonight. And the Tigers have the best of those.

Though most opposing coaches talk up the size of the Warriors' pack, they will field props and backrowers smaller than the Tigers.

In the combination between hooker Robbie Farah, halfback Scott Prince and five-eighth Benji Marshall, the Tigers have the winning of the game because the Warriors do not have the same speed off the mark, a kicking game to match the Tigers nor the individual flair of that trio.

Farah is arguably the third-best hooker in the NRL behind the two State of Origin contestants Danny Buderus and Cameron Smith. It is his dummy-half play and dummy-half running that starts the roll for the Tigers and bench player Dene Halatau is a better than average replacement. So the Warriors marker defence must be excellent, a level it has rarely reached this season.

The Warriors' 26-10 win over the Tigers in Christchurch earlier in the year will give them some confidence, though in that game the Tigers were without Marshall. Tonight they are without fullback, captain and goal-kicking ace Brett Hodgson who is with the Blues Origin side but the Warriors' loss of their skipper Steve Price will hurt them more as the Tigers have able leaders up front in John Skandalis and Todd Payten.

Unavailable for the Tigers were Liam Fulton (shoulder), gone for the season, Ben Galea (hamstring) out until the next round and Sam Harris (ankle) who is expected back in round 15. The Warriors had their full complement to choose from so bar the absence of both captains, both sides are close to top-strength.

Both have newcomers at prop named on their benches, the Warriors with Sam Rapira, 19, from Huntly and the Tigers with Taniela Tuiaka, 24, formerly from Auckland and with a background in rugby. Tuiaka is 105kg but is the lightest of the Tigers props, Payten weighing 112kg, Skandalis 107kg, Keith Galloway 112kg and the rest of the pack are all over 100kg.

All the Warriors props, Wiki, Tuimavave and Rapira are around 106kg and the backrowers all around 100kg. It is out the back the Warriors have the size advantage with the likes of Manu Vatuvei. Brent Webb should be smarter and more able than his fullback counterpart and Hodgson's replacement Shannon McDonnell.

McDonnell is known for his speed but at 18 and with just a handful of games he is sure to be a target of the Warriors' kicking game, though that frequently lacks the accuracy to allow the chasers to mount pressure.

The key to a win for the home side is tight defence with no mental lapses, plus holding on to the ball.

The Tigers continue to bring on several promising young New Zealanders, some like hooker/halfback Rangi Chase having gone through the feeder ranks at Keebra Park High on the Gold Coast as Benji Marshall did and others coming through at Balmain and Wests, among them Bronson Harrison, who is marked as a future Kiwi, and Sam Moa who was Junior Kiwis prop last year.

Stats

The Warriors have won four of 10 encounters with the merger club since 1999.

They have won the last three games at Mt Smart and they won 26-10 at Jade Stadium, Christchurch in round three this year.

Warriors v Tigers
Mt Smart Stadium, 7.30 tonight

WARRIORS

Brent Webb

Manu Vatuvei

Tony Martin

Simon Mannering

Misi Taulapapa

Jerome Ropati

Grant Rovelli

Ruben Wiki (c)

Nathan Fien

Evarn Tuimavave

Awen Guttenbeil

Wairangi Koopu

Sione Faumuina

Interchange: George Gatis, Sam Rapira, Louis Anderson, Micheal Luck.

TIGERS

S. McDonnell

Daniel Fitzhenry

Dean Collis

Paul Whatuira

Shane Elford

Benji Marshall

Scott Prince (c)

Todd Payten (c)

Robbie Farah

John Skandalis

Bryce Gibbs

A. Laffranchi

Jamaal Lolesi

Interchange: Chris Heighington, Dene Halatau, Keith Galloway, Taniela Tuiaka, Bronson Harrison.