Turbo ready to return as Manly reach out to Christchurch community

Manly coach Des Hasler has welcomed the return of star fullback Tom Trbojevic for Saturday afternoon's clash against the Warriors in Christchurch.

Trbojevic was named to return in the No.1 jersey on Tuesday with Hasler indicating the 22-year-old was an almost certain starter before the team boarded a plane to New Zealand on Wednesday evening.

The NSW representative has not been sighted in the past fortnight after straining his hamstring in the club's trial game against Cronulla on February 21.

Manly are desperate to rectify a 0-2 record to start the season and Trbojevic's return is set to ease pressure on an inexperienced back five.

"Tom's had a really good recovery and rehab and we've been really impressed with what he's done and it's been very thorough, and it needed to be," Hasler said.

"He's excited. You only have to look at his pedigree. He's an Origin player, he's an Australian player – he brings a lot of confidence to those around him.

"That's probably one attribute that doesn't get mentioned enough."

The Sea Eagles headed to New Zealand with a busy five-day schedule with plans to connect with the community ahead of their home against the Warriors.

The devastating terrorist attack that rocked the city a fortnight ago will act as a major focus in the lead-up with the club eager to link with the Warriors and Christchurch council and offer as much support as possible.

"What we've done is reach out and find out how clubs could help," Hasler said.

"We thought by gravitating to the community and just letting them know they are not alone and the people are think about them and what they've had to endure and tie in with what Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said with her message of 'they are us'.

"It's true and we want to be a part of it. In our short time we are there we will reach out as much as we can. For all those reasons and also we're playing a game of footy and entertaining everyone that's a footy fan."

Hasler was under no illusions about the difficulty of his team's task on the field despite the Sea Eagles "hosting" the game, with the Warriors riding high on emotion to bounce back from last week's 28-point loss to the Wests Tigers.

"They've had a really impressive start to the season and are playing well," Hasler said.

"They're committed and a disciplined Warriors side."