NRL: Junior star Tupou fills Vatuvei role for Warriors

Manu Vatuvei. Photo / Getty Images

A reverse of the dramatic late call-up for Manu Vatuvei in Saturday's victory over the Bulldogs is the only listed change for the Warriors team to take on Penrith on Sunday at Mt Smart.

Nineteen-year-old Bill Tupou - who scored a hat-trick in the Junior Warriors' first win of the season after making way for Vatuvei - has been named to fill in again.

Tupou impressed on debut against Manly in round four and, with Vatuvei again sidelined for at least another week following a recurrence of his hamstring injury, the youngster could get a chance to build on that effort.

Warriors' coach Ivan Cleary has favoured a cloak-and-dagger selectorial approach this season so more shenanigans for Sunday's match are almost to be expected.

Centre Jerome Ropati, who withdrew from Saturday's match with a hamstring injury, is the player most likely to come into the reckoning, with Micheal Luck (broken finger) also an outside chance.

Ropati is to have more treatment but is expected to be back in full training by the end of the week.

A Ropati comeback could mean a return to the status quo of previous weeks, with Joel Moon reverting to five-eighth and Lance Hohaia to fullback. But with Wade McKinnon hugely impressive in his first start of the year, another option would be to shift Moon to right centre and start stand-in captain Brent Tate on the left wing - with Tupou making way.

That would allow McKinnon to retain his place at the back and Hohaia to start at five-eighth.

But there will be no dramatic return for captain Simon Mannering and prop Steve Price.

Price had an anti-inflammatory injection in his injured heel on Monday and is to be reassessed later this week. At best he faces another two weeks on the sidelines.

Having re-damaged what was a severe hamstring tear suffered pre-season, Mannering is also likely to be out for at least another fortnight.

"He is still down on power and still symptomatic - he notices it during normal activity so obviously it is a decent-sized injury," club doctor John Mayhew said.

First choice halfback Brett Seymour's recovery from a broken thumb has continued to heal well, with Mayhew putting his likely return between two and four weeks.

That timeframe would make him an outside chance of returning to face Melbourne Storm in round seven.

Vatuvei could also return for that match if his hamstring heals as quickly as it did after the initial injury he suffered against Brisbane.

Mt Smart Stadium, 2pm Sunday

WARRIORS
Wade McKinnon
Kevin Locke
Brent Tate (c)
Joel Moon
Bill Tupou
Lance Hohaia
James Maloney
Sam Rapira
Aaron Heremaia
Jesse Royal
Lewis Brown
Ben Matulino
Jacob Lillyman

PANTHERS
Lachlan Coote
Michael Gordon
Michael Jennings
Adrian Purtell
Brad Tighe
Travis Burns
Luke Walsh
Tim Grant
Kevin Kingston
Petero Civoniceva
Trent Waterhouse
Frank Pritchard
Luke Lewis

Warriors: Ian Henderson, Jeremy Latimore, Russell Packer, Ukuma Ta'ai.

Panthers: Nathan Smith, Matthew Bell, Joseph Paulo, Sam McKendry, Masada Iosefa.