NZ Warriors coach Nathan Brown seems as surprised as anyone that Kiwis captain Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has made his line-up to face Cronulla Sharks this week.
Only nine days ago, the winger was stretchered off Melbourne's AAMI Park, suffering concussion in an awkward collision with teammate Bayley Sironen in the build-up to a second-half Storm try.
At the time, medical staff took considerable care with his head and neck region, and to all onlookers - including his coach - Watene-Zelezniak, 26, looked destined for an extended period on the sidelines recovering.
"When it first happened, truth be told, I wouldn't have expected him to play after a short time off," said Brown. "He actually recovered the next day - he was fine.
"He had no headaces, no symptoms and passed his HIA [Head Injury Assessment] test the very next day. To be truthful, we're all shocked.
"He's ticked all the boxes he's supposed to tick, he feels really good and he wants to play.
"He did everything asked of him, but when it first happened, I didn't think he'd recover like he did, but he was fine the next day, which was surprising."
Watene-Zelezniak replaces injured centre Jesse Arthars in a reshuffled backline, which sees Rocco Berry and Viliami Vailea - starting wingers against Canberra Raiders last week - move infield, and Adam Pompey shifted to the other wing.
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