I've always loved a splash of deja vu, it reminds just how crazy our existence is on this great planet (while we all kill each other for no reason). I can't help but feel a sense of deja vu, or 'already seen' as it wasn't too long ago that our NZ Warriors touched up Newcastle and then grabbed that dramatic win over the Roosters. Here we are again, the Warriors have touched up Newcastle and now await the challenge of the Roosters, only this time they beat up Newcastle in Newcastle and will host the Chooks on Sunday evening.

Besides the odd 6pm start time which does nothing to help the Warriors as they'd probably prefer a dry-ish deck so they can run the Roosters around, this game has me full with excitement. If you took a look at the Roosters last outing where they got smoked by Melbourne, you'd think that the Warriors should win this easily.

Our Warriors certainly aren't the Melbourne Storm, regardless of our recent wins we still have a long way to go so curb your expectations a wee bit.

That also overlooks that the Roosters have slowly re-established a strong starting forward pack, led by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves who has been in great form since returning from injury and they welcome back Shaun Kenny-Dowall into the centres. Tokoroa's Joseph Manu will be making his debut on the wing and I'm sure the Mt Smart faithful will make him feel welcome.

My excitement for this clash is all about the forward packs as the Warriors are without Jacob Lillyman and in their two recent wins they beat up a Broncos pack who have skipped the Tasman Sea after Origin and beat up a weak Knights pack. This week the Warriors forward pack will come up against Waerea-Hargreaves, Sam Moa, Sio Siua Taukeiaho, Mitchell Aubusson and Dylan Napa while Isaac Liu and Kane Evans will come off the bench. That's not only a pack with size, there's footwork, there's skill and there's plenty of mongrel which will provide a great challenge for the Warriors forwards.

With Lillyman missing, there is an opportunity for our young forwards in Albert Vete, Sam Lisone, Toafofoa Sipley and Charlie Gubb to really stand up. We have to expect Ben Matulino to do what he does, same with the experienced back-row of Simon Mannering, Bodene Thompson and Ryan Hoffman, the enthusiasm and aggression will come from the young bucks. These young bucks usually play around 30 minutes or less, so one of them will need play more minutes and while it's Vete who is starting, I suspect we'll see either Lisone or Gubb get up around 40 minutes.

Gubb has been under-used this season so far, coming off the bench for brief stints and last week he only played 24 minutes. This feels like the perfect stylistic match up for Gubb against the Roosters as he'll be all-energy, running around chopping the Roosters big forwards down around the legs, halting their go-forward. We can't forget that this is at Mt Smart and both the players and fans will get a massive boost from seeing Gubb double-up on tackles, showcasing the effort and desire that we want to see. 

All of this comes within the context of Gubb being hunted by other NRL clubs as he's coming off-contract. We can all see the value of having Gubb, but Gubb's lack of minutes is a worrying sign and I'm intrigued as to how Gubb is used over the next few weeks and how he performs in the shop window. Countering that is Andrew McFadden's general lack of trust/wise use of the young props, either way I want to see Gubb play more.

Lisone was huge last week, yes Vete scored two tries but it was Lisone who ran for 135m off 13 carries with 6 tackle busts. Same story here with Lisone as we don't see enough of him and this feels like a great opportunity for him as he loves the physical contest and there'll be plenty of that. Every time Lisone steams in from the carpark, Mt Smart rises in anticipation and this is what the Warriors will need to poke holes in the Roosters defensive line. Plus, Lisone is a fantastic passer of the footy. Keep an eye on that as the Warriors will be keen to move the big Roosters pack around a wee bit and with Lisone capable of brutal carries and a slick pass to Shaun Johnson/Tui Lolohea/Thomas Leuluai out the back, there's a variety to his game that makes him near-unstoppable.

As for the new blokes in this team, Sipley has another opportunity to showcase his potential against a brutal forward pack. I'm much more interested in Ken Maumalo who is a like-for-like replacement for Manu Vatuvei; he'll offer strong carries and an aerial threat. Like Gubb though, Maumalo has attracted attention from other NRL clubs with the Dragons keen on him but the Warriors weren't so keen to release him. That's a sign that the Warriors do view Maumalo as a long-term successor of Vatuvei, but Maumalo hasn't quite shown that he's capable of doing that in the NRL just yet. An extended stint via Vatuvei's absence gives Maumalo that opportunity.

Peep the Young Fullback Battle here as well. Last week Latrell Mitchell came up against Cameron Munster and Munster ran riot and we all know that Lolohea is just as good a footy player as Munster (he's just not playing in a great team like the Storm). Mitchell is dangerous though and it'll be a fun battle to observe; I must stress how freakin' good Lolohea is.

There's points in this Warriors backline, they are confident and the Lolohea/Johnson/Leuluai/Luke combination has now played together for a few weeks. If the Roosters want to engage in a point-scoring shoot-out then that's great, the Warriors will win that. More so than other games, this game will be decided through the middle where two interesting forward packs will go at each other. Just as we tend to forget that our backline talent is still very young in NRL experience, we've got a young forward pack that has the potential to fill us all with excitement if they can dominant a strong Roosters pack.