Injury toll threatens milestone

Injury concerns are threatening to derail Northland's preparation for David Holwell's 100th game against Wellington on Sunday.
The tussle against Tasman last weekend may end up costing a lot more than just Air New Zealand Cup points, with more question marks surrounding the availability of the forward pack than feature in your average quiz show.
"It's not ideal preparation for what will be one of the toughest matches of the season," coach Bryce Woodward said.
And the coach said they needed to produce a performance much like the one in the first half against Tasman last week if they wanted to threaten Wellington.
That could be tough if the injury toll increases.
The pack has been weakened already with the loss of the ever- dependable Bronson Murray for the season with a compression fracture in his neck. He sustained the injury in the first scrum of the match against Tasman.
It is a big loss for the side, with the Super-14 loosehead prop playing every minute of the campaign to date - even when injured last Sunday. His defence around the ruck  has been outstanding.
Ross Wright, who has been in good form for the development squad in recent weeks, has been elevated on to the bench, with Karl Haitana and Matt Wallis the starting props.
That at least, is a decision the coaching staff can make with some certainty, with the rest involving waiting for results of further tests today.
Two-metre lock Cam Jowitt, who has impressed since joining the team as a loan player, took a knock to the head on Sunday and was still showing signs of  concussion yesterday.
"We'll know by the end of the day. If he has got symptoms, he'll be replaced and [Pat] O'Connor and [Dan] Goodwin will start," Woodward said.
If Jowitt passes the test then a decision will be made about who will start the game and who will start from the bench.
Joel McKenty had a scan on his foot yesterday, after he had struggled to recover after injuring himself in the warm-up for the game on Sunday.
The results will be known today but if a fracture is found, he will also be gone for the season.  Matt Clutterbuck will replace him in the starting line-up.
If Cam Jowitt and Joel McKenty are both out, then development captain Matt Harrison and Junior Gadolo will start on the reserves' bench. If McKenty makes it, but Jowitt fails his fitness test or vice versa then Gadolo gets the nod, covering blindside and allowing Roy Griffin to cover lock as he did last season for Northland.
Troy Woodman comes on to the bench after cooling his heels for the development squad over the past couple of weeks.
Woodman was injured in the Auckland game at Kerikeri and will be keen to show his value to the side if he gets game time.
"We felt we had midfield covered and we wanted to bring extra pace into the backline, someone more explosive," Woodward said yesterday.
It is a blow to Damien Fakafanua, who received his 15-game blazer last week, and who has rarely put a foot wrong this season. The other change is a rotation of the halfbacks with Luke Hamilton replacing Rhyan Caine in the run-on XV.
If anything is going to lift Northland to halt their losing streak at Okara Park this season, it surely must be the celebration of Holwell's achievement.
"It will be a special occasion because it's David Holwell's 100th match ... and at least it's an easy way for players to get excited about the occasion," he said.