FIJIAN beast Nimi Qio terrorised opposition centres on the way to scoring 21 tries for Wanderers to be the find of the 2019 Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union season.
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Boasting power, pace and a Popeye fend, Qio was almost unstoppable.
Wildfires coach Scott Coleman has preferred to use Qio's blockbusting game on the wing in the opening 10 rounds of the Shute Shield.
On Saturday, Qio gets a chance to return to the midfield for the clash against a desperate Warringah at No.2 Sportsground.
Qio shifts to outside centre in place of Wanderers teammate Chase Hicks, who has been rested as a precaution after suffering a head knock in the 49-24 loss to Southern Districts.
"Nimi has played really well in the past three weeks and we wanted to get him closer to the ball," Coleman said. "We are going to look to play a bit more direct with him in the centres. The earlier we can get him the ball and the more space we can give him, who knows what could happen. He is hard to stop once he get those legs pumping. We saw that for Wanderers.
"Long-term, I think wing is his spot because it gives him more opportunities to get involved in counter attack. Before Chase, we lost Carl Manu (broken arm) and are a bit light on in the centres. He deserves a crack there anyway."
Taylor Acheson comes in on the wing for his Shute Shield debut. Originally from Northern Ireland, the 27-year-old played for Melbourne Harlequins last year and was in the Melbourne Rising squad for the National Rugby Championships.
"There is no competition in Melbourne due to COVID so he decided about five weeks ago to come up here and have a crack at the Shute Shield," Coleman said. "He has speed, football nous and is a good communicator."
The forward pack is unchanged. The Wildfires conceded two penalty tries from scrums against Southern Districts, but Coleman is confident they can bounce back against the Rats.
"We were out-weighed and out-classed by Souths," Coleman said. "They had professionals in the front row - three Waratahs and another guy who plays in the US. Warringah will probably try and attack us there, but I'm confident we will match their scrum. They aren't as big and powerful."
Former Newcastle captain and NSW Country back-rower Matt Dun will be a special guest at Wildfires training on Thursday night. The players will wear the jerseys of their home clubs and are donating money to Dunn's Run DIPG foundation.
"It's a chance for us to have a bit of fun and raise some money for a worthy cause," Coleman said.
Wildfires: 1 Dave Puchert, 2 Phil Bradford, 3 Geraint Weaver, 4 Jeremy Burrill, 5 Seva Rokobaro, 6 Alec Corcoran, 7 Shawn Ingle, 8 George Noa, 9 Mahe Fungupo, 11 Hamish McKie, 12 Taulogo Lalaga, 13 Nimi Qio, 14 Taylor Acheson, 15 Chad Northcott.
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