Andrew Webster has declared Warriors captain Tohu Harris a near-certain starter for their qualifying final next weekend, allaying fears a back injury could limit his involvement post the regular season.
And the NZ coach isn’t giving up hope for five-eighth Luke Metcalf to return this season, suggesting he could play in the NRL grand final should they make it that far.
Those two injuries perhaps shaped Webster’s decision to rest a stack of stars for Saturday’s trip to the Dolphins.
Key spine members Charnze-Nicoll Klokstad, Shaun Johnson and Wayde Egan will be joined on the sidelines by gun front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake and flyer Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, all resting with a double-chance already secured.
While still planning to beat the expansion side, Webster said preparing for an away final the following week was more important.
“The thing I took into account was if someone had a niggle or there was someone I thought we needed to look after then I wanted to do that,” he said.
“I'd kick myself if we lost players that have those little niggles, every team in the NRL has got them this time of year.
“The further you go in the competition, the more everyone gets them, you’ve just got to look after them and be smart.”
The Warriors’ own press release on Tuesday suggested Harris was “in doubt” for that final, but Webster appeared confused when asked how serious the injury was.
He indicated the inspirational lock would have been able to play this weekend if it didn’t involve the four-hour flight across the ditch.
“I’m still trying to work out who said it was serious … (but) if you don’t get it right, it can go the other way,” Webster said.
“It's just stiff, it would be stupid to play him (on Saturday), training is actually the best thing for him because he can move, he stays mobile.
“He'll be fine, he'll play next week, but he's going to have to work hard at his back.”
Metcalf’s moderate hamstring strain has him looking at more than a month out of action, but Webster wouldn’t put a line through him just yet.
Fellow five-eighth Te Maire Martin threw two try assists in his NSW Cup return from a leg injury last weekend and will face the Dolphins in a bid to gain more NRL match fitness.
“Gutted for (Metcalf), gutted for the team, he’s done a terrific job and was growing in confidence,” Webster said.
“We’re optimistic if he works hard he can get back for the GF, we’ll just wait and see and we’ve got to work hard to get there first.
“(Martin) had some great touches last week, played 50 minutes, once he’d got the confidence and got the job done we grabbed him off, particularly knowing what happened to Luke."
