Tui Lolohea is raring to rip into the Penrith Panthers and put a tough couple of weeks behind him as he returns to the Warriors starting side.
The 21-year-old has reclaimed the fullback spot for Saturday's contest after playing from the bench in three of the last four games.
Lolohea admitted it hasn't been an easy time for him, especially the off-field distractions with his name being linked with other NRL clubs.
"I guess that's what my agent is for, he deals with that kind of stuff," Lolohea said on being rumoured with a move away from Mt Smart Stadium.
"He let me know about it, but at the end of the day I'm still here and I'm pretty happy.
"[My agent] said that there are people around if I'm not happy and that, but I just told him the truth that I'm happy here, this is home for me at the moment and this is where I want to spend the rest of my footy career."
Tuimoala Lolohea (Photosport)
Warriors head coach Andrew McFadden openly spoke about Lolohea needing to step up and found himself criticised by fans when he dropped the versatile hotshot to the bench.
Lolohea turned a blind eye to the calls, siding with the coach and agreeing there was areas of his game that needed sharpening.
"What [McFadden] was saying in the media was right, I definitely have stuff I need to work on and I understood and respected Cappy's decision in that game against Manly when he didn't play me.
"I was disappointed, Cappy knew I was disappointed, but at the end of the day Cappy makes the decision for whose going to be on the field."
After working hard on his tackling technique, challenging under the high ball and reaction times, McFadden was happy to award Lolohea with a start, backing his fullback for his professional showing during his challenging time in his young NRL career.
"As I've said all along, I haven't lost any faith in Tui, we made the change on what we thought was best for the team and this is the same," McFadden said.
"He showed me enough on the weekend, he was energised, he was very professional in what was a difficult week for him, so I think he's ready to come back in."
Lolohea, who is expected to replace the departing Thomas Leuluai at five-eighth next season, is happy wherever he lines up on the field, and takes the No.1 jersey over David Fusitu'a who finds himself in the centres in place of Blake Ayshford.
"He's obviously got a little different skill set to David," McFadden explained.
"David is big, strong and robust, but it's a really challenging position fullback to cover the ground at that back.
"We just feel with the Tui skillset and the options he gives us, not just from an offensive point of view but even last plays with kicking, it might just be the better balance for us at the moment."
The Warriors sit ninth on the table have the chance to leap the Panthers with a five-point win and reclaim a spot back in the top eight.
The Panthers came out victorious in their last encounter with the Warriors, winning 30-18 in their nominally "home" match in Christchurch.
Warriors: Tuimoala Lolohea, Ken Maumalo, David Fusitu'a, Solomone Kata, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Jacob Lillyman, Issac Luke, Ben Matulino, Bunty Afoa, Ryan Hoffman (c), Simon Mannering. Reserves: Jazz Tevaga, Sam Lisone, James Gavet, Blake Ayshford.
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