KEY POINTS:
Warriors wing Manu Vatuvei played his demons out in front of the cameras at Mt Smart during the week, taking repeat high kicks in preparation for the game against 2007 semifinalists the Eels tomorrow.
Vatuvei showed no problems with technique or security of the ball.
His team-mates expressed full confidence in him, some pointing to the first try he scored where he danced the sideline, held off multiple tacklers and got the ball down. No other wing in the NRL could have scored that try, they said, and the side was better off with Vatuvei than without him.
It was against the Eels that the big wing had his worst game last season, fluffing high bombs and ground grubbers and allowing the Eels easy tries in a cruise to victory. Clearly, the problem was mental rather than mechanical as he quickly overcame it after a short spell in reserve grade.
So he can overcome the demons again. And with his strike rate at 31 tries from 59 games, the players are right in believing they need him. Scoring the try in Melbourne should have lifted his confidence.
The kick-covering session shows the Warriors obviously expect to be subjected to a barrage from the Eels. Brent Tate showed no sign of knee soreness as he leapt to compete for kicks.
Captain Steve Price will remain an integral part of the squad during his rehabilitation for a hamstring tear. He does not need surgery, just rest.
Price said it was a painful injury - he'd gone to step off his left foot and "it wasn't there". He'd put the knee out too as he fell. "I certainly knew it was something unusual, I hadn't done anything like that before. Jude [trainer Spears] asked me `can you run' and I said no and came off." The knee slotted back when treated by medics.
Price hopes he can return sooner than the eight weeks it may take to heal. "[I'll] offer as much support as I can off the field, try and be around and be a help rather than a hindrance, be as positive as possible," he said.
Injured fullback Wade McKinnon travelled with the side to Melbourne last week as bag man and to offer support. Price is expected to do similar.
Coach Ivan Cleary was far from despondent after reviewing the loss to the Storm. "Potential" summed up the game for him, he said. "A lot of things were good, then we let ourselves down so we couldn't mount any pressure.
"I was happy with how we controlled the play-the-ball against the best team in the competition. The effort and intensity was there, it was just [poor] execution and too many mistakes."
Vatuvei had worked hard and shown good character after dropping two crucial kicks and the team and coaches had faith in him, Cleary said. They had worked hard to build leadership in the club and now looked to Sam Rapira, Evarn Tuimavave and Epalahame Lauaki in particular to step up to cover the loss of Price.
Club chief executive Wayne Scurrah said no precedent had been set in the decision to deny the Storm's request that Tate give evidence on behalf of Storm skipper Cameron Smith, who was charged with applying a grapple tackle to Tate. The Storm rang Tate a number of times, Scurrah said. The player informed management and the management "said no, in this case it's not appropriate, so the club took that away from Brent".
Asked if they considered the tackle a grapple type, Scurrah said, "Yeah, that's what he was charged with and he pleaded guilty to it." Future cases would be dealt with individually. The Warriors did not expect other clubs to blanket-ban their players from ever assisting a Warrior who might be charged as a retaliation.
Scurrah laughed off Melbourne's accusation of unfairness: They had tried to stop invocation of special arrangements to cope with heat that are allowed under NRL rules, including a quarter-time break and an extended halftime; they had kept players waiting on the field for three minutes prior to kick-off and after halftime, presumably in the belief the Warriors would not cope with the 30C heat as well as the Storm players.
But Scurrah admitted admiration for "how much they focus on winning, on and off the field".
Warriors under-20s: Kevin Locke, Rusty Bristow, Kurt Kara, Ray Wallace, Isaac John, Jody Henry, Russell Packer, Jason Tou, Leeson Ah Mau, Ben Matulino, Scott Jones, Daniel O'Regan (c); interchange from Nafe Seluini, Eddy Purcell, Sione Lousi, Elijah Taylor, Sivatonga Likiliki, Angus Cameron, Upu Poching, Thomas Ah Van.
WARRIORS
Mt Smart Stadium, tomorrow 4pm
Aidan Kirk
Patrick Ah Van
Brent Tate
Jerome Ropati
Manu Vatuvei
Michael Witt
Grant Rovelli
Sam Rapira
Nathan Fien
Ruben Wiki (c)
Simon Mannering
Logan Swann
Micheal Luck
EELS
Luke Burt
Taulima Tautai
Joel Reddy
Jarryd Hayne
Eric Grothe
Feleti Mateo
Brett Finch
N. Cayless (c)
Mark Riddell
Fuifui Moimoi
N. Hindmarsh
Todd Lowrie
Daniel Wagon
Warriors: Lance Hohaia, Evarn Tuimavave, Epalahame Lauaki, Sonny Fai
Eels (from): Matt Keating, Josh Cordoba, Weller Hauraki, Junior Paulo, Brendon Oake, Joe Galuvao.
