The cavalry is coming for the Warriors - in 14 days' time - when four injured players join them in Australia for NRL duty.
Agnatius Paasi, Jazz Tevaga, Josh Curran and Gerard Beale were to fly from Auckland on Wednesday to a quarantined venue somewhere in New South Wales, with the intention of joining their team-mates after two weeks of self-isolation.
The foursome missed the opening-round loss to Newcastle with injuries.
Since then, the coronavirus has turned the club's campaign on its head, with travel restrictions forcing the team to stay in Australia to keep a foothold in the competition.
Injuries, and the return home of backs Peta Hiku and Patrick Herbert for personal reasons have left the Auckland club with just 19 contracted first-grade players at their Kingscliff base to choose from for Saturday's match against Canberra on the Gold Coast.
The Warriors have sought loan players from other clubs to bolster their depth, although chief executive Cameron George said there was no movement yet on that front.
Forwards Paasi, Tevaga and Curran, along with utility back Beale, will miss the Canberra match and next week's clash with Manly.
They could be available for a round-four encounter with the Wests Tigers, if the competition is still operating, and the Warriors haven't pulled the pin on their Australian stay and effectively removed themselves from the competition - a prospect that George still won't rule out.
"We've got to get them over there, because if we don't get them into that 14-day cycle, obviously every day that goes by puts them back," George said.
"The sooner we get them there, the better we are in terms of some depth.
"They might have to come back [to NZ] and go straight into isolation again. Who knows?"
George confirmed some wives and partners of players have asked about joining the team, which would require them to also self-isolate in Australia.
Meanwhile, the Warriors suffered another blow on Wednesday, when the NSW Rugby League announced the club's reserve grade team had been excluded from the Canterbury Cup for the rest of the season.
The NRL feeder competition has been suspended until May 31, but given the complexity of travel restrictions, it was decided that the Warriors would not return, if it restarts after that.
AAP
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