Warriors hit by bug as Simon’s unlikely

A STOMACH bug has thrown a spanner in the Warriors’ preparatory works ahead of this weekend’s NRL clash with Gold Coast.

Fresh off a season-opening 32-20 win over South Sydney, a handful of Warriors – including Blake Green and Solomone Kata – have picked up a virus.

They’ll be monitored during the course of the week but are likely to face the Titans, who also won their first-up game against Canberra.

Elsewhere, stalwart Simon Mannering remains a week-toweek proposition after suffering a pre-season shoulder injury, while Gerard Beale is still recuperating from a broken leg sustained at the Rugby League World Cup.

Mannering is highly unlikely to face the Titans.

Coach Stephen Kearney said he was mostly pleased by his troops’ display against the Bunnies in Perth, breaking a nine-match West Australian losing run.

Barring a penalty-laden start to the match and a late Rabbitohs surge, they dominated the contest and stuck to their game plan. But they will still look for improvement against the Titans.

“There was a sense of relief, I guess, but I think there was a sense of confidence - when I say it like that, I mean we went out with a pretty specific plan, so to see it unfold for them was very pleasing,” Kearney said.

“There were some good parts to it and some areas we need to improve on for this week, but overall there was some pretty good stuff there.”

The Warriors named a 21man squad for a clash against a side which they have beaten 13 times in 14 starts.