NRL: Berrigan set for number 200

Shaun Berrigan. Photo / Getty Images

Centre Shaun Berrigan will make his 200th NRL appearance when the New Zealand Warriors take an unchanged line-up into Sunday's 20th-round encounter with South Sydney at ANZ Stadium.

The 32-year-old played 186 times for the Brisbane Broncos before spending three seasons with Hull FC in the English Super League from 2008-2010.

He becomes the second player in the Warriors' squad this year to reach the 200-game mark after Micheal Luck achieved the feat against Manly in April.

Berrigan made his Brisbane debut in 1999 in a career which has also included 14 Tests for Australia, 15 Origin appearances for Queensland and almost 70 matches for Hull.

"Shaun is certainly one of the most durable players around today," said Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.

"He's already achieved so many honours in his career and this is another big one. It's a huge achievement for any player to reach 200 games in the NRL."

This Sunday Berrigan will again team up in the centres with his ex-Brisbane team-mate Joel Moon, who returned for his fourth NRL outing of the season in the 36-12 win against Canterbury-Bankstown last Friday night; it was Moon's first appearance since the third-round clash against St George Illawarra in late March.

The Warriors will this weekend play their first away match since losing to North Queensland at Dairy Farmers Stadium on June 18.

With back-to-back wins against Gold Coast and the Bulldogs they are now in sixth spot on 22 points, the two wins also boosting their points for and against differential to plus 31. Wests Tigers, Penrith and Newcastle follow on 20 points while the Rabbitohs, who beat the Roosters 21-20 in golden point extra time last weekend, are one of three teams on 18 points. They're 11th on points for and against.

Jacob Lillyman and Feleti Mateo have again been named in the starting line-up this week although they were both moved to the bench against the Bulldogs with Ben Matulino and Elijah Taylor preferred in the starting line-up.

With 16 points from a try and six goals from six attempts last Friday night, standoff James Maloney lifted his points tally to 309 points in 40 appearances for the Warriors. Although he's still in only his second season in Auckland, Maloney is headed on the club's all-time list by only Stacey Jones (674), Cleary (439), Lance Hohaia (349) and record try-scorer Manu Vatuvei (332).

Captain Simon Mannering, Matulino and Mateo are the only players who have appeared in each of the Warriors' 17 games this season.

Warriors lineup:
1 Kevin Locke
2 Bill Tupou
3 Joel Moon
4 Shaun Berrigan
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 James Maloney
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Russell Packer
9 Aaron Heremaia
10 Jacob Lillyman
11 Feleti Mateo
12 Simon Mannering (c)
13 Micheal Luck

Interchange:
14 Lance Hohaia
15 Sam Rapira
16 Ben Matulino
17 Elijah Taylor

- HERALD ONLINE