Wests Tigers NRL Head Coach Jason Taylor has called the inclusion of young gun hooker Manaia Cherrington a huge boost for his side’s chances this weekend when they take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs in their Round 13 clash at ANZ Stadium.
Cherrington, who made a strong debut last week against the Gold Coast Titans, has been named on the interchange bench — likely coming on as Dene Halatau’s replacement during the match — with Taylor believing having the two-time Junior Kiwi international come off the bench will add some serious spark to his side’s attack on Friday night.
“Manaia really added some thrust to our attack last week, and he did a good job defensively as well against the Titans,” Taylor reflected before Tuesday’s training run.
“He’ll have his work cut out for him this week which will be a great test for him.”
With both Robbie Farah and Aaron Woods missing due to State of Origin commitments, Halatau will again captain the side for Friday night’s clash at ANZ Stadium against the premiers, where Wests Tigers will be looking to end a run of four consecutive defeats.
See what Taylor had to say about this week's team and opponents in the video above.
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1. James Tedesco
2. Kevin Naiqama
3. David Nofoaluma
4. Tim Simona
5. Pat Richards
6. Mitchell Moses
7. Luke Brooks
8. Keith Galloway
9. Dene Halatau (capt.)
10. Sauaso Sue
11. Kyle Lovett
12. Chris Lawrence
13. Martin Taupau
Interchange:
14. Ava Seumanufagai
15. Matthew Lodge
16. Manaia Cherrington
17. Brenden Santi
21. Jack Buchanan
Coach: Jason Taylor
