Warriors coach coy on Foran

Warriors coach Stephen Kearney has played down fears over Kieran Foran’s shoulder injury but stopped short of putting a date on his return.

With his Nrl-imposed suspension ending after tomorrow’s clash against the Storm, it was widely expected that Foran would make his return against the Bulldogs in Dunedin seven days later.

However, reports out of Australia claim the Kiwis fiveeighth has been struggling with his rehabilitation on the shoulder injury that ended his 2016 campaign, and could be sidelined until round eight.

Warriors managing director Jim Doyle doubted he would be out for that long and, while reluctant to give anything away, Kearney indicated he was on the right track.

‘‘If it’s not next weekend it will certainly be pretty close,’’ the coach said. ’’My energy is focused on Friday and what I need to do to get the team up and once that’s out of the way I’ll be happy to talk about Kieran after that.’’

Foran trained away from the main group yesterday and appeared to be moving freely, although there was minimal contact work. He was put through his paces with Charlie Gubb (concussion), who along with Simon Mannering (neck) and Issac Luke (ribs) sustained injuries during the seasonopening win over the Knights.

Kearney is confident Mannering and Gubb will be ready to play but doubts remain over Luke, which could open the door for 19-year-old utility Erin Clarke to make his debut.

‘‘There’s a possibility, we just need to see how everything pans out for Issac over the next 24 hours but there’s a chance,’’ Kearney said.

After an inconsistent display against last year’s wooden spooners, the Storm will provide a much tougher test of the Warriors’ credentials.

Defence has been a big focus at training, with Kearney voicing his displeasure at some of the ‘‘easy’’ tries they allowed against the Knights.

The team also has to overcome a five-day turnaround, while Melbourne will have had an extra two days preparation following last Friday’s 12-6 win over the Bulldogs. But Kearney does not necessarily see that as a disadvantage.

‘‘It is a bit challenging but sometimes that’s a good thing too.

‘‘Sometimes when you’ve got too much time to think about the opposition and think about what you’ve got to do on the weekend it can be a bit of a hinderance.’’

Having started his coaching career as an assistant at the Storm in 2006, tomorrow’s match gives Kearney the chance to test himself against his old mentor Craig Bellamy. That came after the 44-year-old spent five seasons as a player in Melbourne between 1999 and 2004, including winning a premiership in his first year.

Yet he was quick to emphasise that tomorrow’s clash is not about him.

‘‘It would not a great deal to me personally,’’ Kearney said of the prospect of getting one over his former club.

‘‘My focus is making sure I prepare the team and give them the belief and the confidence that we can go out there on Friday and really perform well.’’