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Taine Tuaupiki鈥檚 entire career has so far been built on being in the right place at the right time. And with two pre-season fixtures playing on the wing now in the bag, it looks like coach Andrew Webster might just have stumbled onto a winning formula.

Since Tuaupiki鈥檚 club debut in 2023, the 25-year-old has been forced to be patient playing in his preferred position at fullback, largely due to the excellence of Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad in the No 1 jersey.

But two separate injury reshuffles in pre-season have opened the door for Tuaupiki as wide as it鈥檚 ever been to cement himself as an regular.

In a a wrist injury to  saw Tuaupiki slot in on the wing as cover and he scored the Warriors鈥� second try.

Then in, Tuaupiki was moved from fullback to the wing on game day and added another two scores 鈥� both acrobatic dives into the right corner 鈥� to further cement his credentials to wear No 2 when the Warriors鈥� season begins in Las Vegas.

Albeit against a Storm side bereft of most of its NRL stars, Tuaupiki ran for a game-high 151m, making two line breaks and was arguably the Warriors鈥� most impressive player.

鈥淚t鈥檚 another string to his bow,鈥� said Webster. 鈥淭hat way it gives us more depth and another option.

鈥淲e鈥檝e got a headache in the next two weeks to work out what we do there.

鈥淎ttacking-wise, he鈥檚 a great player. It鈥檚 just positionally for him, I reckon, he鈥檇 find it hard.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 probably the second time he鈥檚 done it in his life. He鈥檚 gone from the halves to fullback when he was younger. Now he鈥檚 on the right wing for the Warriors in the NRL.

鈥淧ositionally, he learned a lot, he was in good spots and he鈥檒l get even better for it.鈥�

On top of , Watene-Zelezniak鈥檚 injury will see the Warriors begin 2025 without either of the wingers who Webster鈥檚 game plan over the past two years was built on.

However, Tuaupiki鈥檚 presence would be a solution for all parties involved.

Standing at just over 1.76m (5鈥�8鈥�), Tuaupiki isn鈥檛 the most physically intimidating presence at the club, especially when Webster鈥檚 game plan has traditionally asked his back three to carry the ball out of their own half early in sets.

What鈥檚 more, places in the halves will also be hard to come by, given the depth of playmaking talent now on the books.

To his credit, Tuaupiki has never let the Warriors down when deputising, and famously , in what should be remembered as one of the club鈥檚 greatest victories.

Last year, he re-signed with the Warriors until the end of 2026, at a time when he could have looked for regular gametime elsewhere.

Now, unless Webster opts for the bigger body of Ed Kosi on the wing to open the season against the Canberra Raiders, Tuaupiki could get those minutes as a Warrior.

Meanwhile, the other flank appears to have been settled in Roger Tuivasa-Sheck鈥檚 favour, after spending most of 2024 being shoehorned into the centres.

Against the Storm, Tuivasa-Sheck also managed a double, to go with 104 run metres, and four tackle breaks.

And given that Nicoll-Klokstad鈥檚 absence at fullback was filled by Te Maire Martin, by Webster鈥檚 own concession, Tuivasa-Sheck won鈥檛 be subject to the same positional speculation as he was last year.

Taine Tuaupiki, seen here in action against the Panthers last season when he famously scored the match-winning try, continues to shine, scoring two tries for the Warriors against the Storm in Saturday's impressive pre-season trial win. Photo / Photosport

鈥淚 thought he was awesome. Honestly, Roger鈥檚 been so clear and focused.

鈥淓veryone would say 鈥榳hy didn鈥檛 you move him to fullback today?鈥� but Rog practised where he was needed all pre-season. He鈥檚 done so well.

鈥淚 think we鈥檝e got an awesome back three, it doesn鈥檛 matter who wears the jersey.

鈥淩oger鈥檚 best part was his finishing today. He just looks at home on the wing.鈥�

Now, Webster鈥檚 biggest problem will be finalising just who travels to Las Vegas for the season-opener at Allegiant Stadium.

This pre-season has largely seen the Warriors impress in their post-Shaun Johnson, post-Tohu Harris era.

Webster has made it clear Luke Metcalf will take the No 7 jersey, while new recruit Erin Clark gave a good go of putting his hand up to replace the now-retired captain.

NRL regulations mean 22 players will travel, before that鈥檚 cut down to the match-day 17.

But given the sheer number of younger players who鈥檝e put their hands up over the past two weeks, the Warriors coach has an unenviable task on his hands.

鈥淲hat I learned from the first trial is it really narrowed our focus on what we needed to be better at,鈥� he explained. 鈥淲e really did that today in the first half.

鈥淲e can鈥檛 get carried away, trials are trials, but you鈥檙e allowed to practice what you want to do.

鈥淥ur whole squad, like our young forwards, stood up. They鈥檝e made a headache for that last bench spot.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know which way we鈥檙e going to go, that鈥檚 hard. I think 95% of our squad is picked 鈥� that鈥檚 what we got out of the two trials.鈥�

 is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.