NRL players Konrad Hurrell and Albert Vete will play their first New South Wales Cup matches of the season in the Vodafone Warriors’ eighth-round Anzac Day encounter with the Newtown Jets on Saturday (11.40am kick-off).
The match is the second leg of a home tripleheader starting with the NYC game between the Vodafone Junior Warriors and Gold Coast (9.40am kick-off) and finishing with the NRL match-up (1.45pm kick-off).
Hurrell comes into the centres for the Stacey Jones-coached side after three NRL appearances following a knee injury which had sidelined him for three weeks. He played three times for the club’s NSW Cup side early last season.
He swaps places with David Fusitu’a who has been promoted to the NRL side for the first time this year after scoring three tries in two NSW Cup games coming back from shoulder surgery.
Vete returns to the NSW Cup side after making his NRL debut in the opening round of the year against Newcastle and going on to appear in six of the first seven rounds. Appearing 19 times for the club’s second team last season, Vete replaces Sam Rapira who has been added to the NRL team’s bench for the Gold Coast clash.
In the only other change after last Saturday’s 24-30 loss to Penrith, Viliami Kaveinga returns on the wing.
The Jets, who lost 8-24 to the unbeaten Mounties last week, are fourth on the table while the Vodafone Warriors are sixth. Both have four wins and three losses so far this season.
GET TICKETS NOW | VODAFONE WARRIORS' ANZAC DAY MATCH
VODAFONE WARRIORS v NEWTOWN JETS
Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
11.40am, Saturday, April 25
Referee: Aaron Donald
VODAFONE WARRIORS
1 GLEN FISIIAHI
2 KEN MAUMALO
3 JARROD TUA
4 KONRAD HURRELL
5 VILIAMI KAVEINGA
6 API PEWHAIRANGI
7 SAM COOK
8 SUAIA MATAGI
9 SILIVA HAVILI
10 ALBERT VETE
11 SIONE LOUSI
12 JOHN PALAVI (c)
16 SEBASTINE IKAHIHIFO
Interchange:
14 DAVID BHANA
15 CHARLIE GUBB
16 NATHANIEL PETERU
17 JAMES BELL
COACH: STACEY JONES
