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Vatuvei holds his spot

Vatuvei holds his spot

09/13/2011 08:03:29 AM

With a flash of his trademark gold-toothed smile, mistake-prone winger Manu Vatuvei assured nervous Warriors fans he hadn't 'lost anything' following his horror night against Brisbane.

Vatuvei made a litany of handling mistakes in the 40-10 loss to the Broncos but coach Ivan Cleary has not lost faith in his 112kg hulk, picking him in the side to meet Wests Tigers in Friday night's first elimination semi-final at the SFS.

Krisnan Inu comes in for injured centre Joel Moon in the only change to the side beaten in week one on the back of Vatuvei's shocker.

"For sure - I haven't lost anything," a confident Vatuvei said on Tuesday.

"I can still catch the high ball and stuff. All I have to do is prepare well and hopefully things go well."

Cleary was taken aback when it was suggested Vatuvei should have faced the axe following his Brisbane bloopers

"'He's not one of the best wingers in the world for nothing," the Warriors boss said.

"Maybe you should ask the Tigers whether they would rather he play or didn't."

The Warriors only lived to fight another day after the teams ranked below them (North Queensland and Newcastle) also lost in week one of the finals.

Cleary is grateful for a second shot and is promising a much improved performance.

"It's a massive challenge for us. The Tigers are in great form, putting together a run of nine wins on end," he said.

"We've got a long way to come back from after our disappointing performance against Brisbane but at least we have a chance to play again."

Tigers centre Chris Lawrence has been named to make his return from a hamstring injury in the only change to the side that down the Dragons in the first qualifying final.

He replaces Matt Utai.

"I was pretty close to playing last week. I'm playing (this week) no matter what," Lawrence declared.

The Dragons and Broncos have named unchanged line-ups for Saturday night's second elimination semi-final at Suncorp Stadium.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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