Rugby League: Achilles injury hobbles Lomax's career

By PETER JESSUP

The NRL career of Melbourne Storm prop John Lomax is over, the 15-test Kiwi going down to a long-term Achilles' tendon injury.

He will work out the season as mentor for the Auckland Warriors' weekend opponents.

The Warriors, meanwhile, have drafted in discarded Brisbane Souths fullback and captain David Mulhall to fill the troublesome fullback spot.

Mulhall was with St George in 1998 and has plenty of first-grade experience, though none at top level, and was let go when the Dragons and Illawarra merged and kept Luke Patten and Amos Roberts as prospects.

The Warriors have watched Mulhall during the season while monitoring performance of the players sent there. The 24-year-old is the first called up under the reci-procal arrange-ment with Souths as a feeder.

Three other changes have been made from the side beaten by the Panthers - sometime-fullback Cliff Beverley gets a start in his preferred spot at five-eighths, Matt Spence moves up from the bench and Tony Tuimavave is dropped for Otahuhu development player Jonathon Smith.

Lomax has been plagued by injury, last year at the North Queensland Cowboys and this season at Melbourne.

The Storm's plan of having him on hand to fill in to cover weaknesses while State of Origin stars were missing was a dismal failure.

The 34-year-old underwent surgery on the niggling injury after being told it was torn and that he risked a full rupture. Yesterday he was described as "hobbling but keen to hang around and help."

The club have agreed to keep him on the payroll to the end of the season. Lomax is still keen to try to work himself back to fitness so he can be available for selection for the Maori squad for the World Cup.

Warriors target Tony Martin is unlikely to play against them this weekend unless he recovers from a shoulder muscle strain that put him out of much of the first half of the Storm's game against the Roosters.

The Storm are keen to deal to an unwelcome record at Olympic Park on Sunday, with the Warriors one of only two NRL teams that have a better for-and-against, with three wins and two losses.

St George, the Storm's other bogy, are keen to turn around a 2-4 win/loss break since they first lost their Origin players after round 14 and slipped from second to ninth on the table.

Warriors: David Mulhall, Henry Faafili, David Myles, Nigel Vagana, Lee Oudenryn, Cliff Beverley, Stacey Jones, Joe Vagana, Robert Mears, Jerry Seuseu, Logan Swann, Matt Spence, Scott Coxon; interchange Shontayne Hape, Jonathon Smith, Ali Lauiti'iti, Mark Tookey.