-
Manu Vatuvei of the NZ Warriors - Source: Photosport -
Related
Manu Vatuvei and Jerome Ropati will both miss playing alongside Stacey Jones in his final NRL match for the Warriors against Melbourne at Mt Smart on Saturday night.
Ropati left the field with more shoulder trouble after 29 minutes of Sunday's 20-40 loss to the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium, ruling him out of Jones' NRL finale and 261st outing for the club.
Ropati has been joined by Vatuvei, who picked up a knee injury while scoring a try last Sunday.
Coach Ivan Cleary has left him out and named Aidan Kirk as his replacement on Tuesday.
"With Steve (Price) and Simon (Mannering) out as well, we're certainly down on troops heading into the last game of the season," he said.
With Ropati out, Patrick Ah Van moves from the right wing to left centre where he will partner Kirk.
While Price (eye) and Mannering (knee) remain on the unavailable list, winger Kevin Locke is named to return from a hamstring strain that sidelined him for the game against the Bulldogs.
The match will close off Jones' NRL career after what has been his 12th season following an 11-season stint from 1995-2005.
"Stacey's a true legend of the game and it would be great to see him given a decent send-off on Sunday. No one deserves it more. He came back for this season and has done a terrific job for us," said Cleary.
Jones owns most of the club's records including most points (674) and most tries (77) as well as most games.
With Mannering out of the side last weekend only one player - Jacob Lillyman - will finish the season with a full book of appearances in each of the club's 24 matches.
Ukuma Ta'ai and Lewis Brown, who both played 80 minutes for the first time in an NRL match last Sunday, are again teamed in the second row.
The team is:
Wade Mckinnon, Kevin Locke, Lance Hohaia, Patrick Ah Van, Aidan Kirk, Joel Moon, Stacey Jones, Sam Rapira, Aaron Heremaia, Evarn Tuimavave, Lewis Brown, Ukuma Ta'ai, Micheal Luck (c)
Interchange: Ian Henderson, Russell Packer, Jacob Lillyman, Ben Matulino
