Updated ,first published
Mark Nawaqanitawase is expected to undergo ankle surgery, and Angus Crichton is also at risk of missing the State of Origin series opener on May 27 with a knee injury.
The Sydney Roosters held on to defeat premiers Brisbane 38-24 on Saturday night, but the triumph came at a cost for the club – and NSW coach Laurie Daley.
The first State of Origin teams will be named in two weeks, and Nawaqanitawase and Crichton are now expected to join the bulging casualty ward.
The Blues have 1076 games of NRL experience sidelined, including Brisbane’s Payne Haas (148 games), Canterbury’s Jacob Kiraz (84) and Max King (144), Crichton (206), Manly’s Tom Trbojevic (176), Nawaqanitawase (32), and Penrith pair Mitch Kenny (135) and Liam Martin (151).
Rugby-bound Nawaqanitawase was pushing for an Origin berth after representing Australia during last year’s Ashes tour.
But Roosters coach Trent Robinson confirmed the worst after the game, saying: “It’s syndesmosis, he looks like he’ll have an op.”
Daley was disappointed to see Nawaqanitawase hobble off on Saturday night with an injury that was the result of friendly fire from Roosters teammate – and Queensland Origin representative – Rob Toia.
“Mark was certainly in the mix. I was loving the way he was bringing the ball out of yardage,” Daley said on Sunday.
“He’s a great finisher, very good in the air, and he’s also got a bit of flair about him. I also thought he was adapting really well defensively and improving every week in that area. It’s a huge shame.”
Kiraz (knee) is still a few weeks away from returning, while Trbojevic, who has played on the wing at Origin level, is also ruled out for at least another six weeks.
Penrith’s Brian To’o will be on one wing, with South Sydney’s Campbell Graham and Parramatta’s Josh Addo-Carr in the frame for the other spot.
Manly’s Tolu Koula has speed, Wests Tigers’ Sunia Turuva has big-game experience, and To’o’s teammate Tom Jenkins is the competition’s leading try-scorer, with all three in the Origin conversation. Penrith centre Casey McLean has also played on the wing for New Zealand.
A left-field option would be South’s Alex Johnston, especially given his form and combination with Latrell Mitchell at the Rabbitohs.
Crichton has been a mainstay for the Blues in the forwards, and Robinson feared the 30-year-old, who will also head to rugby with Nawaqanitawase at the end of the season, had injured his medial collateral ligament.
“We’re having a look at that to see where he’s at, so he’s getting scans now,” Robinson said of Crichton.
The carnage is likely to continue with centre option Kotoni Staggs facing suspension for elbowing Hugo Savala in the back of the head, which earned him 10 minutes in the bin on Saturday night, and arguably ended any hopes of Brisbane completing what would have been an incredible fightback win.
Wests Tigers hooker Api Koroisau is suspended and will not play again before teams are picked, while Canberra’s Hudson Young returns from a two-match suspension on Sunday, only for Canberra to have the bye the following week, meaning he will have played just one game in five weeks by the time the first Origin game against the Maroons kicks off.
