Warriors winger Watene-Zelezniak to be banned after sin-binning

Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is facing an NRL suspension, following his sin-binning in Saturday’s defeat to the Melbourne Storm.

The 28-year-old has been handed a grade two careless high tackle charge, after taking out Melbourne winger Grant Anderson in the second half at Go Media Stadium.

Watene-Zelezniak is facing a one-match ban at the very least, should he plead guilty early, or two matches at most if he contests the charge.

An early plea will see him miss the round 16 clash away to the Gold Coast Titans next weekend, while a two-game suspension would also mean missing the home match against the Brisbane Broncos at the end of June.

Edward Kosi is the likely replacement for Watene-Zelezniak, after deputising for fellow winger Marcelo Montoya earlier this season.

Losing Watene-Zelezniak would be a further blow for the Warriors, who also saw centre Rocco Berry leave the field injured in the defeat.

The Warriors’ official site lists Berry’s condition as a shoulder injury, and the 23-year-old was seen with his arm in a sling towards the end of the game.

Fellow centre Adam Pompey also failed to complete the 80 minutes, and left the field late with what’s been listed as a leg issue.

If either Berry or Pompey fail to prove their fitness before next weekend, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck looms as the first-choice replacement as he returns from a hamstring injury suffered before the Warriors’ defeat to the Sydney Roosters earlier this year.

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