Round 4
New Zealand Warriors 16 l. South Sydney Rabbitohs 22

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Preview: Warriors v Rabbitohs - NRL Round 4
Sun April 5, 2009
The Warriors will be counting on senior statesman Stacey Jones to produce something special this Sunday after captain Steve Price joined a growing casualty list earlier in the week.

Price joined top grade regulars Lance Hohaia, Ben Matulino, Evarn Tuimavave, Manu Vatuvei and Brent Tate on the sidelines after experiencing ongoing problems with an injury to his throat.

The injuries are a huge blow to the Warriors' ambitions although all bar Tate are expected to make speedy returns.

The Warriors were ambushed by the Rabbitohs last season and especially by halfback Chris Sandow, who shone at Mt Smart on his first grade debut. Souths, who had won only one of their first 11 games, fought back from a 14-0 deficit to win 35-28.

This year the Rabbitohs look far more settled and coach Jason Taylor appears to have achieved a balance between attack and defence. After three rounds Souths have the best for and against differential in the NRL.

Consider a Warriors try as First Scoring Play ($2) but look to a Warriors/Rabbitohs outcome in the Half/Full Double ($8).

First Tryscoring chances include Wade McKinnon ($13), Jerome Ropati ($15) and Denan Kemp ($13) for the Warriors or Nathan Merritt ($11), Fetuli Talanoa ($13) or Colin Best ($11) for Souths.

Sunday April 5, 2009
New Zealand Warriors vs South Sydney Rabbitohs at Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ)

New Zealand Warriors
1 Wade McKinnon, 2 Denan Kemp, 3 Patrick Ah Van, 4 Jerome Ropati, 5 Aidan Kirk, 6 Joel Moon, 7 Stacey Jones, 8 Sam Rapira, 9 Ian Henderson, 10 Steve Price [c], 11 Simon Mannering, 12 Jacob Lillyman, 13 Micheal Luck. Subs: 14 Nathan Fien, 15 Russell Packer, 16 Jesse Royal, 17 Ukuma Ta'ai, 18 Lewis Brown, 19 Daniel O'Regan (two to be omitted).

South Sydney Rabbitohs
1 Rhys Wesser, 2 Nathan Merritt, 3 Colin Best, 4 Shaune Corrigan, 5 Fetuli Talanoa, 6 John Sutton, 7 Chris Sandow, 8 Luke Stuart, 9 Issac Luke, 10 Roy Asotasi [c], 11 Ben Lowe, 12 Shannan McPherson, 13 David Fa'alogo. Subs: 14 Craig Wing, 15 Eddy Pettybourne, 16 Jaiman Lowe, 17 David Kidwell.

Date: Sun April 5 2009, 2:00PM NZST GMT+12 [Sun April 5 2009, 12:00PM AEST GMT+10]
[Sun April 5 2009, 2:00AM GMT]
Referee: Tony De Las Heras, Gavin Badger

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Rabbitohs by 2
Paul Booth: Rabbitohs by 12

OVERALL:
Total Games: 19
New Zealand Warriors wins: 14. [Pts: 580]
South Sydney Rabbitohs wins: 5. [Pts: 321]
Draws: 0

Biggest wins:
New Zealand Warriors: 66 pts: 2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 16 - [View] Sun: Rabbitohs 0 l. Warriors 66 [Crowd: 6597]
South Sydney Rabbitohs: 7 pts: 2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 13 - [View] Fri: New Zealand Warriors 28 l. South Sydney Rabbitohs 35 [Crowd: 13112]

Biggest Crowd: 1996 Optus Cup - Round 14 - [View] Fri Jul 5: Auckland 24 d. Souths 10 [Crowd: 20000]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
New Zealand Warriors: WWLLLWWWWWWWWWWWWLL
South Sydney Rabbitohs: LLWWWLLLLLLLLLLLLWW

Last 10 games:
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 21 - [View] Sat: South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 d. New Zealand Warriors 16 [Crowd: 9276]
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 13 - [View] Fri: New Zealand Warriors 28 l. South Sydney Rabbitohs 35 [Crowd: 13112]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sun: South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 l. New Zealand Warriors 18 [Crowd: 13044]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 16 - [View] Sun: Rabbitohs 0 l. Warriors 66 [Crowd: 6597]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sat: Warriors 46 d. Rabbitohs 14 [Crowd: 8015]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 11 - [View] Sat: Souths 16 l. Warriors 34 [Crowd: 6195]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 4 - [View] Sun: Warriors 46 d. Souths 14 [Crowd: 9751]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 19 - [View] Sun Jul 18: Warriors 34 d. Souths 20 [Crowd: 7894]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 11 - [View] Sun May 23: Souths 12 l. Warriors 26 [Crowd: 8032]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 16 - [View] Sun Jun 29: Souths 30 l. Warriors 31 [Crowd: 9109]

NRL Stats: Warriors v Rabbitohs
NYC Stats: Warriors v Rabbitohs
Warriors v Rabbitohs Discussion Thread


Price sideline for Warriors clash against Rabbitohs
Wed April 1, 2009
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

A throat injury has today ruled Vodafone Warriors captain Steve Price out of Sunday's third-round NRL clash against South Sydney at Mount Smart Stadium.

The 35-year-old prop received an accidental blow to his throat making a tackle on Sea Eagles forward Jason King early in the second half of the Vodafone Warriors' 26-24 win over the defending premiers at Brookvale Oval on March 22.

Price was advised to miss the South Sydney match after visiting a specialist today.

"A scan revealed Steve has a haematoma to his throat and the area is still swollen," said team doctor John Mayhew.

"He needs to rest this week to allow the swelling to ease before he is reviewed next week with a view to being able to return in round five (against Newcastle)."

With Price ruled out, a total of nine players from the Vodafone Warriors' NRL squad are now unavailable for Sunday's encounter.

On the injured list are centre Brent Tate (knee), wing Manu Vatuvei (knee), utility Lance Hohaia (knee) and second rower Ben Matulino (ankle) plus props Leeson Ah Mau (shoulder), Mataupu Poching (ankle), Evarn Tuimavave (neck) and now Price (throat) as well as second rower Epalahame Lauaki. Lauaki has been prevented from playing for the Vodafone Warriors after signing with Hull FC.

Tate is out for the season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee playing against his old Brisbane club last Saturday night. Tuimavave is out indefinitely at this stage but Vatuvei, Hohaia, Matulino and Poching are all expected to be available for selection soon, possibly for round five.

"It's a big dent in our resources but there's nothing we can do about that except back other players to step in and do the job, which is exactly what we're doing," said coach Ivan Cleary.

"While we've lost two of our most experienced players this week in Brent and Steve, we have boys in our squad who are busting themselves for an opportunity and now they have it."

Yesterday 39-game NRL utility Patrick Ah Van was confirmed as Tate's replacement in the centres.

With Price out, Cleary said Sam Rapira and Russell Packer would be the starting props against South Sydney while he has brought in new signing Lewis Brown (22) and 2008 Vodafone Junior Warriors captain Daniel O'Regan (21) to create a five-man bench. Christchurch-born Brown, a hooker-back rower, and O'Regan, a loose forward-stand off, have both been playing for the Auckland Vulcans in the New South Wales Cup and are yet to play at NRL level.

Cleary said he wouldn't confirm the final make-up of the interchange bench until closer to game time. In any event there would be at least one more debutant on Sunday, that player becoming the 150th to appear at NRL level for the club since its introduction to the competition in 1995.

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS v SOUTH SYDNEY RABBITOHS
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
2.00pm, Sunday, April 5
Referees: Tony De Las Heras and Gavin Badger

Vodafone Warriors

Wade McKinnon
Denan Kemp
Patrick Ah Van
Jerome Ropati
Aidan Kirk
Joel Moon
Stacey Jones
Sam Rapira
Ian Henderson
Russell Packer
Simon Mannering
Jacob Lillyman
Micheal Luck

Interchange:
Lewis Brown
Nathan Fien
Daniel O'Regan
Jesse Royal
Ukuma Ta'ai

Coach: Ivan Cleary

Tue March 31, 2009
• Ah Van replaces Tate, Jones starts at halfback against Rabbitohs
  
Tue March 31, 2009
• Merritt and Wesser return for the Rabbitohs
  

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