NRL: Hurricane Hurrell blows through Gold Coast

Warriors coach Brian McClennan has likened rookie Konrad Hurrell to Kiwi international legend Kevin Iro. Photo / Getty images.

The one-man hurricane that is Konrad Hurrell continued his destructive try-scoring streak but whether the Broncos feel the full force of the centre remains to be seen.

Hurrell scored a hat-trick in the Warriors' emphatic 32-14 win over the Titans in the Gold Coast last night, taking his tally to 12 from as many games this season and moving his side to eighth on the NRL ladder.

But the 20-year-old limped off late in the match with an ankle injury and is in doubt for the trip to Suncorp Stadium on Friday night. Hurrell was set to have an x-ray when the team returned to Auckland today, after which his condition should become clear.

If the injury proves serious, the Warriors would be shorn of one of their biggest attacking weapons for the battle against the third-placed Broncos.

In just his second year playing rugby league, Hurrell has illustrated the same sense for the tryline he showed in scoring 22 times in 21 games in last year's Toyota Cup.

He has notched 11 tries in his last seven games, with Brisbane the last team to hold him scoreless back in round nine. Whether they can attempt to match that feat in round 19 depends on his lame ankle.

There was nothing impaired about Hurrell's performance last night, but Warriors' coach Brian McClennan was wary about over-hyping the Tongan after his first career three-try haul.

"He's doing fine and it's a decent effort from his getting a hat-trick,'' he said. "We were all really pleased for the young fella. As long as he keeps his feet on the ground and stays humble, he'll be fine.''

Hurrell has proved unstoppable close to the line, with his second try against the Titans coming despite the attentions of three would-be tacklers, and he brings a directness that has been occasionally lacking in the Warriors' attack this season.

His first try opened the scoring and his second gave the Warriors a lead from which they never looked back, piling on 28 unanswered points to seal consecutive wins for only the second time this season.

"We just wanted to play some good footy and I thought in the second half we were pretty steady with it,'' McClennan said. "We didn't overplay and we were patient and got repeat sets and really accumulated a lot of possession, which sucked a lot of energy out of them.''

Crucially for the Warriors, the possession meant they didn't have to exert too much energy of their own, ensuring the side should be relatively fresh for Friday night.

"We had a lot of ball in the second half, which meant we didn't have to expend too much energy which is pretty good at this time of the year,'' McClennan said.

"We've got a really big game coming up against the Broncos on Friday so that was pretty good for us last night in terms of how much work we had to do.''

It may be a tough task to win in Brisbane, but the Warriors need to string together a few victories if they wish to consolidate their position in the top eight. Behind them are six teams within four points, so their chances of repeating their 2011 run to the grand final are in the balance.

McClennan was loathe to either look back at last year's team or cast his attention too far forward in the face of Friday night's challenge.

"I understand that people like to compare but we can't be talking about runs. We've got a game on Friday against a very good team with all their Origin players on board.''