NZ Warriors are confident Addin Fonua-Blake will take the field against Wests Tigers on Sunday, despite the star forward's absence from training this week, after testing positive for COVID-19.
Named in the starting line-up, Fonua-Blake must return a negative test on Sunday morning when his seven-day isolation ends, after already testing negative during the week, but assistant coach Justin Morgan is sure the prop will be cleared for their soldout homecoming.
"He tested positive for COVID last week, so he had to isolate, but I'm happy to say he's tested negative since, within the correct time frame," Morgan told Newshub. "As long as he's okay tomorrow, he'll take his place in the team.
The positive result means Fonua-Blake hasn't trained with the team all week, but the coaching staff insist he hasn't been too badly affected by the virus and will be fit.
"He's fine," said Morgan. "We've been monitoring that closely, apart from obviously the symptoms and the testing, we've made sure the heart rate has stayed within the correct parameters.
"Our high performance team and medical team have been working very closely with him, and they're very satisfied."
If he returns a negative test, Fonua Blake would link with the team before the game.
The Warriors could do without another COVID headache, after star fullback Reece Walsh tested positive on Friday morning.
Walsh, who has been left devastated by the result, will be replaced by Chanel Harris-Tavita at fullback, with Freddy Lussick moving to the bench.
"Reece, it's disappointing obviously Covid's caught up with him," said Morgan. "Chanel played there at the start of the year, he's done plenty of practice, so we're confident with him playing that role.
"He's a left-sided player and being a left-footer, very similar to Reece, so he'll slot in nice and easy there."
But the COVID-19 concerns didn't dampen Warriors' fans spirits on Saturday, as they took to Mt Smart to get a glimpse of their team on NZ soil for the first time in almost three years.
"It's been a long time coming," said one fan. "It's enough to bring a tear to a man's eye."
"Didn't sleep last night," said another, who travelled from Australia for the game. "I was so nervous and, I guess, excited more so."
Warriors legend Kevin Campion believes the atmosphere on Sunday will match with the fervour of the club's first ever game.
"I remember the first game in '95 against the Broncos," Campion said. "We had some special nights here when I was playing but it's going to be top tomorrow."
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