Warriors young gun Reece Walsh benched

By Nic Savage

Interim Warriors coach Stacey Jones has made the brutal decision to bench young gun Reece Walsh for this weekend's NRL match against the Canberra Raiders.

The 20-year-old struggled during Friday's 28-18 loss to the Parramatta Eels, and the promising fullback has paid the price.

Jones has rearranged the Warriors spine ahead of the Round 19 contest in Canberra, relegating the Broncos-bound Walsh to the bench and shifting Chanel Harris-Tavita to No. 1 jumper, while five-eighth Daejarn Asi has been recalled to the starting 13.

Walsh signed a three-year deal with the Broncos last month, committing to the Red Hill club until the end of the 2025 season.

"There has been a major change in Reece's personal circumstances in the past two months which have impacted on his ability to move to Auckland with the club next season," Warriors chief executive Cameron George said last month.

"We're working through his situation and have given him permission, with some conditions, to look at options in Brisbane. It's not the way either Reece or the club had wanted this to play out but we respect the issues he has."

Meanwhile, Luke Keary is set to play his first game since Round 14 after Roosters coach Trent Robinson opted against keeping the red-hot Joseph Manu in the halves for Friday's game against Newcastle.

Manu has been the best player in the NRL over the past few weeks and has relished the opportunity to get his hands on the ball more often at five-eighth.

But he'll shift back to right centre to make way for the returning Keary, who hasn't played since his latest head knock against the Storm more than a month ago.

Mid-season recruit Matt Lodge will also make his first start for the tri-colours in the front row alongside Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who has been missing for a few weeks with a hamstring injury.

It's a timely boost for the Roosters, who have lost Billy Smith and Sitili Tupouniua to season-ending knee injuries, while Siosiua Taukeiaho is out for an extended period with a damaged cheekbone.

Warriors: Chanel Harris-Tavita, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Jesse Arthars, Adam Pompey, Marcelo Montoya, Daejarn Asi, Shaun Johnson, Addin Fonua-Blake, Wayde Egan, Tohu Harris (c), Euan Aitken, Josh Curran, Jazz Tevaga.

Interchange: Reece Walsh, Bunty Afoa, Aaron Pene, Jack Murchie; Eliesa Katoa, Edward Kosi, Ronald Volkman, Freddy Lussick, Jackson Frei.

Raiders: Xavier Savage, Nick Cotric, Matthew Timoko, Sebastian Kris, Albert Hopoate, Jack Wighton, Jamal Fogarty, Josh Papalii, Zac Woolford, Joseph Tapine, Hudson Young, Elliott Whitehead (c), Adam Elliott.

Interchange: Tom Starling, Ryan Sutton, Emre Guler, Corey Harawira-Naera; Adrian Trevilyan, Elijah Anderson, Brad Schneider, Ata Mariota, Peter Hola.

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission