NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster admits he's taken a gamble by tinkering - perhaps needlessly - with his starting line-up against St George Dragons on Friday.
With two games remaining in the regular season and an NRL playoff berth already secured, Webster has dropped outstanding forward Jackson Ford back to the bench, replacing him with Josh Curran in the second row.
Victory against the Dragons would guarantee the Warriors a top-four spot and a home game in the post-season.
Since joinign them this season, Ford has been a fixture in the starting unit, contributing immensely to the turnaround in fortunes by a team that mustered only five wins last season.
Last week, Manly Sea Eagles enjoyed considerable success against the Warriors' left-edge defence, with winger Jason Saab scoring a hattrick of tries down Ford's side of the field.
"Jackson's not the reason for the left-edge defence," insisted Webster. "There's probably no one person there - they have to improve together.
"So does the right edge, everyone does.
"It's just something different. Jacko has started every game he's been available for selection this year and we're just giving Josh Curran an opportunity to start, put Jacko on and let him go for it at the end of the game.
"I'm hoping it will work - we'll see how smart I am - but it's nothing to do with Jacko's defence. I think we've all seen how hard Jacko works and it won't be any different this weekend."
Perhaps the selection is more a case of Webster trying to extract more from Curran, who has excelled in a supersub role with his energy off the bench, but has voiced disappointment in his own performance this season.
"For me personally, it's kind of been a letdown season," Curran admitted last week. "I've got a new role this year, coming off the bench.
"I've just got to bring the impact. I'm just trying to take everything with both hands, and when I come on the field, try to lead the boys and change the game.
"It's kind of been a letdown, but I've just been trying to do what I can on the field."
Curran's onfield performance this season has been overshadowed by off-field legal issues. In June, he pleaded guilty, but avoided conviction in the Port Macquarie Local Court, after assaulting a teenager at a nightclub.
Curran is now on a 12-month good behaviour conditional release order.
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