Warriors coach
Nathan Brown has confirmed one of the club’s major off-season signings has already recovered from what could have been a disastrous pre-season injury blow.
A report out of Australia earlier this week claimed
Ben Murdoch-Masila had suffered a suspected torn pectoral (pec) before scans confirmed it was only a strain.
A torn pec could have been season-ending and even a high-end strain could lead to weeks on the sidelines but Brown said the Tongan powerhouse, who has joined the Warriors from Super League club Warrington Wolves, is back in full training but not in the position many expected.
”It was very minor,” Brown said. “He might have missed two or three days training.”
There are still 51 days until the Warriors kick off their season against the Gold Coast Titans on March 13 and plenty of water to flow under the bridge yet, but at this stage, Brown has almost a full roster to work with.
Besides utility
Karl Lawton and wing Iliesa (Junior) Ratuva – who is yet to make his NRL debut – the club has no other long term injuries.
Before the 2020 season kicked off, then coach
Stephen Kearney had already lost props
Bunty Afoa and
Jackson Frei with another middle
Leeson Ah Mau going down just two games into the season and a string of other injuries to key players followed.
“There’s plenty of blokes that get niggles in the pre-season,” Brown said.
Middle forward Jyris Glamuzina, who is on a development contract, has a minor knee injury but should only miss a couple of weeks training.
“If that's the worst of it, then that's not too bad,” Brown said.
Brown also confirmed Murdoch-Masila, who many NRL pundits have pegged as a starting prop or coming off the bench to play in the middle, is more likely to play as an edge forward in the second row, at this stage.
“He can play two spots,” Brown said. “He can play middle and he can play on the edge and at the moment he's doing, certainly, a lot more of his training on the edge and he's a player who certainly adds some strike when he plays out there.
“The form of other people and the form of Ben, all these things will play a part,” Brown said of his team selection for round one.
Murdoch-Masila spent much of his time with Warrington on an edge after mostly playing as a prop in his NRL stints with the Wests Tigers and the Penrith Panthers but the Warriors considering him as an edge could be due to the strength of their middles on the club's roster.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/women-in-sport
New signings
Addin Fonua-Blake and
Kane Evans join the fit-again Afoa and Ah Mau plus last year's Warriors rookie of the year
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown as well as exciting young prospects Frei,
Tom Ale and the hard-working
Jazz Tevaga.
Brown is optimistic the addition of a player such as Fonua-Blake and his experience will take the less experienced forwards to a new level.
Twelve months ago Taunoa-Brown was on a train and trial deal but ended up playing all but one of the Warriors 20 NRL matches.
“Jamayne's really trained on well. He’s come in last year on the back of his first proper pre-season ever after a couple of years in the Q [Queensland] Cup and made a good account of himself, and he certainly looks like he’s doing this with a lot more confidence this year,” Brown said.
With last year’s boom rookie
Eliesa Katoa, the big end of season improver
Jack Murchie,
Tohu Harris, new recruit
Bayley Sironen and
Josh Curran all capable of playing on an edge, competition for spots in Brown's forward pack is going to be hot.
With Harris and Sironen also able to play in the middle, Brown has plenty of versatility.
With just one trial game, also against the Titans, fringe players must impress Brown and the rest of the coaching team at training in the next two months to help cement a spot in the game-day 17 for the opening NRL match of the season.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/leagu...dochmasila-is-ready-to-go-for-start-of-season