NRL: Warriors hamstrung by bout of bad luck

Jerome Ropati has bagged three tries in four games this year. Photo / Greg Bowker

It's the type of bizarre hat-trick the Warriors could do without: all three players that make up their first-choice left-edge unit have suffered hamstring strains.

Captain Simon Mannering and star winger Manu Vatuvei are out, while centre Jerome Ropati is battling to be fit to face the Bulldogs on Saturday night.

The official word is that Ropati, who tweaked his hamstring during his first carry in last Sunday's defeat by Manly, should be fit to take his place in the patched-up side.

Given the run of bad luck the club is presently enduring, it would be no surprise to see the Kiwis centre join Mannering and Vatuvei on the sidelines.

With teenage rookie Bill Tupou occupying the left wing and converted hooker Lewis Brown the left second-row spot, the Warriors can ill afford the loss of 112-game veteran Ropati.

"I can't put a finger on it," Ropati said of the rash of dodgy hamstrings. "Our medical staff are looking into it. Our training and everything has been spot on. It is just one of those things. Me and Manu have a history of [hamstring injuries]."

Now Mannering does, too.

The timing could hardly be worse. Having endured a horror 2009, Ropati is showing signs 2010 could be a bounceback year.

Certainly his try-scoring strike rate has returned to its usual level. Ropati has managed 43 tries in 112 first-grade games. Last year he managed just four in 17 games as he battled injuries and an apparent loss of confidence. In four games this year he has bagged three tries, and has looked sharp.

The return of Ropati as an attacking force has coincided with the team breaking out of last season's offensive slump. A new game plan that revolves around the forwards keeping the ball alive has resulted in the rediscovery of the team's attacking touch, he said.

"Our forwards are passing the ball to each other, creating more options for themselves. And if we can disrupt the defence in the middle it opens up space out wide.

"Our middle is doing a fantastic job. They are throwing variations at the opposition and it opens up a lot of opportunities for us [out wide]."

Ropati's assessment of his form is cautious. He describes himself as "relatively happy". The glitches have been an occasional defensive lapse and a few handling errors, but his efforts have been a vast improvement on last year.

"The beauty of the NRL is that a new season gives you a brand new enthusiasm, and gives you a clean slate."

The thing the Warriors want most from Ropati right now is a clean bill of health.

The most likely scenario if he is ruled out would see Joel Moon switch to centre, Lance Hohaia take over at five-eighth and Wade McKinnon start at fullback. Fit-again hooker Ian Henderson would then be a candidate to claim the vacant spot on the bench.