Coach Matt Elliott calls on familiar faces for battle with Canterbury.
Injuries to Kevin Locke and Jerome Ropati have forced New Zealand Warriors coach to make changes to his side to take on Canterbury this weekend.
Locke was stretchered from the ground in his side’s one-point win against the Gold Coast last round with a suspected slipped disc in his back.
Despite the injury not being a bad as first feared, the fullback will be out for the next fortnight, while Ropati faces time on the sideline due to a hamstring strain.
The pair will be replaced by Glen Fisiiahi and Konrad Hurrell, who were both dropped for last weekend’s win against the Titans.
Despite being slammed into the turf last round, Feleti Mateo has been named for the Warriors important game this weekend.
Before the incident, Mateo looked to be getting close to his destructive potential, with his mixed form mirroring that of the rest of the Warriors side, which currently is 14th place with a record of 2-6.
Canterbury will enter the clash full of confidence after their sluggish start to the season, having won two games on the trot, both by big margins.
A fortnight ago Canterbury beat Cronulla by 16 before blowing away a poor Wests Tigers outfit by 36 points last round.
Josh Reynolds is again in excellent form for the Bulldogs and looms as a darkhorse for NSW Origin selection.
The Bulldogs should get back to the form that saw them win last year’s minor premiership and reach the grad final in coming weeks, after fielding a full-strength forward pack for the third time in as many weeks.
Warriors: Glen Fisiiahi, Bill Tupou, Ben Henry, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Russell Packer, Feleti Mateo, Simon Mannering (c), Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman, Elijah Taylor, Pita Godinet, Carlos Tuimavave
Bulldogs:Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Josh Morris, Tim Lafai, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, Tony Williams, Frank Pritchard, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, James Graham, Dale Finucane, Martin Taupau, Tim Browne
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