Jazz Tevaga has edged closer to making his long-awaited NZ Warriors return, after being included in the extended squad for the club's clash against the Gold Coast Titans.
Tevaga has been handed the No.18 jersey for Friday's contest, having been sidelined with a calf injury since April.
The 27-year-old lasted just 22 minutes of the Anzac Day clash against the Melbourne Storm, but could feature against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster is hopeful Tevaga will be ready to play, but has tentatively only named him in the reserves.
Instead, Webster has opted for the same 17 players that prevailed by golden point over the Canberra Raiders in their last outing.
Utility forward Bayley Sironen is poised to make his 50th appearance for the Warriors, while veteran Shaun Johnson moves within two games of his 250th NRL game.
The Warriors have won their last seven of nine matches, and sit third on the ladder, with five rounds to go before the playoffs.
But they face a Titans outfit better than their 12th-placed ranking suggests, and are coming off an impressive 22-13 win over the North Queensland Cowboys.
The Warriors will be looking to solidify their spot in the top four, as well as overturn their recent poor run of results against the Titans - winning just one of the last five fixtures.
NZ Warriors: 1-Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3-Rocco Berry, 4-Adam Pompey, 5-Marcelo Montoya, 6-Luke Metcalf, 7-Shaun Johnson, 8-Addin Fonua-Blake, 9-Wayde Egan, 10-Mitchell Barnett, 11-Jackson Ford, 12-Marata Niukore, 13-Tohu Harris (c)
Interchange: 14-Dylan Walker, 15-Bunty Afoa, 16-Bayley Sironen, 17-Josh Curran
Reserves: 18-Jazz Tevaga, 20-Taine Tuaupiki, 21-Freddy Lussick, 22-Tom Ale, 23-Ronald Volkman.
Join Newshub at 8pm Friday for live updates of the Warriors v Gold Coast Titans NRL clash
