Warriors new faces to get run

The Warriors will unveil their new stars in Saturday's opening pre-season trial against the Sydney Roosters in Rotorua.

New playmaker Brett Seymour plus fellow off-season recruits Jeremy Latimore and James Maloney will all make their first appearances for the club as Ivan Cleary looks to shape his side.

As well as confirming first-up outings for the new trio, coach Ivan Cleary said two of the club's outstanding prospects Elijah Taylor and Shaun Johnson would play in the first of the club's three preseason hit-outs on consecutive weekends.

"The match against the Roosters will be a great chance not only for us but also for the public to have a good look at our three new signings," said Cleary.

"Brett, Jeremy and James have all settled in really well with us. They've trained well and they've also fitted into life in Auckland. Now they have a chance to show us what they can do."

Seymour has joined the Warriors after a total of 101 NRL appearances in stints with Brisbane (2002-06) – where he teamed up with modern-day great Darren Lockyer – and Cronulla (2007-9). Latimore made his debut for Parramatta in 2009 while Maloney did the same for Melbourne.

Cleary won't confirm the Warriors' full squad for the Rotorua match until later in the week and he's yet to determine which exact position Seymour will play.

"Brett will be in the halves but whether it's at six or seven is something we'll decide a little later. He can certainly play

in both positions."

While Taylor and Johnson are now both fulltime members of the NRL squad they're both still eligible for another year with the Junior Warriors. After being named the club's Young Player of the Year in 2008, Taylor – who can play in the back row, the centres or at standoff – won the overall Player of the Year accolade last year. In his first season in the Junior Warriors, Johnson played all 25 games, scoring 241 points.

Taylor featured in the club's NRL trials last year and was set to make his first-grade debut against Parramatta late in the season only to be forced out with injury.

As well as the three new signings and the new faces Taylor and Johnson, Cleary confirmed the club's newest Kiwi international Ben Matulino will play in Rotorua along with the exciting Kevin Locke, who toured with the Kiwis' 2009 Four Nations squad but didn't play a match.

The Warriors travel to Rotorua on Friday and will have an open training session at the International Stadium at 5pm that day.

Three players – Sam Rapira, Steve Price and Brent Tate – are visiting Rotorua today to help with promotion of the game while there will be some promotional appearances involving squad members while the Warriors are in Rotorua.

After playing the Roosters, the Warriors travel to Cairns for their second trial against North Queensland on February 20, then return home to take on Manly at North Harbour Stadium on February 27.

They open their NRL season against the Gold Coast Titans in Robina on March 14 with their first home game following against Cronulla on March 20.

The John Ackland-coached Junior Warriors will also be in pre-season action in Rotorua this Sunday, taking on a Bay of Plenty Invitation XIII in the curtain-raiser kicking off at 3pm.

The NRL trial will be the second of three major rugby league events in Rotorua in the space of the year.

Last October the International Stadium staged its first rugby league test in 13 years when the Kiwis faced Tonga and it has just been was confirmed the New Zealand side would play its second match in the 2010 Four Nations against Papua New Guinea later this year.

- © Fairfax NZ News