Andrew Webster counting injury toll after heartbreaking Warriors loss

By Alex Powell

On top of a heart-breaking golden point loss to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, the Warriors continue to count a rising injury toll at the crucial end of their NRL campaign.

As Andrew Webster’s side fell to a 13-12 defeat at Accor Stadium, the Warriors’ cause was severely hindered by the loss of the entirety of the back three.

Fullback Charzne Nicoll-Klokstad appeared to suffer a recurrence of a calf issue that has already limited his involvement this season.

Meanwhile, neither of the two starting wingers were able to complete 80 minutes, as Marcelo Montoya (groin) was forced from the field, while Dallin Watene-Zelezniak failed a head injury assessment.

And while the Warriors have a bye next week, the trio join an inflated casualty ward looking to return in time for the round 20 clash away to the Canberra Raiders.

“I don’t know where to start, everyone’s got knocks at the moment,” Webster said. “They’re sore.

“There’s tears, there’s everything going on. We’ll reassess, and work it out tomorrow.

“I’ll just let them ice up for now.”

The back three join Shaun Johnson (Achilles), captain Tohu Harris (wrist), centre Rocco Berry (shoulder), half Luke Metcalf (leg), and young forward Zyon Maiu’u (ankle) as doubts for the trip to the Australian capital.

And to make matters worse, the trio of Harris, Berry and Metcalf are all listed with no confirmed return dates.

At the very least, Watene-Zelezniak should be in contention for Canberra, as the NRL’s concussion protocols would lapse during the upcoming bye week.

However, the prognosis isn’t as good for Nicoll-Klokstand and Montoya, Webster confirmed.

“We’ll patch ourselves up,” the coach continued. “Dal [Watene-Zelezniak], they said he couldn’t come back on.

“We’ve got the bye, so he should be available for selection. [But] I don’t think the other boys, Charnze and Marce [Montoya] will play the next game.

“We’ll see. We’ll get home and see what happens.”

While he’ll almost certainly be replaced by Taine Tuaupiki in the No 1 jersey, Nicoll-Klokstad’s loss is still a major one for the Warriors, who need wins above all else if they’re to have any chance of returning to the NRL finals.

The 28-year-old picked up the calf issue in the first half, but played on through the pain to get to half time and allow his teammates to regroup.

In that time, he denied former teammate Josh Curran a try that would have potentially seen the Bulldogs draw level into the break.

Only time will tell if that decision costs the Warriors in the long run.

For the coach, though, Nicoll-Klokstad’s determination and ability to put his body on the line is the kind of effort his side will need if they’re to remain in contention for a top eight spot.

“We got word that he needed to come off,” Webster explained. “We were trying to get him off, and couldn’t.

“They [the Bulldogs] kept getting more sets. We went into halftime feeling really good about how courageous the boys were.

“We were confident if we did that, we’d give ourselves a chance.”

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission