Knights hit by injury after Warriors raid
By Brett Keeble
THE Knights will need a new five-eighth and possibly a new halfback for Sunday's blockbuster against Brisbane at EnergyAustralia Stadium after Jarrod Mullen and Scott Dureau were injured in yesterday's 26-20 loss to the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium.
But hooker and skipper Danny Buderus was confident of backing up against the Broncos despite suffering a corked thigh on his first run and hobbling around for most of the game.
Mullen tore his right calf muscle midway through the second half.
By full-time he was in the dressing-room with his lower leg strapped and encased in a protective CAM Boot.
Knights medical officer Dr Peter McGeoch said that Mullen would probably have an ultrasound when the Knights returned to Newcastle today but the early prognosis for the former NSW playmaker was up to three weeks on the sidelines.
Dureau will have X-rays to determine whether he fractured his ribs making a desperate but futile dive in an attempt to stop Patrick Ah Van's game-breaking try from Dureau's cross-field bomb in the 67th minute.
Mullen was treated on the field several times and tried to continue, even launching a bomb to test Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei, but eventually succumbed and limped from the field in the 58th minute.
"It just went on me. I was trying to get back onside and take off and just felt a snap in my calf, so I've torn my calf," said Mullen, who was sure the injury was not related to cramping problems he has had in the past.
"I just asked Moose [physiotherapist Martin Boyd] if I can play next week, and he said no way in the world, so I don't know when I'll be back. I tore my calf in the Brisbane game after Origin last year, but I can't remember if it was the same one.
"I've been doing extra stretching to prevent the cramps, and they didn't cramp last week, and they didn't cramp this week. It's just one of those freak things."
After Buderus was denied a try lunging at the line in the 66th minute, Dureau kicked to the left corner, but Ah Van outleapt the Newcastle chasers and ran almost 100 metres to score and stretch the Warriors' lead to 26-16.
Dureau gave chase and dived at Ah Van's legs as the 20-year-old Warriors winger crossed the halfway line en route to the Newcastle goal line.
The 21-year-old said he felt short of breath after hitting the ground and was in discomfort after the match.
"It's too early to tell whether it is [broken] at this stage, so I'll wait and see how it pulls up in the next few days," Dureau said.
Buderus played the second half with his right thigh heavily strapped but expected to be fit for Brisbane.
"It was my first run when I got tackled by [Simon] Mannering. It caused me a bit of grief, but anyway, I'll look after it this week and I should be fine," Buderus said.
Coach Brian Smith said he would review the halves situation after the team's medical check on their return to Newcastle today.
Following their golden-point loss to Parramatta the previous week, Smith was again pleased with his players' fighting qualities after the Warriors cleared out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first half.
Newcastle rallied with converted tries to Wes Naiqama and Cory Paterson to trail 14-12 at half-time then pulled to within 20-16 in the 60th minute when James McManus crossed out wide.
Buderus's near miss and Ah Van's try was the 12-point turnaround that broke Newcastle's back, but even then they refused to concede.
A weaving Kurt Gidley run set up Naiqama's second try in the 77th minute, but Gidley missed the conversion attempt, leaving the Knights six points in arrears, but they were hammering the New Zealand line in the final seconds until Logan Swann intercepted a Buderus dummy-half pass to secure a Warriors victory.
"We didn't start how we wanted. We wanted to give away no penalties and make them do all the tackling, but that switched around and we gave all the penalties away and we made all the tackles," Dureau said.
"It's good that we're fighting on and we're a team that's not going to give up, but we can't keep starting like that and giving teams head-starts and thinking we can come home and win every week."
Warriors captain Ruben Wiki said his side had won back respect after their 52-6 loss to Manly last Monday.
"We just wanted to get some respect for each other as players and for the club and for the fans," Wiki said. "We got the two points, and I think it was a bit of relief for the boys after last week's effort." with AAP
