Price 100% behind Mannering 

Source: PhotosportWarriors captain Steve Price

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New Zealand Warriors rugby league prop Steve Price is disappointed to be losing the captaincy but has told his replacement Simon Mannering he will give him his full support. 

Second row forward Mannering, 23, will replace Price as the Warriors captain as the club says it wants to develop a long-term replacement while Price, 35, is still at the club.

Price, 35, a State of Origin representative and a former Kangaroos player, had held the job since 2005  .
Mannering said he was surprised to be asked by coach Ivan Cleary to lead the team but that he was never going to say no.

He spoke to Price soon after being given the captaincy and said Price had been supportive.

"It was the weirdest thing about it, being captain of a side that's still got a player like Steve Price in it, but when he said `I'm fully behind you', it did make me feel a bit more comfortable about it," Mannering said.

"Obviously he'd be a little disappointed not having the job, but he said `mate, I'm behind you 100 percent and if you need anything during the year just come and ask'."

Mannering has also spoken to some of his other teammates, who he said were also happy about his appointment.

"I spoke to a couple of the other boys, and they seem to be behind me as well. That was the biggest worry for me, whether I was going to have the boys' support, and they all seem pretty happy about it."

Mannering is a much quieter individual than Price, who has proved very comfortable in his role as the face of the team to media and sponsors.

He said he would try to be himself in the captaincy role and would possibly use former Kiwis skipper Ruben Wiki as a role model.

"Obviously I'm not the biggest talker, but there are guys on the team that will say something when it needs to be said, and so will I."

"Ruben was a pretty laid-back guy who didn't say a hell of a lot. I'm sort of along the same lines as that. He's a pretty successful captain and hopefully I can be as well."

Micheal Luck had been the fill-in captain this year when Price was unavailable but coach Ivan Cleary said Mannering was appointed with the long term in mind.

"Luckie did a great job in very difficult circumstances and he's a great leader amongst the team but I guess Simon's got time on his side," Cleary said.

"He's the best man for the job. We've got a great bunch of younger guys who we think have a lot of leadership potential, but Simon was a clear standout."

Cleary said the decision to replace Price while he was still at the club was taken with the future in mind.

"We've always been thinking about the day Pricey's not going to be here, whether it's this year, next year I don't know, but it's got to be coming soon," he said.

"When he goes there's going to be a void, so I think it's a great time to get our next captain, Simon Mannering, in there now while Pricey's still there.

"I think there's going to be a great support network, probably led by Pricey."

Cleary expected Mannering to bring a different style of captaincy to the club than Price.

"When he speaks, people listen, but he's not a huge talker at this stage. He'll probably be more around the `follow me' type of style."

Mannering did not join the Kiwis for the Four Nations tournament this year to allow his knee to recover and to give him a summer break which he has not had for some years. 

He becomes the ninth player to take the captaincy since the Warriors entered the NRL in 1995.