Warriors coach Andrew McFadden has defended his decision to keep young gun Tui Lolohea on the bench until the 81st minute of last night's 15-14 golden point defeat to Manly. The wet and slippery conditions had foiled plans to inject Lolohea after halftime as an outside back replacement. "I thought he'd have some energy but the reason we put him on was Blake Ayshford got hurt," said McFadden. "It was an easy decision to get him straight out there but waiting on the bench that long, it's a pretty difficult position to be in. McFadden felt the Warriors were benefiting from having three bigger bodies carting the ball up, with vwingers Manu Vatuvei and Ken Maumalo and fullback David Fusitu'a, providing momentum.

Source: New Zealand Herald July 17, 2016 01:36 UTC