Sam RAPIRA [
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Tue May 15, 2012
Source: www.warriors.co.nzGlen Fisiiahi has been recalled at fullback and Sam Rapira is back on the bench for the Warriors 11th-round match against Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Friday night.
Fisiiahi comes in for unlucky veteran Jerome Ropati, now out of action for up to eight weeks after dislocating the patella in his left knee in last Saturday night's clash with the Sydney Roosters.
It was the same knee Ropati had season-ending surgery on after suffering ACL damage in last year's third-round encounter with St George Illawarra.
Rapira makes his comeback from an ankle injury, selected on the bench replacing Ukuma Ta'ai, who made his 50th NRL appearance last weekend.
Ropati's latest injury setback continues a frustrating run for players used at fullback by the Vodafone Warriors in recent weeks. The 27-year-old was impressive when he started there against South Sydney on April 15 before being forced off with a hamstring injury after 47 minutes.
In the Anzac Day encounter with Melbourne, Ropati's replacement Kevin Locke - who had earlier been side-lined with a leg injury - lasted only six minutes before leaving the field with a sternum complaint.
Ropati recovered from his hamstring injury to play the full 80 minutes in the 30-20 victory over Brisbane on May 5 before being struck down in a heavy tackle against the Roosters.
Fisiiahi will make his seventh NRL appearance, his third this season after being used at fullback for the injured Locke in the away games against the Roosters and Canberra in April.
The 21-year-old has been in prolific try-scoring form for the Vodafone Warriors' feeder side the Auckland Vulcans playing in the New South Wales Cup. He snared another hat-trick against Windsor last weekend giving him 18 tries already this year.
"Kevin was a chance to come back but he's still not quite right," said Vodafone Warriors head coach Brian McClennan.
"We won't take any risks there so he'll have another week off. That gives Glen another opportunity in the NRL."
Rapira, the club's most experienced front rower, makes his return to reunite last year's regular propping quartet for the first time this season; it follows Jacob Lillyman's long-awaited comeback in the ninth-round won over Brisbane. Rapira (127 appearances) and Lillyman (126) are both named on the bench with Ben Matulino (96) and Russell Packer (87) the starting front rowers. Also on the interchange is Sione Lousi, who has featured impressively in all 10 matches so far in this campaign. The others on the bench are Lewis Brown and Pita Godinet.
Little separates the Vodafone Warriors and Wests Tigers. The Vodafone Warriors are coming off back-to-back home wins, giving them a five win-five loss record and holding eighth spot on the ladder. The Tigers picked up two points from their bye last week and also sit on 10 points having won their last three games, the last two 15-14 against Gold Coast and 31-30 against Parramatta.
They'll be without captain Robbie Farah who has been selected in the New South Wales side for next week's first State of Origin match. The Vodafone Warriors three Origin contenders James Maloney and Feleti Mateo, both New South Wales, and Queenslander Lillyman were all overlooked.
Maloney takes great goal-kicking form into the match, having kicked 10 from 10 conversion attempts in the home wins over the Broncos and the Roosters.
The Vodafone Warriors fly to Sydney tomorrow afternoon.
NZ WARRIORS v WESTS TIGERS
Leichhardt Oval, Balmain
7.30pm, Friday, May 12
1 Glen Fisiiahi
2 Bill Tupou
3 Ben Henry
4 Konrad Hurrell
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 James Maloney
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Russell Packer
9 Alehana Mara
10 Ben Matulino
11 Elijah Taylor
12 Simon Mannering [c]
13 Feleti Mateo
14 Lewis Brown
15 Sam Rapira
16 Sione Lousi
17 Jacob Lillyman
18 Pita Godinet
Coach: Brian McClennan
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- Follow Rleague.com on Twitter - www.twitter.com/rleaguecomTue March 27, 2012
Source: www.warriors.co.nzSenior front rower Sam Rapira is set to make his first NRL appearance of the season after being named on the bench for the Warriors Round 5 clash against the Roosters at Allianz Stadium (SFS) on Saturday night.
He has been included on a six-man interchange bench after being sidelined with a shoulder injury since the club's second preseason trial against South Sydney at Coffs Harbour on February 11.
The 24-year-old, 123-game veteran has been selected in jersey No 17 on a bench which also includes Kiwi prop Russell Packer and Ukuma Ta'ai.
Vodafone Warriors head coach Brian McClennan has named a starting line-up showing just one change from the run-on combination used against the Titans - second rower Feleti Mateo is listed to start with Lewis Brown moving to the bench.
"It's great having Sam ready this week," he said.
"He was close against Gold Coast but the decision was made to give him another week."
Also named are fullback Kevin Locke and winger Manu Vatuvei, who both came out of the 26-6 win against the Titans requiring medical attention. Vatuvei sat out most of the second half with his left hamstring iced but he trained today and is on target for his 137th career match on Saturday night. Locke is recovering from a cork above his right knee.
"Kevin didn't train today but we're hopeful he'll pull through. We'll give him as much time as we can to recover," said McClennan.
Glen Fisiiahi, who played four NRL matches last year, has been included on the bench. He has scored nine tries in his last two New South Wales Cup matches for the Auckland Vulcans, six against Western Suburbs on March 17 and three against Manly last Saturday; in all he has 10 in four matches so far this season.
Named in the centres again are Jerome Ropati and Ben Henry, who combined to make 40 tackles between them last Saturday with just one miss and no ineffective tackles. Ropati also gained 136 metres from 14 runs, earning him the players' player of the day award from his team-mates as the Vodafone Warriors' racked up their second win of the season, their first at home this year and the 200th in the club's history.
The match performance and acknowledgement from his peers was a boost for Ropati as he came through just his second full 80-minute outing since his season-ending knee injury against St George Illawarra on March 27 last year.
In scoring five tries against Gold Coast, the Vodafone Warriors now have 18 tries in four games and a total of 100 points scored (only the Melbourne Storm have more). The defensive effort was easily their best of the season so far, holding the Titans scoreless until the 75th minute. Loose forward Elijah Taylor and hooker Nathan Friend shouldered the bulk of the workload with 89 tackles between them, Taylor with a game-high 47 and Friend with 42.
The Vodafone Warriors will encounter a Roosters side chastened by a humiliating 4-44 loss to the Storm last Sunday. In the clashes between the two sides last year, the Vodafone Warriors won 24-12 at Mount Smart Stadium while the Roosters prevailed 13-6 in Sydney on a night when Shaun Johnson made his NRL debut.
The Vodafone Warriors fly to Sydney on Friday and will go into camp in Australia after the match to prepare for another away game against Canberra on Easter Day (Sunday, April 8).
For much of next week the team will be based at Kiama on the southern New South Wales coast before heading to the Australian capital.
NZ WARRIORS v SYDNEY ROOSTERS
Allianz Stadium, Randwick
7.30pm, Saturday, March 31
Referees: Tony Archer and Tony De Las Heras
1 Kevin Locke
2 Bill Tupou
3 Ben Henry
4 Jerome Ropati
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 James Maloney
7 Shaun Johnson
8 Sione Lousi
9 Nathan Friend
10 Ben Matulino
11 Feleti Mateo
12 Simon Mannering [c]
13 Elijah Taylor
14 Russell Packer
15 Ukuma Ta'ai
16 Lewis Brown
17 Sam Rapira
18 Glen Fisiiahi
20 Konrad Hurrell
Coach: Brian McClennan
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======================================================================================================
 2012 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
5 games; [View] Round 5 [31 Mar 12] L 8-26 v Roosters (A). [BE]
[View] Round 6 [08 Apr 12] L 12-32 v Canberra (A). [BE]
[View] Round 7 [15 Apr 12] W 44-22 v Souths (H). [BE]
[View] Round 8 [25 Apr 12] L 14-32 v Melbourne (A). [BE]
[View] Round 11 [18 May 12] L 22-24 v Wests Tigers (A). [BE]
======================================================================================================
2011 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
19 games; 1 tries, 4 points.
[View] Round 1 [12 Mar 11] L 18-24 v Eels (H). [BE]
[View] Round 2 [19 Mar 11] L 12-20 v Wests Tigers (A). [BE]
[View] Round 3 [27 Mar 11] L 12-25 v Dragons (H). [PR]
[View] Round 4 [03 Apr 11] W 26-18 v Cronulla (A). [BE]
[View] Round 5 [09 Apr 11] W 24-12 v Roosters (H). [PR]
[View] Round 6 [16 Apr 11] L 10-20 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR]
[View] Round 7 [25 Apr 11] W 18-14 v Storm (A). [PR]
[View] Round 8 [01 May 11] W 26-18 v Panthers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 18 [08 Jul 11] W 22-6 v Titans (H). [BE]
[View] Round 19 [15 Jul 11] W 36-12 v Canterbury (H). [BE]
[View] Round 20 [24 Jul 11] W 48-16 v Rabbitohs (A). [BE]
[View] Round 21 [31 Jul 11] W 29-10 v Canberra (H). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 22 [06 Aug 11] L 20-21 v Broncos (A). [BE]
[View] Round 23 [13 Aug 11] W 20-12 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 24 [20 Aug 11] W 26-12 v Panthers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 25 [28 Aug 11] L 22-26 v Dragons (A). [PR]
[View] Round 26 [03 Sep 11] W 18-6 v North Qld (H). [PR]
[View] Finals Week 1 [10 Sep 11] L 10-40 v Brisbane. [PR]
[View] Finals Week 2 [16 Sep 11] W 22-20 v Wests Tigers. [BE]
======================================================================================================
2011 International Test Matches
New Zealand
1 games; [View] Bill Kelly Cup [06 May 11] L 10-20 v Australia (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================
2010 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
15 games; 1 tries, 4 points.
[View] Round 1 [14 Mar 10] L 18-24 v Titans (A). [PR]
[View] Round 2 [20 Mar 10] W 30-16 v Sharks (H). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 3 [28 Mar 10] W 48-16 v Broncos (A). [BE]
[View] Round 4 [04 Apr 10] L 6-14 v Sea Eagles (H). [BE]
[View] Round 5 [10 Apr 10] W 30-24 v Bulldogs (A). [PR]
[View] Round 6 [18 Apr 10] L 12-40 v Panthers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 7 [25 Apr 10] L 6-40 v Storm (A). [PR]
[View] Round 8 [01 May 10] L 16-23 v Raiders (H). [PR]
[View] Round 10 [15 May 10] W 24-12 v Cowboys (H). [PR]
[View] Round 11 [23 May 10] W 26-24 v Rabbitohs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 22 [07 Aug 10] W 37-10 v Sharks (A). [BE]
[View] Round 23 [15 Aug 10] W 22-10 v Knights (H). [BE]
[View] Round 24 [21 Aug 10] L 16-19 v Sea Eagles (A). [BE]
[View] Round 26 [04 Sep 10] W 26-12 v Eels (A). [PR]
[View] Finals Week 1 [10 Sep 10] L 16-28 v Titans. [PR]
======================================================================================================
2010 International Test Matches
New Zealand
1 games; [View] Anzac Test Match [07 May 10] L 8-12 v Australia (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================
2009 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
23 games; 2 tries, 8 points.
[View] Round 1 [14 Mar 09] W 26-18 v Eels (H). [BE]
[View] Round 2 [22 Mar 09] W 26-24 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR]
[View] Round 3 [28 Mar 09] L 10-26 v Broncos (H). [BE]
[View] Round 4 [05 Apr 09] L 16-22 v Rabbitohs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 5 [12 Apr 09] L 22-24 v Knights (A). [PR]
[View] Round 6 [19 Apr 09] W 17-16 v Roosters (H). [PR]
[View] Round 7 [25 Apr 09] D 14-14 v Storm (A). [BE]
[View] Round 10 [17 May 09] L 12-34 v Cowboys (H). [BE]
[View] Round 11 [24 May 09] L 12-38 v Raiders (A). [BE]
[View] Round 12 [31 May 09] W 14-0 v Tigers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 13 [07 Jun 09] L 10-18 v Sharks (A). [PR]
[View] Round 14 [12 Jun 09] W 13-0 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 16 [27 Jun 09] L 12-28 v Titans (A). [PR]
[View] Round 17 [03 Jul 09] L 14-28 v Broncos (A). [PR]
[View] Round 18 [12 Jul 09] L 14-18 v Bulldogs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 19 [19 Jul 09] W 30-24 v Roosters (A). [PR]
[View] Round 20 [26 Jul 09] L 4-29 v Dragons (H). [PR]
[View] Round 21 [01 Aug 09] D 32-32 v Panthers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 22 [09 Aug 09] L 10-30 v Titans (H). [PR]
[View] Round 23 [15 Aug 09] L 4-40 v Eels (A). [PR]
[View] Round 24 [23 Aug 09] W 34-20 v Raiders (H). [PR]
[View] Round 25 [30 Aug 09] L 20-40 v Bulldogs (A). [PR] 8 Pts; 2t
[View] Round 26 [05 Sep 09] L 0-30 v Storm (H). [PR]
======================================================================================================
2008 World Cup
New Zealand
4 games; [View] Pool A [26 Oct 08] L 6-30 v Australia. [BE]
[View] Pool A [01 Nov 08] W 48-6 v PNG. [BE]
[View] Semi Finals [15 Nov 08] W 32-22 v England. [BE]
[View] Final [22 Nov 08] W 34-20 v Australia. [BE]
======================================================================================================
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
26 games; 2 tries, 8 points.
[View] Round 1 [17 Mar 08] L 18-32 v Storm (A). [PR]
[View] Round 2 [23 Mar 08] W 30-16 v Eels (H). [PR]
[View] Round 3 [31 Mar 08] L 6-52 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR]
[View] Round 4 [06 Apr 08] W 26-20 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 5 [13 Apr 08] W 36-16 v Bulldogs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 6 [19 Apr 08] L 20-48 v Cowboys (A). [PR]
[View] Round 7 [27 Apr 08] L 24-36 v Gold Coast (A). [PR]
[View] Round 8 [04 May 08] W 14-6 v Raiders (H). [PR]
[View] Round 10 [18 May 08] L 22-46 v Panthers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 11 [25 May 08] L 12-38 v Roosters (H). [PR]
[View] Round 12 [31 May 08] W 18-16 v Knights (A). [PR]
[View] Round 13 [06 Jun 08] L 28-35 v Rabbitohs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 14 [14 Jun 08] L 8-24 v Sharks (A). [BE]
[View] Round 15 [22 Jun 08] L 14-20 v Sea Eagles (H). [BE]
[View] Round 16 [29 Jun 08] W 28-26 v Tigers (A). [PR] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 18 [12 Jul 08] W 24-14 v Cowboys (H). [BE]
[View] Round 19 [19 Jul 08] W 40-22 v Bulldogs (A). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 20 [27 Jul 08] W 8-6 v Storm (H). [BE]
[View] Round 21 [02 Aug 08] L 16-18 v Rabbitohs (A). [BE]
[View] Round 22 [09 Aug 08] W 16-12 v Broncos (H). [BE]
[View] Round 23 [16 Aug 08] W 18-4 v Sharks (H). [BE]
[View] Round 24 [24 Aug 08] L 6-34 v Dragons (A). [BE]
[View] Round 26 [06 Sep 08] W 28-6 v Eels (A). [BE]
[View] Finals Week 1 [14 Sep 08] W 18-15 v Storm (A). [BE]
[View] Finals Week 2 [19 Sep 08] W 30-13 v Roosters (H). [BE]
[View] Finals Week 3 [27 Sep 08] L 6-32 v Sea Eagles. [BE]
======================================================================================================
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
25 games; 3 tries, 12 points.
[View] Round 1 [17 Mar 07] W 34-18 v Eels (H). [BE]
[View] Round 2 [25 Mar 07] W 24-14 v Broncos (H). [BE]
[View] Round 3 [01 Apr 07] L 12-30 v Storm (A). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 4 [08 Apr 07] L 10-13 v Sea Eagles (A). [PR]
[View] Round 5 [15 Apr 07] W 34-14 v Cowboys (H). [SR]
[View] Round 7 [29 Apr 07] W 18-16 v Rabbitohs (A). [BE]
[View] Round 8 [05 May 07] L 20-22 v Sharks (H). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t (39th)
[View] Round 9 [12 May 07] L 18-24 v Knights (A). [PR]
[View] Round 10 [20 May 07] L 26-30 v Tigers (H). [PR]
[View] Round 11 [28 May 07] L 6-30 v Eels (A). [BE]
[View] Round 12 [03 Jun 07] L 20-40 v Bulldogs (H). [PR]
[View] Round 13 [10 Jun 07] L 2-4 v Storm (H). [BE]
[View] Round 14 [16 Jun 07] W 12-2 v Sharks (A). [BE]
[View] Round 15 [22 Jun 07] W 54-14 v Panthers (H). [BE]
[View] Round 16 [30 Jun 07] W 22-6 v Gold Coast (A). [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
[View] Round 17 [07 Jul 07] L 12-18 v Cowboys (A). [BE]
[View] Round 18 [15 Jul 07] W 44-16 v Dragons (H). [PR]
[View] Round 19 [22 Jul 07] W 28-16 v Tigers (A). [PR]
[View] Round 20 [28 Jul 07] W 52-10 v Knights (H). [PR]
[View] Round 21 [05 Aug 07] D 31-31 v Roosters (A). [PR]
[View] Round 22 [11 Aug 07] W 30-6 v Titans (H). [PR]
[View] Round 23 [18 Aug 07] L 24-26 v Raiders (A). [PR]
[View] Round 24 [26 Aug 07] W 36-14 v Sea Eagles (H). [PR]
[View] Round 25 [01 Sep 07] W 24-20 v Panthers (A). [PR]
[View] Finals Week 2 [16 Sep 07] L 12-49 v Cowboys (A). [PR]
======================================================================================================
2007 International Test Matches
New Zealand
2 games; [View] Bundaberg Rum Test [20 Apr 07] L 6-30 v Australia (A). [BE]
[View] Centenary Test [14 Oct 07] L 0-58 v Australia (H). [BE]
======================================================================================================
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership
New Zealand Warriors
10 games; [View] Round 11 [20 May 06] W 34-12 v Tigers (H). [BE]
[View] Round 12 [27 May 06] L 20-34 v Sharks (A). [BE]
[View] Round 14 [11 Jun 06] W 22-12 v Roosters (A). [BE]
[View] Round 17 [01 Jul 06] W 28-22 v Panthers (H). [BE]
[View] Round 21 [29 Jul 06] L 6-36 v Panthers (A). [BE]
[View] Round 22 [05 Aug 06] W 12-10 v Sharks (H). [BE]
[View] Round 23 [12 Aug 06] W 26-0 v Cowboys (H). [BE]
[View] Round 24 [19 Aug 06] W 24-20 v Storm (A). [BE]
[View] Round 25 [27 Aug 06] W 42-16 v Roosters (H). [BE]
[View] Round 26 [03 Sep 06] L 12-36 v Broncos (A). [BE]
======================================================================================================
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Rapira, Sam
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