21 Jun 2017

Warriors forced into changes

6:04 am on 21 June 2017

Warriors head coach Stephen Kearney has made two personnel changes and a positional swap for Friday night's 16th-round NRL clash against Canterbury-Bankstown at Mount Smart Stadium.

Ryan Hoffman looks on as Solomone Kata scores a try.

Ryan Hoffman looks on as Solomone Kata scores a try. Photo: Photosport

Solomone Kata is unavailable after being given bereavement leave to fly home to Tonga following the sudden death of his older brother.

David Fusitu'a moves in from the wing to replace Kata in the centres while 2017 NRL rookie Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has been called up for his fifth first-grade appearance.

The other change is on the bench with hooker Nathaniel Roache returning. Sam Lisone, Albert Vete and Bunty Afoa are again listed in jerseys 15-17 with James Gavet, Manu Vatuvei, Ligi Sao and Ata Hingano rounding out the extended bench.

"Our hearts go out to Sol and his family at this time," said Kearney.

"We're all thinking of him and send our deepest sympathies to the family."

Kata appeared in the last two matches against Parramatta and Gold Coast after being sidelined with an injury. His return saw Nicoll-Klokstad drop back to the club's Intrust Super Premiership side after his first four NRL outings against the Sydney Roosters, Penrith, St George-Illawarra and Brisbane.

This week's encounter - the Warriors' fifth Friday night game this season - follows a bye round for both the home side and the Bulldogs. They're also both coming off wins, the Warriors accounting for Gold Coast 34-12 on June 10 and the Bulldogs stopping St George Illawarra 16-2.

Second rower Ryan Hoffman will have his first outing back home after his unforgettable 300th career appearance in Robina when he scored the Vodafone Warriors' opening try and completing their scoring with a sweetly-struck conversion of Hingano's late try.

The two teams both have 6-8 win-loss records with the Vodafone Warriors sitting 11th on the table on points for and against and Canterbury-Bankstown 12th. They're two points outside the top eight.

After St George Illawarra and Manly, the Bulldogs rank as the Vodafone Warriors' third toughest opponents since entering the competition in 1995. The win-loss ledger reads 20-13 in Canterbury-Bankstown's favour while there have been two draws.

-AAP/RNZ