League: Warriors hope for a win and no more injuries

Manu Vatuvei shows his disappointment after being sidelined with an injury. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors have two main wishes heading into tomorrow afternoon's showdown with South Sydney - they want to win, and they want to come through injury-free.

Assistant coach Tony Iro has fingered a selection policy that has been more putting Band-Aids on open wounds than revolving-door as a major reason for his team's often stilted attack so far this season.

"It has been hard to get any real good patterns of play," Iro said.

"We just haven't had any continuity of selection. This week we welcome Simon [Mannering] back so that is another change on our edges.

"It would just be nice to get through a game, really, without an injury. We have basically picked up a major one in almost every single game, which has changed our selection for the following week.

"If we can get through this week with everyone healthy and fit then I think we'll see the benefits of that."

A win would level the Warriors' season ledger at 5-5 and add a splash of cement to their precarious place in the top eight. But to get it they'll have to subdue a Rabbitohs side riding high after hammering the Tigers 50-10 last Sunday. They'll also, in all likelihood, have to triumph without key winger Manu Vatuvei - something they have yet to manage this season.

With scans ruling out a fracture, Vatuvei's injury is now thought to be a high ankle sprain. He was "highly unlikely" to feature tomorrow or against the Tigers next Friday night, Iro said.

But the team wasn't concerned about a winless streak without Vatuvei that was beginning to resemble a hoodoo, Iro insisted.

"I don't think we actually think about it like that. He is obviously a highly influential player in the team but I don't think they think about going into a game without Manu.

"Basically it is another opportunity for Bill Tupou to show us what he has got. We know he is a talented kid.

"Regardless of Manu, it is just important we win at home again. We dropped three games in a row at home, which is unacceptable at this level.

"Last week was a good start towards hopefully building something and we have just got to put in another nail [tomorrow] afternoon."

Diminishing the influence of livewire Rabbitohs hooker Isaac Luke will be high on the Warriors' must-do list. The Kiwis star has been in near unstoppable form this season, only twice failing to provide more than 100 metres of go forward for the fifth-placed Rabbitohs.

The Roosters held him to 79m in round one; Parramatta to 86m in round six - coincidentally the Rabbitohs' two heaviest defeats of 2010.

Despite his diminutive stature, Luke has also been prominent in defence. In round four he body-slammed Bulldogs prop Jarred Hickey - a player who outweighed him by 32kg. Hickey ended up hospitalised after coughing up blood.

Luke downplayed the sting in his defence and admitted he was more concerned about finessing the Rabbitohs' offence against the Warriors after it showed signs of clicking against the Tigers.

"It's only really happened in the last game. Sutto [five-eighth John Sutton] is just starting to get back into his footy [after injury] so we're still working on our combinations and figuring when we're going to attack."

Souths are without injured captain and prop Roy Asotasi and Queensland State of Origin debutant Dave Taylor but Luke was confident their absences could be covered by Scott Geddes and second-rower Eddy Pettybourne.

"We've got a lot of depth in our forward pack. I've got faith in those guys."

WARRIORS v RABBITOHS
Mt Smart Stadium, 4pm tomorrow

WARRIORS
Lance Hohaia
Kevin Locke
Brent Tate
Jerome Ropati
Bill Tupou
James Maloney
Brett Seymour
Sam Rapira
Aaron Heremaia
Upu Poching
S. Mannering (c)
Ukuma Ta'ai
Micheal Luck

RABBITOHS
Rhys Wesser
Nathan Merritt
Colin Best
Beau Champion
Fetuli Talanoa
John Sutton
Chris Sandow
Scott Geddes
Issac Luke
Luke Stuart (c)
Sam Burgess
Eddy Pettybourne
Ben Lowe

Interchange
Warriors: Lewis Brown, Ian Henderson, Ben Matulino, Russell Packer, Jesse Royal

Rabbitohs: Garret Crossman, Shannan McPherson, Michael Crocker, Jason Clark, Luke Capewell (one to be omitted).

- additional reporting NZPA