Fusitu’a injury adds to woes
WELLINGTON: The Warriors have lost proven tryscorer David Fusitu’a to injury at a time when finishing their chances is emerging as their biggest problem in the NRL.
Fusitu’a suffered rib damage and was forced off late in the 1710 loss to North Queensland on Saturday night, leaving him highly unlikely to face the Storm in Thursday’s Anzac Day match.
The winger, who scored a competitionleading 23 tries in 2018, will be keenly missed by a Warriors team failing to make the most of promising attacking work.
For the most part, the Warriors looked confident and convincing.
Their defence was efficient and effective and what was also promising was seeing Issac Luke running and kicking from dummy half with confidence and young half Chanel HarrisTavita happy to shoulder the pressure of being the goto man for the team’s lastplay options.
However, a woeful error rate was a cause for concern as 13 errors allowed the Cowboys to stay in the fight when they should have been put against the ropes in the opening 20 minutes.
Heading into round six, the Warriors led the NRL for line breaks and was in the top three for tackle busts and offloads.
Yet they sat midtable for tries scored, and that lack of finishing was exposed against the Cowboys, who made the most of fewer opportunities at Mt Smart Stadium.
‘‘It’s one that we let slip. We did some really good things out there but lacked composure at times,’’ Warriors coach Stephen Kearney said.
‘‘We had close to double the tackle breaks but if you’re not executing the final pass, that sort of stuff builds up. We frustrated our way into making it worse.’’
The direction of Blake Green was missed, as it was in the narrow loss to South Sydney in the previous round.
Kearney was hopeful the veteran half will return from a groin injury for a daunting match in Melbourne
The Warriors were thrashed 5010 by the Storm in the equivalent fixture last year after a fiveday turnaround.
Ominously, Fusitu’a scored their only two tries that day.
‘‘The circumstances were a little bit different last year,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘We came off a really good win against the Dragons into a really tough match which we anticipated against Melbourne, and we weren’t ready for that.
‘‘But we will be ready for this one.’’ — AAP