Parramatta coach Brad Arthur says dumped halfback Chris Sandow will stay in reserve grade for at least a fortnight as he attempts to rediscover some form.
Last week's heavy NRL defeat to Melbourne left the Eels in a tie for last place, prompting Arthur to drop Sandow as well as veteran forward Joseph Paulo for Saturday afternoon's home clash with the Warriors.
It's come at a bad time for Sandow, who is fighting for a new contract at the club.
"There's things that he's got to work on. He's been told those and he's been given a couple of weeks out to go away and work on it," Arthur said on Friday.
"He's like every other player in the team. There's expectations and if they don't meet them, they get a chance to work on it.
"He does that, he puts himself in a position to come back into the team."
Asked whether he was confident the 26-year-old would return to the NRL side, Arthur said: "Well, he's had plenty of setbacks and he managed to do it.
"That's just a week-to-week proposition that's in his hands.
"He's playing to get back into the NRL team. That's his priority. The contract stuff looks after itself."
All but one of Parramatta's six losses this year have been by 13 points or more, forcing Arthur to wield the axe as he searches for a winning combination.
Former Storm halfback Luke Kelly, who also comes off contract at the end of the season, will line-up in Sandow's place.
"You don't get changes unless you make some change," Arthur said.
"The boys are hurting. It's a really important game for us. At home, we need to repay our fans with a big game this week.
"We just need to simplify our game at the moment. Keep it nice and simple.
"One of Luke's strengths is he'll kick long and keep it nice and simple and will play nice and direct."
STATS THAT MATTER
- This match is the Warriors' 500th in the ARL/Super League/NRL competition. They played their first match against the Broncos at Mt Smart Stadium on March 10 1995, falling just short of a win, 25-22.
- The Warriors have conceded the most points of any NRL team in the final 20 minutes of matches, with 70. The second worst? Parramatta with 67.
- The past five matches between these two teams have had at least 45 points scored in total, with all five decided by 13 points or more. In fact, 10 of the 12 matches between these two sides since 2008 have been decided by 13 points or more.
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