Rapira to bring up 150 in last home game The Warriors have named an unchanged team for their last home game of the regular season, meaning prop Sam Rapira will bring up his 150th game for the club.
Rapira, 26, will be the ninth Warrior to mark the milestone when they meet Canberra at Mt Smart on Saturday.
Teammates Simon Mannering (186 games) and Manu Vatuvei (169 games) are already members of the Warriors' 150 club.
In April Canberra beat the Warriors 20-16 in Canberra, and the Warriors will want to reverse that result to remain a chance of qualifying for the top eight.
The Warriors and Canberra are two of five teams on 24 points, the current cut-off for the top eight. There are just two rounds of the regular season left.
Warriors coach Matthew Elliott wants a big crowd of fans for both Rapira and to boost the side's chances of victory.
"It's impossible to say enough about what Sam means to our team and to our club overall. He's one of our unsung players and he's vital to how we perform," he said.
Fellow front rower Jacob Lillyman will make his 99th appearance leaving him in line to play his 100th in the last regular season match against St George Illawarra in Wollongong.
In other season stats, Shaun Johnson, Thomas Leuluai, Feleti Mateo and Ben Matulino will all extend their sequences of playing in every match this year; Leuluai has been on the field every single minute of all 22 matches.
Warriors: Kevin Locke, Jerome Ropati, Dane Nielsen, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Suaia Matagi, Elijah Taylor, Simon Mannering (captain), Todd Lowrie. Interchange: Ben Matulino, Jacob Lillyman, Feleti Mateo, Dominique Peyroux, Ngani Laumape.
Source: http://au.rd.yahoo.com/sport/rss/rugbyleague/*http%3A//au.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/article/-/18682754/rapira-to-bring-up-150-in-last-home-game/
Topic: Elliot wants big crowd in NZ to give Warriors a boost against Raiders
