NRL: McFadden juggling after injuries

Konrad Hurrell suffered a shoulder injury at Warriors training on Tuesday. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors will need to overcome the loss of injured duo Ryan Hoffman and Konrad Hurrell if they are to continue their winning ways in Sunday's clash against the Melbourne Storm at Mt Smart Stadium.

Back-rower Hoffman suffered a torn calf in Wednesday night's State of Origin decider and centre Hurrell is also looking at a stint on the sidelines because of a shoulder injury he received at training on Tuesday.

Coach Andrew McFadden said both were unlikely to play the Storm but was relieved that Queensland interchange front-rower Jacob Lillyman would be fit to start the match.

As indicated earlier this week, 18th man David Fusitu'a will replace Hurrell at centre.

"Ryan's picked up a calf injury and [Hurrell], they're both very unlikely." said McFadden. "Jacob should be okay so he'll take his place.

"Raymond Faitala-Mariner will come into the side and start and probably Sione Lousi will be added to the bench."

McFadden acknowledged the visitors have their own staffing issues, with fullback Billy Slater out for the season after shoulder surgery and two other key personnel backing up post-Origin.

After consolidating seventh position with back-to-back wins over the Gold Coast and Canberra he stressed the need for his side to maintain their standards and consistency.

"With Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith backing up from Origin and missing Billy there is maybe a better opportunity," he said.

"The ladder is still very congested and these points count, especially for us, because we're playing teams that are around about the same position.

"It's very important, particularly against Melbourne this week, because we can certainly surge up or down the ladder depending on results."

The Warriors' recent improved showings were not the result of any great changes to their playing style or preparation, and McFadden believes his players are simply feeling more confident in their roles after seeing the benefits of sticking to and executing their game plan effectively.

"We know we've put ourselves in a position to do something so we've just got to keep working hard.

"We've just got to keep focusing on performance but there's no doubt that our expectations are that we're in the finals at the end of the year."