Rookie offers punchline for Warriors

Former Warriors captain Simon Mannering says greenhorn hooker Nathaniel Roache ‘‘can definitely punch out 80 minutes’’ if called on to replace injured test star Issac Luke.

The Warriors lost Luke to a dislocated shoulder in last Friday’s 21-14 NRL win over the Bulldogs in Auckland.

Warriors officials were unavailable to confirm on Sunday whether Luke will be out for next weekend’s visit to Perth to play the

fifth-ranked Manly Sea Eagles.

Coach Stephen Kearney said after the game the veteran hooker’s injury ‘‘doesn’t look too bad’’. But if Luke cannot play in Perth, the Warriors options include Roache, mid-season recruit Manaia Cherrington or Jazz Tevaga, who played in the NRL last season but has been a reserve grader in 2017.

Mannering - once again one of the Warriors’ best against the Bulldogs - would have no problem with playing alongside 21-year-old Roache, who has played just 19 NRL games since his debut in the 2016 season opener.

Roache’s 47 minutes against the Bulldogs was his longest stint at NRL level and he has started only one game in two years.

But Mannering, who combined with Roache to set up a try for Shaun Johnson, had no doubt about the youngster’s capacity to play a full game.

‘‘Yeah 100 per cent, he has got a lot of ability and he can definitely punch out 80 minutes through the middle,’’ Mannering told nrl.com.

‘‘You see his presence out on the field, he is a confident kid and when he gets a chance to run he backs himself, so easily he could start a game and definitely finish it.

‘‘We all know how good of a player Nate is and when he came on he did what he does well; runs the footy and a strong defender.’’