Keighran dropped, Harris-Tavita to debut

Rookie playmaker Adam Keighran has been dropped by coach Stephen Kearney following back-to-back losses for the New Zealand Warriors, while veteran hooker Issac Luke has been ruled out with injury.

Keighran will be replaced in the halves by Chanel Harris-Tavita, who turns 20 on Wednesday and will make his NRL Telstra Premiership debut in Friday night's clash against the Gold Coast Titans in Auckland.

Former Titans hooker Karl Lawton is set to be drafted into the first-grade side to cover for the loss of Luke, where he will share dummy-half duties with Jazz Tevaga.

While Kearney had remained tight-lipped on the issue, Warriors captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck confirmed on Tuesday that it would be Harris-Tavita partnering Blake Green in the halves.   

"Chanel will get a shot with us, he's had an awesome pre-season, it was real tight the race between [Keighran] and Chanel, so now that Chanel gets a chance he's looking forward to seeing how he goes in the top side," Tuivasa-Sheck said.

"Karl comes in, Chanel comes in, and we need to make sure we are all on the same page.

"Just seeing Chanel run, that's what we want. Run, play fast, that's the style that he has and I just want to see him run, because with ball in hand he's pretty dangerous.

"We need to take a bit more off Green and share the load.

"I think that was a problem for us in the last game, we were too reliant on Green, even though Green is a fantastic player, we need to play a bit more in our role.

"We have got a young hooker coming through, a young half, so it gives [me] a bit more opportunity to step up and take the ball on a bit more."

Luke failed to take the field in the second half of the loss to Manly in Christchurch due to a tight hamstring, and Kearney said he won't be risked in round four, while also confirming hooker Nathaniel Roache isn't ready to come back from a calf injury.

"[Luke] will be unavailable this week, I'm not sure yet [how long he will be out for]," Kearney said.

"It was tightness to the hamstring, he didn't come back on in the second half and it's too much of a risk. He's had a couple of dramas with it earlier on, missing the start of the season with a bit of a tight hammy in round one.

"[Roache] had a run yesterday, he is tracking along OK, but he won't be available this weekend either."

Kearney resisted the urged to make changes following a 34-6 loss to the Wests Tigers in round two, but hinted that the poor showing against Manly had left him with little choice but to swing the selection axe.

"We understand with the last two performances… there's a certain expectation that we have in the footy team and if I feel that adjustments need to be made to reach that expectation then I'll make them."