NRL: Captain Mannering ready to lead

New Warriors captain Simon Mannering has battled injury for most of the offseason but is expected to play against the Titans. Photo / Getty Images

Simon Mannering didn't want to take the field for his debut in 2005.

It was against the Broncos for the Warriors' 10th anniversary celebrations and he didn't want to go on and "stuff things up".

He needn't have worried. The Warriors won and Mannering set up a try in his 29 minutes on the Mt Smart Stadium field.

The 23-year-old can't have any doubts next weekend when the Warriors open their 2010 season against the Titans on the Gold Coast. Mannering is now captain and his team-mates will look to him to drive them along.

It is still an odd concept that Steve Price remains in the side but isn't skipper. The 35-year-old (he's 36 next week) loved having the job and loved being the club's spokesman and leader and it's hoped his demotion doesn't have a Samson-type effect on him.

Mannering knows the captaincy issue will be talked about for much of the season, whichever way their results go. It was a surprise to him when he was asked by coach Ivan Cleary, albeit a pleasant one, and he realises the standing Price has among the public.

It wasn't as high with his team-mates, however, and, along with limited success over five years, was what prompted the club to act. Cleary is convinced he's made the right decision.

It places additional pressure on Mannering but he is more of a player's player than Price. He's more one of the boys and hopes nothing changes in that respect.

"I hope I can remain one of the boys," he says in his relaxed demeanour. "I'm not trying to change. I will try to be me. The things I do throughout the year will have to change. "But I'm just going to try to be true to myself and if I feel something needs to be said or done, I will do it. I'm not going to be out there screaming my head off. I'm not going to try to be someone I'm not."

Mannering isn't always comfortable being in the public eye. He's shy, bashful even, but is a player his team-mates respect.

A lot of that comes from the fact he's now played 100 NRL games - 92 consecutively between 2006 and 2009 - as well as 19 tests for the Kiwis. His durability and defensive capabilities make up a lot of what defines him as a player and it will help the Warriors to have their captain on the field for the full 80 minutes.

"It's part of the job," Mannering says of being in the public eye. "I have always said I enjoy the playing side better, as any player would say. "But it's nothing I don't want to do. If you're going to be captain, you're going to have these things. Hopefully there's nothing too daunting.

"It was a surprise [when I was asked] but it's something you strive for as a player. You're not going to turn down an opportunity like that. I'm very excited and privileged to have the job. "Steve has done a great job over the last five years and he was disappointed but I'm sure he will get himself in the best position to play well this year."

Mannering has been battling to be fit for the start of the season. He missed last year's Four Nations tournament because of a knee injury and was troubled by a hamstring injury for much of pre-season, which has disrupted the Warriors' build-up.

But he's expected to play against the Titans - if he doesn't Micheal Luck is likely to lead the side - and will certainly be there for the first home game against the Sharks.

"It will feel different [running out of the tunnel first]," he says. "I am looking forward to it. It won't completely hit me [that I'm captain] until I take the field. There will be nerves - there always are for the first game - but more than anything I'm just really excited."

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