Warriors hit with injury blows in wake of Melbourne Storm defeat

Tohu Harris of the Warriors reacts to an injury during the round eight Anzac Day NRL match between the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors. Photosport

The Warriors have been dealt a triple injury blow in the wake of their Anzac Day defeat to the Melbourne Storm last night leaving Andrew Webster without key personnel for the quick turnaround against the Roosters on Sunday.

Tohu Harris (knee), Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (HIA) and Jazz Tevaga (achilles) will all miss the next match at Mt Smart after suffering injuries in the 30-22 loss, while Dylan Walker faces a possible suspension following a sin binning before halftime.

“Fielding a team...look I just want every player available one week this year. That would be great,” Webster said in the press conference after the loss saw the Warriors slip to seventh on the table.

“But if it doesn’t, honestly, the next guy will do his job. Whoever that is, back home with a full house rocking. It’s fine. We don’t make excuses.”

Harris suffered a similar knee injury against the Bulldogs in round four that saw him miss the next two games against the Sharks and Knights. The club captain was confident it wasn’t a serious knee injury after having sustained an ACL blow previously and was expecting positive news when he returns back to New Zealand.

“It’s the same knee that I did a couple of weeks ago. We won’t find out until we’re back home, the extent of the damage. I’m hoping it’s not that bad. I’m hoping it’s pretty positive news and I don’t miss any or too many games. It’s definitely medial,” Harris said.

Nicoll-Klokstad must stand down for 11 days after failing his HIA while Webster said Tevaga faces a few games on the sidelines as well, but it wasn’t a serious blow.

Webster said he didn’t want to make excuses after the Warriors gave up a 22-12 lead shortly after halftime once the injuries started piling up to lose yet another Anzac Day clash.

“It was hard. You could see how hard the boys were trying to hang in there. There was a period there where if we got a call or something went our way, we were probably still a bit of a fighting chance and they would have found a bit of belief. They just kept trying all the way to the end. I’ve seen those situations blow out and they put three tries on a team late and the boys hung in there. Really proud of that,” Webster said.

“They know they’re a good football team. They’ve just got to keep working on stuff where we make moments happen more. We look like a great team when we get it right.”