KEY POINTS:
Lance Hohaia is preparing for the news he perhaps doesn't deserve - that he will be dropped to the bench after one of his best games in a Warriors jersey.
The 25-year-old was outstanding against the Sydney Roosters on Friday night, scoring two tries and setting up another for Manu Vatuvei. But he looks destined for a return to the interchange bench as fullback Wade McKinnon is available again after a three-match suspension for giving a touch judge a liquid spray.
"I'm fairly happy with how I went," Hohaia said after the Warriors' 30-13 win. "It's obviously up to the coach to decide what position I play. I'm still really excited. Hopefully I will still be in the team somewhere and I'm looking forward to next week.
"It would be a little bit disappointing [to drop to the bench] but it's something you can't really help. I can play other positions as well. Wade is obviously an out-and-out fullback and will probably get the job next weekend. If I go back to the bench, I am pretty happy with that as well."
Coach Ivan Cleary admitted he had a dilemma but it was welcome.
"It's a great problem to have," he said. "To have Wade back is a big boost, but Lance was outstanding.
"It was always going to be a hard game, particularly for a fullback with the kicking game the Roosters have and a little bit of dew. I thought he handled it great. He was very, very good. I guess it's the sort of problem you hope for: one, that we have a game next week and, two, that guys are fighting to get in the squad."
Hohaia has made an art form of trying to get into the squad.
Since making his NRL debut as a green 19-year-old in 2002, he has learned almost as many positions as in the Kama Sutra.
He started at five-eighth in the Warriors' run to the 2002 grand final and has slotted in at halfback, hooker, centre and now fullback.
Being a utility can often be a poisoned chalice and Hohaia found himself playing reserve grade football last season. Many even wondered if his Warriors career was coming to an end when he had once been lauded as 'the new Stacey Jones'.
But he could now be considered one of their more prized possessions. There are surely few players in the competition who can play as many roles as he has and it is invaluable in the era of fewer interchanges.
Fullback seems to agree with Hohaia. He doesn't provide the excitement and unpredictability of McKinnon, nor the defensive organisation nor natural instinct, but he has exceeded all expectations and grown into the role over the season.
"I think the best thing about fullback is there's a lot of running and that's probably the best part of my game and what I like to do," he said.
"I had to learn a lot about the position when I was handed the job. I had never played there before but I was confident I could play well, and so was the coach, and that's all I needed. I just try to improve every game and I think I have done that. I have really enjoyed it this year and am excited about next weekend."
If the Warriors beat Manly on Saturday, it would be a second grand final for the Huntly Express. It would also be an experience he would treasure more.
"When I was a kid it was all a blur. I don't have too many memories of what it was like. It was a rollercoaster ride. This time I will cherish each game more.
"I feel a bit more relaxed and a bit more mature as a person and a player. I will be a lot calmer this time around if we make the final."
