Already on the backfoot from a season-opening defeat to St George Dragons, NZ Warriors have been rocked by a mounting injury toll that now includes star half Shaun Johnson for up to four weeks.
After storming out on the club four years ago, Johnson, 31, has returned from a stint at Cronulla Sharks, making his 163rd appearance in the familiar jersey in the 28-16 defeat at Sunshine Coast Stadium.
In typical fashion, the enigmatic half mixed moments of sublime skill - including assists in two of the Warriors' three tries and a linebreak assist in the other - with acts of head-scratching inconsistency, notably an ill-advised crossfield kick in his own half that led to a backbreaking Dragons try.
"Shaun had some positives," coach Nathan Brown assessed. "Plenty of blokes had some positive points and some negative points.
"We probably had some blokes who were below where they'd like to be, which is hard at this level.
"But Shaun had some positive stuff and it’s always easier for your half, when you're making the opposition work a bit harder as well."
Now, Brown will have to plan without his veteran presence, after Johnson was diagnosed with a "minor" pectoral (shoulder) tear that will put him out of action for up to a month.
With captain Tohu Harris already incapacitated by off-season knee surgery, Kiwis skipper Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has revealed he played most of the Dragons encounter with a broken thumb, while teenage centre Viliami Vailea suffered suspected medial ligament damage to his knee.
On top of that, stand-in captain Addin Fonua-Blake will face the judiciary on a crusher-tackle charge, making Brown's squad to face Gold Coast Titans on Saturday a challenging selection.
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