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Home / Sport / League / Warriors

Rugby league: From bad to worse - Warriors face hooker crisis in NRL as another No 9 Karl Lawton in doubt

Michael Burgess
By Michael Burgess
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald·
3 Aug, 2019 03:30 AM3 mins to read

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Steve Smith hit his second century of the first test to take Australia to a dominant lead in the Ashes, Marc and Elliott dissect the Warriors poor performance and we take a look at the new 'Brothers in Black' book.

A hooker crisis could be looming at the Warriors.

As if things weren't gloomy enough, in the wake of Friday night's embarrassing 46-12 defeat to the Raiders, which has surely ended their faint finals hopes, the club could face the next fortnight without a specialist number nine.

Karl Lawton left the field midway through the second half and the initial signs are not positive.

The Australian will undergo scans, but his chances of being involved next Friday against Manly are up in the air, as it appears he has aggravated the shoulder injury that had seen him miss the previous three games.

Issac Luke has two more weeks of his suspension to serve, while Nathaniel Roache is out for the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.

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It means the team may need to use makeshift options like Jazz Tevaga and Chanel Harris-Tavita at dummy half, far from ideal given the importance of the position.

Lawton had surgery in the off season – the second shoulder reconstruction of his short career – and damaged the same joint in the round 17 win over the Knights.

"She was a bit tender," said Lawton. "I probably pushed it a bit, probably came back a bit early. [But] you don't want to let the boys down. I didn't know if in another week or two I was going to be in the same position and so I needed to try it and see how it would hold out."

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Karl Lawton. Photo / Photosport
Karl Lawton. Photo / Photosport

Lawton didn't go into specifics, but the early signs are that he has suffered further damage to his left shoulder.

"It depends how it heals in the next week or two," said Lawton. "At the end of the year I'll jump under the knife again, maybe, the way it is looking.

"I'll get some scans and it depends how we are sitting on the ladder. If we are certain not to make the eight then it makes a bit more sense to sort myself out."

Last night's loss went against the trend of the last six weeks, where the Warriors have generally applied themselves well. But the Raiders were also a step up, compared to the opposition they've faced in that time.

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The result continued a losing sequence at Mt Smart that stretches back to round four, and the Warriors were flat from the start, unable to gain any ascendancy up front. They were also hesitant and half hearted on defence and had no rhythm in attack.

Lawton admitted there were some signs even before the game in the dressing room that all was not right.

"It was a touch quiet to be honest, we were all a bit quiet," said Lawton. "But it comes down to lack of attitude across the park."

The Raiders scored five tries – and came close to several more – in a dire first 40 minutes, prompting coach Stephen Kearney to deliver a thunderous half time address, culminating in him kicking a towel across the dressing room.

"It wasn't pretty," said Lawton. "I've never seen him lose it like that but it was definitely called for."

The performance of Chanel Harris-Tavita was one of the few positives. He backed up well to score two tries and demonstrated a level of energy and intensity that most of his teammates couldn't match.

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"Chanel really stepped up," agreed Lawton. "We all could have taken a note out of Chanel's book. He set the platform as a 20-year-old kid and that's [saying] something about his character, work ethic and courage."

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