Both Chanel Harris-Tavita (L) and Wayde Egan face lengthy stints on the sidelines after suffering injuries over the weekend. Photos / Photosport
Both Chanel Harris-Tavita (L) and Wayde Egan face lengthy stints on the sidelines after suffering injuries over the weekend. Photos / Photosport
The Warriors have been hit with further significant injury blows, in a season that has been marked by a number of casualties.
If the 42-16 defeat to the Storm on Sunday wasn't painful enough, it was compounded by the loss of two key members of the spine.
Coach Nathan Brownconfirmed that halfback Chanel Harris-Tavita is likely out for the season after tearing a pectoral muscle while hooker Wayde Egan is also in doubt for at least the next few weeks after an awful head clash late in the match.
Egan was rushed to hospital post-game, as his concussion looked to be on the worse end of the scale.
It presents yet another challenge for the Auckland team.
Coming into the second half of the season the Warriors looked close to full strength, as players have gradually returned over the past few weeks, highlighted by prop Addin Fonua-Blake.
But not now.
Harris-Tavita left the field just before halftime and the early diagnosis isn't promising
"You would have thought so," said Brown, when asked if the 22-year-old would be out for the season. "He broke his foot and now this. It's been an unhappy year for [him], from that point of view, so that's disappointing."
While Reece Walsh might appeal as a replacement in the halves, Brown suggested that Sean O'Sullivan was more likely to be used.
"We will have a look," said Brown. "Sean O'Sullivan did a good job for us and he has been playing really well in the Queensland Cup. Sean could be a direct replacement for Chanel, [with] Reece playing fullback and Roger on the wing and that was working quite well for us. We will try and keep it as similar as possible, without making too many changes, if we can."
Egan endured a horrible afternoon on Sunday. He looked to be in severe discomfort after hyperextending his knee early in the second half, but stayed on the field, as there were no dummy half options to replace him, before the collision in the 74th minute.
"He is not very good at all," said Brown. "Very bad cut and not in a good way. Not very stable and very blurred [vision] so I am sure there will some sort of precautionary issues."
The Warriors don't have a specialist back up hooker, with Jazz Tevaga the likely option this Saturday in Newcastle.
Ken Maumalo had an unexpected farewell opportunity on Sunday, before his move to the Tigers. He wasn't listed to play, but an injury to Rocco Berry in the captain's run saw him drafted into the side.
It was an emotional final match for the Warriors for Ken Maumolo. Photo / Photosport
Maumalo, who scored an emotional hat trick, is expected to officially link with the Tigers later this week.
Brown confirmed that Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is one of the options on their list to bring in with Maumalo moving on.
"Once the thing unfolded with Ken, we are certainly putting our feelers out there looking," said Brown. "We got a fair list of backs that aren't playing at the moment. We are certainly looking at players and his name was certainly thrown up."
It was a great occasion on Sunday. Dragon headlined the pre-match entertainment, which also included a number of Kiwi-themed activities (including a gumboot throwing competition), while there was a passionate haka performed from the grandstands just before kick-off. It served to create a great atmosphere among the 8,105 crowd, but unfortunately the Warriors side couldn't raise its levels to match.
The side was in the contest for the first quarter, with plenty of possession and territory, but didn't offer much end-product. Then, once the Storm got rolling, they were always going to be hard to stop.
"I don't think there was a lot in that first 25 minutes, we just played no footy," said Brown. "We just wanted to hit it up and hit it up, they ran us off our legs. I thought we took a bit of a step backwards today."
