NRL: Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck ruled out of Manly Sea Eagles clash

Roger Tuivasa Sheck suffered an ankle injury late in the Warriors last-start defeat to South Sydney. Photo / Photosport.

Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been ruled out of tomorrow's NRL clash against Manly in Christchurch.

The 25-year-old fullback will miss the match against the Sea Eagles at AMI Stadium, after failing to overcome an ankle injury suffered in the Warriors' defeat to South Sydney two weeks ago.

Tuivasa-Sheck remained in Auckland today, while the rest of the side travelled south ahead of their first game following a break over last week's bye round.

Backline utility Peta Hiku has trained at fullback all week and will slot into the No 1 role, while fellow Kiwi international Gerard Beale comes off the bench to start at right centre.

Coach Stephen Kearney was optimistic the additional time out would give Tuivasa-Sheck a good chance of being back for next Friday's away match against the Cowboys in Townsville.

"He was probably around 50-50 (chance of playing)," said Kearney.

"It was a pretty significant twist of the ankle but he gets another opportunity now with another week off to get it right for next Friday."

Hiku played the first nine games of the season at centre but switched to fullback for the round 11 win over Parramatta in Sydney, when Tuivasa-Sheck chose to stay in Auckland ahead of the birth of his first child.

The versatile 25-year-old was then shifted into the five-eighth role for the following week's match against the Rabbitohs, and on Tuesday was named at centre for this week's game, before Tuivasa-Sheck's absence prompted another reshuffle.

The fourth-ranked Warriors have an eight-and-four record at the midway point of the regular season and are yet to suffer consecutive defeats, despite conceding big scores in three of their past five matches.

They are looking to rediscover the consistency that marked their unbeaten run through the first five rounds, while the 13th placed Sea Eagles are aiming to bounce back from last week's loss to North Queensland.

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